FONS grant helps The Close Creatives Collective rebrand following huge success.

This year’s netball season has been one of the most successful in recent history, both in terms of participation and performance. It has been a term defined by enthusiasm, commitment and outstanding achievement across all age groups. Over the course of the term, more than 60 fixtures were played, with every girl from U8 to U11 representing the school in at least one match; most in many more. This level of involvement is a testament to the strength and depth of the programme, as well as the pupils’ eagerness to contribute, perform and compete. Our U8 players have demonstrated excellent coachability and a genuine enthusiasm for learning. Their performances in the house netball competition were highly encouraging, and it was particularly rewarding to see them take to the court in their first fixture against NHSFG. They embraced the experience with confidence, successfully applying skills developed in training to a competitive setting. The U9 squad continued to build on the strong foundations laid last year, participating in an increasing number of BEE Netball fixtures and festivals. While the emphasis at this stage remains on participation and enjoyment, the girls have shown clear progress in their teamwork and tactical understanding. They are developing into a very promising group and we look forward to their continued growth next year. At U11 level, our Lower 3 and Upper 3 pupils formed a highly competitive cohort, fielding up to six teams throughout the term. The standard across the group has been exceptionally high, with impressive depth in talent reflected in both performances and results. It has been particularly pleasing to see so many girls regularly involved in weekly fixtures, contributing to a vibrant and competitive environment. However, this term has undoubtedly belonged to the U11A team, who have enjoyed a truly remarkable season. Remaining unbeaten throughout, they achieved an outstanding treble of titles. Their campaign began with a dominant victory at the OBH Festival, competing against strong schools and clubs from across the eastern region. This success was followed by an exceptional performance at the U11 IAPS Netball Tournament, where they once again went unbeaten to be crowned Eastern Region IAPS Champions. They completed their treble in style, securing the U11 County Cup without losing a match. This squad has demonstrated not only exceptional skill, but also outstanding teamwork, resilience, and coachability. At times, their quality of play has been nothing short of superb. The future is incredibly bright for these girls and we look forward to following their progress closely as they move into the Senior School.

With British Science week happening last week, it is a great time to celebrate some of the many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine) offers our Upper 6 pupils have received from the most selective UK universities. STEM is very strong at Norwich School with consistently large numbers of both girls and boys choosing Sciences, Maths and Further Maths for A level: 80 of last year’s Upper 6 cohort took Maths A level (the most popular A level subject) with over 40 taking each of the three Sciences and 17 taking Further Maths. There is so much going on in STEM areas within school; the pupil led Med Soc (Medical Society) have recently enjoyed learning surgical suturing and practising this on pigs’ trotters, Upper 6 pupil Adit Raje has just gained a ‘Top Gold’ in the British Physics Olympiad coming in the top 69 of the 9000 entrants and Upper 6 pupil Emmanuel Milne’s gold in the British Biology Olympiad placed him in the top 5% of the 18,800 pupils who took part nationally. Both of these performances qualified the pupils for Round 2 of these Olympiads whilst the lower 4 and lower 5 VEX Robotics team’s recent regional and then national success qualified them for the international finals that will take place in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in April. The school’s Apply+ Programme is run by Mr Pearce. It supports pupils applying to academic courses that require admissions tests and/or interviews. STEM Oxbridge offers: Of the 10 Norwich School pupils with offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities this cycle, 5 are for STEM subjects: Thomas Irvine – Medicine at the University of Cambridge Georgia Lloyd – Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Cambridge Adit Raje – Physics at the University of Oxford Freya Simmonds – Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge Emile Verschoor – Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge Other Apply+ STEM offers received so far this cycle: Thomas Cahir – Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester Isaac Chan – Physics with Theoretical Physics at Imperial Arthur Dannatt – Mathematics at the University of Warwick Katerina Di Maria – Biochemistry at Imperial Thomas Hsia – Computer Science at University of Warwick Leon Liu – Physics at the University of Manchester Maya Peart – Microbiology at Imperial Adit Raje – Physics at Imperial Emile Verschoor – Physics at Imperial Halvard Yip – Data Science at the University of Warwick Medicine and Veterinary medicine: We are delighted that all of our pupils who have applied for medicine and veterinary medicine this cycle have gained offers to study these highly competitive courses: Omar Alfiky Isio Emore India-Rose Fox Lizzie Henson Thomas Irvine Isabelle Last Emmanuel Milne Ana Paduaru Sruthi Santhosh Freya Simmonds Particular congratulations to Isabelle Last, Sruthi Santhosh, Thomas Irvine and Isio Emore who have each already received offers from all four med/vet schools they applied to, something achieved by fewer than 5% of applicants nationally each admissions cycle. The following pupils have successfully navigated interviews for these allied health professions: Ciara Bethapudy – Pharmacy Emilia Meade – Midwifery Krishni Theiventhira - Pharmacy  As is the norm at this point in the year, a significant proportion of the most competitive courses are still making decisions on which applicants to offer places to. We look forward to sharing more successes with the Norwich School community at the start of next term.

Lower Two enjoyed a successful two‑day residential in London.  The trip began with a train journey into the city, followed by an introduction to travelling independently on the Underground. Thirdly, then pupils then visited the London Eye, where many showed great courage in overcoming fears of heights while enjoying panoramic views and identifying key landmarks, including their hostel near St Paul’s Cathedral. Secondly, the children had a wonderful time at the Paddington Experience, where they eagerly joined Paddington in his quest to make the perfect marmalade. Working together, they helped gather ingredients, stirred the mixture with great enthusiasm, and proudly supported Paddington in creating his famous treat. Thirdly, riverboat cruise along the Thames provided further learning, offering insights into London’s architecture and the history of the Great Fire of London. The day concluded with a well‑deserved dinner at Pizza Express. On the second day, the group explored the Tower of London, observing the ravens, viewing the Crown Jewels, and learning about royal life throughout history. A picnic on the grounds offered a relaxed end to the visit. All pupils represented the school admirably and should be proud of their achievements on their first residential.

The Choristers visited London on Wednesday 4 March to sing Evensong with the Temple Church Choir. We left from Norwich train station at 9.30am after a quick rehearsal, and arrived in London in time for lunch at Zizzi. We were then shown around St Paul’s Cathedral and enjoyed testing out the acoustics in the Whispering Gallery. After braving the narrow spiral staircases all the way up to the Golden Gallery, we admired the spectacular views over London. At the end of the tour we had a group photo on an amazing cantilever staircase (used in the Harry Potter films as the way to the Divination classroom), and then walked to the Temple Church. Following a rehearsal with their choir, they all sang Evensong together at 6pm. The standard of singing was breathtaking, a testament to the hard work and dedication these young musicians display on a daily basis. We caught the 8pm train and arrived back in Norwich just before 10pm, tired but happy after a rewarding and fulfilling day. Pupil Highlights: “The whole day was 10/10. I especially enjoyed seeing the spiral staircase in St Paul’s used in the Harry Potter films!” “My favourite part was singing at the Temple Church with the other choir. I also liked the view from the top of St Paul’s Cathedral, even if it was very high up - I’m not great with heights!”

With thanks to an award from the Friends of Norwich School, the Community Knit Club has been busy knitting winter essentials.

Norwich School has had the honour of being the host site for the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in the East of England since 2019. Ours is an ideal venue for their engaging public talks from renowned experts about the physical, human and environmental world around us. On 16 March 2026 we heard a terrific presentation given by Stephen Akester entitled Rethinking the future of our seas, and what you can do to help. Stephen is a veritable font of all knowledge concerning global fisheries and fish stocks. He is a highly respected expert who advises the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, and national governments on fisheries policy. Through comprehensible interpretation of data and up-to-the-minute fishing vessel GPS tracking information, he gave us a compelling and intelligent assessment of world fish stocks and practices. Whilst there are clearly some areas of deep concern, unsustainable practices involving indiscriminate bottom trawling and unregulated industries in offending countries, Stephen also gave an upbeat assessment of areas where sustainable fishing has seen some dramatic recoveries in levels of nutritional, tasty fish that we can land on our dinner plates with a clear conscience. A large audience of pupils, staff, alumni, Fellows of RGS, academics and parents left the talk better informed and hugely impressed by our speaker. His professionalism, steely determination to drive best practice and genuine environmental concern was evident to all, especially when fielding a stimulating Q&A afterwards and over refreshments. Attracted by such ‘fishy’ goings-on, even Budge, the Cathedral Cat, put in a guest appearance, and sat salivating over big tuna on the screen! These RGS talks offer intellectual rigour and great entertainment for professionals/academics and the lay person alike, and are always well worth attending, whatever the topic under discussion. The next talk will be given by accomplished and award-winning wildlife cameraman and director Toby Hough, who is also a proud Old Norvicensian. His credits include work seen on Countryfile, The One Show, Springwatch and numerous BBC wildlife documentaries and travel programmes. His talk promises to be a memorable visual feast! Tickets are on sale here: RGS: Toby Hough - Lemurs to leopards: filming adventures from around the world . All are welcome. It takes place on Thursday 7 May 2026 at 19:30 in the Blake Studio.

From March 16 - March 20, Norwich School celebrated Neurodiversity Celebration week through a series of engaging whole School events.  Pupils from across the school worked alongside staff from the SEND department and the School’s EDI officer to learn about and celebrate neurodiversity throughout the week. On Monday pupils got creative creating a piece of community artwork to celebrate Neurodiversity. The artwork included fingerprints from staff and pupils to represent how no two brains are alike, and that we all deserve a place to feel seen and celebrated. On Wednesday over 50 pupils joined in with activities in the Undercroft Library. The activities explored pupil’s knowledge and attitudes towards neurodiversity and promoted discussion surrounding the representation of neurodiversity in the media as well as neurodiverse celebrities. Pupils reflected positively on these topics, sharing thoughts such as; “Representation is important so that people aren’t treated badly in real life” “Writers can interview and get to know neurodivergent people to get an accurate understanding of what is actually like to have that specific condition” “Representation is important because it shows that not all people who are neurodiverse are the same.” “Representation is important to help people feel seen and to educate people.” The event ended with delicious cupcakes and treats for all who took part. Finally, on Friday tutor groups took part in a Neurodiversity Survey, which looked to understand pupil’s perceptions of neurodiversity across the school. This survey will help us understand pupil opinions and experiences, so that we can continue to champion neurodiversity all year round.

On 12 March, Upper 1 embarked on a fascinating journey back in time with a visit to Castle Rising, bringing their learning about medieval castles to life. During the trip, the children discovered that Castle Rising Castle is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman motte and bailey castle in the UK. They learned about the huge earthwork defences that were carefully constructed around the castle, along with the imposing gatehouse and towering stone walls designed to protect it from attack. The children also discovered how a wide moat once completely surrounded the castle, forming a powerful and intimidating barrier that made it extremely difficult for enemies to approach. The drawbridge and portcullis were also vital features in controlling who could enter! Upper 1 learnt about the Murder Hole, a clever defensive feature used by castle guards to drop boiling water, stones, or other objects onto attackers below. The children also explored the remains of the castle kitchen and stepped into the magnificent Great Hall, imagining the feasts, meetings, and celebrations that would once have filled the room. They listened to stories about a bedchamber believed to be one of the most haunted rooms in the UK, explored the original church built 200 years before the castle, and looked at the ruins of the bailey buildings. The trip was a wonderful opportunity for the children to consolidate their learning of life in a medieval castle.