At the St Nicholas Day service on Friday 5 December, Upper 4 pupil and Head Chorister, Sébastien Dubroeucq, was named Child Bishop. This ancient tradition is to highlight the importance of young people and their voices, allowing them to share their insight on the world we live in. To celebrate this, we asked Sébastien some questions... How long have you been at Norwich School? And how long have you been a chorister? I have been at Norwich school and the cathedral choir for four years now. Why did you want to be a chorister? I wanted to become a chorister as I enjoyed and still enjoy singing and performing and it gave me an opportunity to do these things on a regular basis! How do you find the week-by-week life of a Chorister? The choir life felt quite busy when I first joined, with 5 services a week, but it soon became like a routine and now is just associated with normal life! How do you fit it all in with your school life? Do you take on any extracurricular activities? I love performing in musicals and plays, and sometimes choir and play rehearsals overlap, but we always manage to arrange something mutually beneficial for the choir and my extracurricular activities. Can you tell us a little about what the child bishop is and what this involved? The child bishop is part of an old tradition on St. Nicholas day, where a child gives a sermon at the evensong and gives the dismissal and blessing. How was the experience of being the child bishop? The experience of being child bishop was really humbling, and it gave me a really good moment to reflect as I wrote the sermon. Had you heard of this tradition beforehand? I was present at St. Nicholas day for the child bishop last year so I had a pretty good grasp on the situation beforehand. What are your responsibilities as Head Chorister? My responsibility as head chorister is to make sure everyone in choir is feeling alright, and if they aren’t, helping them or pointing them to help. What would you say to anyone who is interested in becoming a Chorister? The experience of being a chorister is a truly remarkable experience and I would heavily recommend it to anyone who like singing or music!

These pupils gained the required grades and went onto start these courses in autumn 2025. Case Study – Georgia Hodgson: 1. Tell us about the university offers that you've received so far: Currently, I’ve received offers from Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and UEA for Medicine and Warwick for Biomedical Sciences! 2. On top of the usual UCAS application form, what else have you had to do as part of the admissions process to be considered for these highly competitive courses? For my medicine applications, I’ve had to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) entrance exam, which happened over the summer (between Lower 6 and Upper 6), and complete interviews at all four universities. These interviews involved learning about current NHS affairs, exploring skills from work experience/volunteer work and, for Cambridge, applying scientific knowledge from A Levels. 3. How did Norwich School help you during the university application process? Norwich School provided support during Lower 6 in the form of Apply Plus sessions, in which we were encouraged to think ahead about work experience, volunteering and super-curriculars; I found these sessions very insightful as I learnt a lot about the application process pre-emptively and was able to tackle my UCAS application a lot better as a result! During Upper 6, there was also support for interview preparation for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine applicants as we were able to take part in a mock interview, which helped me to identify my weaker areas and gave me an idea of how to prepare and what’s involved. 4. Which other activities in sixth form helped strengthen your application? Volunteering was a key experience that supported my application; I had undertaken some volunteering at Able2B, as well as partaking in community service through school. These experiences provided valuable learning opportunities that I was able to reflect on in my application and discuss at the interview. I also shadowed doctors in a hospital, which gave me a realistic view of what medicine entails that I could tie into my personal statement and interview answers, and excited and motivated me about the prospects of entering a career in medicine! On top of these, I completed and presented an 8000-word research project on the link between depression and cardiac health, entered several STEMM Olympiads and completed the Youth STEMM Award. 5. Outside of medicine-related activities, what have you been involved in at Norwich School during sixth form? During sixth form at Norwich School, I’ve led the Debating and Erpingham Societies, as well as taken up my new role in Upper 6 as Head of School and EDI. These have helped me develop other skills, especially those in communication and organisation, and have been a lot of fun! A particular highlight was being part of a team ranked 26th internationally at a debating competition! 6. Which offer do you think you will pick as your CF (conditional firm) and what most excites you about that course? I’m hoping to CF Cambridge’s medicine course! I find a lot of aspects of the course exciting; however, a particular aspect is the opportunity to intercalate in the 3rd year! I think this will help to broaden my knowledge and understanding of medicine and science as a whole, and the chance to research is an exciting prospect! I also look forward to participating in supervisions and discussing the subject with incredible scientists and researchers! Case study – Barnaby Karlson-Evans 1. Tell us about the university offers that you've received so far i.e. what course(s) at which unis. I have now received all of my offers, among those, Nottingham, York, Warwick and Durham for Law LLB (3 Years). 2. On top of the usual UCAS application form, what else have you had to do as part of the admissions process to be considered for these highly competitive courses? Ultimately, as an applicant, you want to prove why you are passionate about law. Certainly, when it comes to this field, work experience is desirable by universities. Although it’s not a requirement, it helps one’s application to stand out, which is beneficial as these courses become more competitive year on year. Universities understand that legal experience isn’t by any means easy to get, and if you find yourself in that position, don’t be disheartened; you can still attend talks, webinars, online courses or even sit in a courtroom as a member of the public. These alternatives don’t require you to contact someone in the legal field, are much easier to obtain and have just the same value. 3. How did Norwich School help you during the university application process? Mrs Warren and Mr Pearce were invaluable when it came to the application process. Explaining admissions assessments, checking over applications, proofreading and suggesting revisions to a personal statement are all examples of what the school helps with. They are both very knowledgeable and are always happy to help address any concerns. This all helps to take the pressure off during a workload-intensive time of study and thus, make the process a lot less stressful. 4. Which other activities in sixth form helped strengthen your application? The Independent Schools’ Mock Law Trial is one of the activities that strengthened my application. Getting hands-on experience, in a courtroom, acting as counsel (among other roles) is an invaluable skill which not only looks fantastic on your personal statement but also helps in other walks of life too, such as public speaking. Last year, the school progressed onto the national round, competing at the Old Bailey in London. This was a brilliant experience and if you’re interested in law, but not sure if it’s right for you, this can be a good taster of the subject and help you make up your mind. Debating Society was also an activity I used to do. It presents many opportunities to compete across the country, and also develops one’s critical thinking skills, which is beneficial when taking the LNAT, a law aptitude test, required by some universities. 5. Outside of law-related activities, what have you been involved in at Norwich School during sixth form? I particularly enjoyed being a part of Amnesty Society, where we organised charitable events and collaborated with other schools and organisations across Norfolk. Although academic study is a major part of Sixth Form, it is important to be involved in other clubs and societies too, and this can also help to add depth to your personal statement.

On Tuesday 27 January, pupils from the Charities Committee presented a cheque to the East Anglian Air Ambulance! This sum was raised by from an accumulation of events in the Michaelmas Term. Notably, our Home Clothes Day proved to be a popular method of raising donations. This combined with the efforts of a JustGiving page, hot chocolate sales and a retiring collection at the Carol Service meant that pupils raised a staggering £1379.84. Co-chair, Mimo O'Donnell (L6) commented, "Immy and I just want to say a big thank you for all the support from pupils!!"