All About Amnesty Group

January 20, 2025

To celebrate the various partnerships in our Norwich School community and with variety evening on the horizon, we sat down with Mr Humphrey Bedford-Payne to discuss his involvement with Amnesty Group.


You can book tickets to Amnesty Variety Evening here!


Can you tell me a little bit about your involvement with Amnesty International?

Currently we invite members of the sixth form to participate as part of their community service and it is also offered as a club/society. We meet every Monday lunchtime but frequently there are ongoing afterschool projects. Not only do we try and raise others’ awareness of human rights crises around the world but locally I think it is absolutely critical to connect, participate and share as much as we can. During the past few years we have focused on dance, food and bicycles, with the aim of involving everyone in the projects. One thing I want to avoid is this narrative of being a provider as I think not only is that belittling but it devalues our partnerships. For example, with the Jerusalema dance, I wanted us all to learn a dance and perform it at five local venues to not only attract attention whilst dancing but also to film and edit these dances into a three-minute celebration of diversity in age, background and heritage. It was one of the highlights of my school career. The idea came about during lockdown when I simply came across other groups doing this dance and I asked a sixth form pupil to teach us, which included members of both the senior and lower school, and we were joined by children of English Plus clients.


Can we access this video?

Yes on youtube! But you will have to bear in mind that as much as I learnt the steps I did not learn the timing! You can watch it here.


So is it just sixth formers that participate in Amnesty?

Yes it is really just sixth formers because there are some very challenging issues that we consider and I want to focus on one particular year group so I thought L6 was the best year to involve on the committee side of things. In the annual events other year groups join in, such as with the International Dumpling Day or the Bicycle Restoration Sessions that we do. People are intrigued and they participate and that’s delightful.


You’ve spoken a little bit about Amnesty and your involvement in the local charityEnglish Plus as well. Can you tell me a little bit about English Plus?

Indeed. I have the highest of respect for this charity and the staff who work there. As their name implies, they offer a lot more than just English language tuition. I and the school support their activities as much as possible: on a Thursday morning, Penny Staufenberg and a couple of Lower 6 students go to their Trinity Church location and on a Wednesday there are three students who go to the Cathedral Hostry to support the class of 60 or more. As well as giving English tuition they offer advice with visa applications, job prospects, transport, accommodation and academic courses. They are absolutely phenomenal.


Back to Amnesty. You have several events throughout the year: can you tell me a little bit about them and which one is your favourite?

Well I suppose our flagship is the Amnesty Variety Evening in February because it is such a festival of creativity, dance, delight and music-making. We even had the staff rock band a year ago which was a particular highlight. It brings in a certain amount of income to fund the projects that we are involved with, be it the bicycle restoration scheme, the Christmas stocking filler project or the Easter egg provision. We also have a lot of support from the school, particularly the catering staff, who have just helped to provide a Christmas lunch to the students of English Plus. It is amazing how caring and supportive they are. It is a continuation of what they did during lockdown. In January, around the time of the Chinese New Year, we have our International Dumpling Day where we invite members of the Amnesty group, the refugee support group but also the international students to come and help us make some Chinese Dumplings. We make about 600 but we of course end up consuming at least 200 of those! Then the following Wednesday the catering team steam them for us and we take them over to the clients of English Plus.


Can you tell me a little bit about the Bicycle Restoration Scheme?

We have occasional donations of bicycles and we give them a service, change the cables for the brakes, provide a new saddle and do bits and pieces like that. Once they are ready, we give them to members of the local refugee community. We provided about a dozen last year. The current plan for this year is to provide a batch of five bicycles to the outlying hotel, where refugees are being housed, in order to provide a means of transport for those who want them. I have enlisted the help of colleagues and pupils who know a lot more about bicycles than I do. The FONS have just granted us some funds to buy more tools and equipment.


So does the money raised from the Variety Evening and other events go towards the Bicycle Restoration Scheme?

Yes and also at Christmas we like to provide some stocking fillers. So one of my favourite tasks is going to the shops and buying 100 chocolate Father Christmases and sundry packs of chocolate coins, then bringing them back in triumph to school. We distribute them to the refugee community on a Wednesday at the same time as the Christmas lunch. We also support the amazing Nandana Werapitiya Community Centre in Sri Lanka.


So you do a lot of work in the local community. Do you do much internationally?

We focus a lot on the immediate and local issues. In the Variety Evening we show extracts from the Amnesty International website. However challenging that it may be, it is important that we face up to the harsh reality of some people’s lives.


How long have you been involved with Amnesty?

I started this 40 years ago and then took a step back when my children were born. Fortunately a succession of members of staff took it over. There was then a bit of a hiatus and I could not let it disappear, so I returned to the Amnesty fold about six years ago.



 

As if by Magic! Infants Perform Enchanting Show

May 23, 2025
The children in Lower 1 and Upper 1 took to the stage at The Blake Studio to perform their rendition of the magical and enchanting musical production, Wiz Wham Alakazam to parents, grandparents and residents of The Great Hospital. In this enchanting production, the young wizards of Sun Castle faced a day like no other. One moment the sun was shining brightly over the castle, and the next it mysteriously became dimmer. The resident wizards were thrown into chaos as the Chief Wizard led the spell-casters on an adventure to bring back the light. With plenty of magic spells, and just a sprinkle of disorder, the story unfolded with excitement, charm, and laughter. From the very first scene, the children lit up the stage with confident line delivery and infectious enthusiasm. Each child played their part, whether it was casting spells, performing gymnastic and dance routines, or helping find the important but oldest Spell Book. The Ice Creatures made a dramatic entrance – eerie and impressive – with expressive performances that added just the right touch of tension. Musical numbers such as "Teamwork", "Ice Creatures", and the "Wizards of the Sun" showcased the children’s growing talent in both singing and acting. All the songs were performed with energy, clarity, and joy. The production was a celebration of creativity and teamwork, with every young performer contributing to the magic. Wiz Wham Alakazam was a joyful, spellbinding success — packed with music, movement, mystery and the unforgettable charm of Sun Castle’s youngest stars. Mrs Barclay commented "The children have worked so hard to learn their lines and songs and I am very proud of their performances. It has been a delight working with this group of passionate and talented children." 

Children's Yoga Community Service Tells the Tale of 'Superworm'

By Eleanor Lewis • May 23, 2025
This year's Children's Yoga Community Service group had great fun creating a yoga class for nursery and reception-aged children based on Julia Donaldson's book 'Superworm'. L6 pupils Uliana Bielova, Thomas Chester and Lizzie Taylor were later joined by Chloe Holmes and visited White House Farm Primary School, Magdalen Gates Primary School, our own Lower School reception class as well as four Once Upon a Time nurseries. They were greeted with lots of enthusiasm from the children and teachers/carers alike. The yoga lessons were fun, interactive and had everyone smiling!  The pupils themselves learned a variety of skills from lesson planning and working with children to public speaking and how to do yoga! They worked well as a team and got a lot out of the experience, as Lizzie Taylor explains: '‘I absolutely loved teaching kids yoga! Children are like natural bursts of serotonin, I always came back to school feeling happy.’

National Sporting Success

By Eleanor Lewis • May 23, 2025
Congratulations to Lower Sixth pupils Nicholas and Kwame on their outstanding international sporting achievements this term, proudly representing Great Britain and England in Rowing and Rugby respectively. Nicholas has enjoyed a remarkable year, consistently delivering impressive performances at various GB U19 Rowing Trials. At the Spring Trial Regatta in April, he secured an excellent second place in the Pairs event, earning selection for the GB U19 Rowing Team. Competing at the Munich International Regatta, Nicholas helped the team win silver in the coxless four and double gold in the eight, triumphing over strong international competition. He will now progress to Crew Formation in July, where final selections will be made for the U19 World and European Championships. Kwame, a key member of the Boys’ 1st XV since Upper Fifth, was invited to the England U17 training camp held at Hartpury earlier this term. In a match against a university side, he made a strong impression by scoring in a victory for the national team. Kwame also continues to play a vital role in the Leicester Tigers U18 Academy side.  We are incredibly proud of both Nicholas and Kwame for these exceptional accomplishments and look forward to following their continued success in the year ahead.

Noel Vine Presents 'Nacht Musik' with Norfolk Chamber Orchestra

By Eleanor Lewis • May 22, 2025
We heard on the grapeVINE (!) that our own Head of Music for the Lower School, Mr Vine, is starting his very own chamber orchestra, so we caught up with him to find out more... How did the idea of a Norfolk Chamber Orchestra come about? For me, the perfect ensemble is a small group creating Chamber music. I love its intimacy, feel, vibe and with the right musicians you can ignite something truly special. I decided a couple of years ago that Suffolk needed a really cool string ensemble, so I set up Suffolk Chamber Orchestra and we have just given our debut concert in Aldeburgh at the Jubilee Hall, where once the great Benjamin Britten stood and performed. And I thought, why just have one orchestra! So, I also created the Norfolk Chamber Orchestra. Both groups are string ensembles, and both feature incredible local players (some ex-London professionals who now live here and some outstanding local musicians that I've taken 4 years to find) How long have you been playing music/singing? What is your musical history? My musical background started at the age of 4, I asked for a violin and that has stayed with me for my whole life. I have been very fortunate to have been able to play with every major orchestra in London and across the UK including Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Sinfonia of London, BBC National Orchestra of Wales to name but a few. I then got into recording and session work and have worked, toured and recorded with a lot of high-profile artists such as Madonna, Oasis, Paul Weller, David Gray, Kylie, Jamiroquai, Brand New Heavies, Take That, Robbie Williams and more. I've also enjoyed working closely with underground artists such as Pressure Drop, Fabio and Grooverider, Tipper and Goldie. What kind of music does the orchestra perform? Is there any way we can listen to it? At the moment the Norfolk Chamber Orchestra is just getting started and our debut concert will be on the 21st June at the Octagon Chapel in Norwich which is a really beautiful venue. Part of our plan is to champion beautiful Norfolk venues, and this is a great one to start with. It will a concert inspired by the coming of night called 'Nachtmusik' and will feature music by Mozart, Borodin, Dvorak and a UK Premiere by Eric Whitacre of 'Sleep' arranged for String ensemble. The concert will start at 7pm and will be for 1 hour and under 12's get in free! The link for tickets is here > Norfolk Chamber Orchestra - Norwich Octagon NACHT MUSIK at Octagon Chapel event tickets from TicketSource How often do you rehearse? How does this work with your work schedule at the school? Because of how brilliant the players are, we will rehearse on the day of the concert, unless we're doing something very contemporary or new. I am the leader and director which means I have to know everything that everyone is playing as there is no conductor - another great thing about having a chamber orchestra! Everyone is together, it's a collaborative feeling. A lot of our concerts will be at weekends, so it balances nicely with my work schedule at Norwich School. Who do you think has been your greatest musical influence? Why? I feel very lucky to have met some incredible musicians throughout my life. It's not necessarily the ones who are the best musically, but I love the ones who have the best stories! I spent some time with Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend from The Who and also Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from Led Zepplin. In terms in inspiring figures, they are up there - and you can imagine the stories! Also remember having a very long night with Tom and Ed ( Chemical Brothers ) at the Cobden Club in London. They wanted to talk about the intricacies of Baroque music and Bach's influence on everything! I then went back to their studio, and they played me the demo of Galvanise! Crazy!

Talking Tennis - A Successful Start to Trinity 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • May 22, 2025
The U13 and U15 Boys tennis teams began their seasons with a fixture against Hethersett Academy at the Lower Close on Thursday 22 May. The U15s got the proceedings started with their singles matches and there were notable wins for Rufus Snelling at 1 against an opponent he had never beaten and Himash Amarawickrama at 4. Raffy Pantazis and Lucas Berney were just edged out in their singles matches so the game was in the balance going into the doubles. Things looked a little ominous as Rufus and Raffy were easily beaten but thankfully Lucas and his partner, Milo Delahunty levelled up the match with a convincing 6-2 win in their doubles match. So it came down to a shoot out tiebreak as it has against these opponents for the last two years! Lucas partnered Rufus and it was nip and tuck the whole way with some great doubles being played by both sides but at 8 all Hethersett just showed a little more composure and won the next two points and with it the match by 4 matches to 3. The U13s game was a little more straightforward with wins in the singles for Josh Bond, Will Jenkins and Sam King. Josh also won his doubles with his partner Arthur Lamb but it was left to the final pairing of Will and Aarush Arkala to secure the match with a dramatic comeback in their doubles. After trailing 2-5 they then won 4 games on the run to secure a thrilling victory. Final score a 5-1 win for Norwich School.

Upper 2 Catapult Day was a Booming Success

By Eleanor Lewis • May 21, 2025
Wednesday 21 May quite literally began with a bang! Upper 2 took part in the eagerly awaited Catapult Day, a hands-on exploration that linked directly to the engineering and design elements of our curriculum—with plenty of opportunities to apply mathematical skills along the way. The day began with students measuring the size and mass of a variety of projectiles—from the humble golf ball to the impressively weighty shot put—developing their understanding of data collection, force, and motion. Then came the real excitement: launching those projectiles! Starting by hand, pupils then progressed to an impressive arsenal of historical siege machines, including the Mangonel, Perrier, and Trebuchet. They also had the chance to try their hand at a composite bow and a crossbow, adding a dash of medieval flair to their practical investigations. The day concluded with a suitably dramatic finale, as the younger pupils joined just in time to watch Jacob ignite the cannon—because, let’s face it, nothing quite wraps up a school day like a controlled explosion and the smell of gunpowder in the air! Ali: 'Very fun and I learnt a lot. My highlight was when me and my team pulled the rope down on the perrier to launch the tennis ball!' Tallulah, Darcy, Olivia: 'It was very exciting because we learnt stuff we had never learnt before and we got to try things we've never experienced before! Just don't ask Mr Love about breaking the perrier...!' Oscar: ‘It was very fun and you got to have a go on cross bows, and a bow and arrow.’ Lucas: ‘It was really fun, we got into groups and fired catapults’ Muhammad Ameen: ‘I really liked the canon because when your put fire in it, it went boom.’

Rowing Report from the Start of Trinity 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • May 21, 2025
The Trinity term began with 10 J15 and J16 rowers representing the Eastern region at the Junior Inter Regional Regatta. All crews reached the A Finals, with J. Howard and J. Hawkes winning a Silver medal in the J16 Pairs. Sunday 4 May saw the Senior Boys and Girls crews raced at Wallingford Regatta in some tricky cross winds. One of the Girls Coxed Fours was less than 1 second off a place in the Repechage. A valuable day of racing to the start of the Regatta season. The following weekend the Senior Boys and J15 Boys and Girls crews raced at Nottingham City. The four Senior boys that had raced a Quad the previous weekend, switched to a Coxed Four and had a great race against Emmanuel College, leading until the last 250m. The J15 crews were all racing as Development Crews (open to all ages), but again had some good racing beating from Club and Cambridge College crews. The First Eight put a tough morning race behind them to win the Open Eights event in the afternoon.  Daniel White and Nicholas Conway attended the GB U19 Spring Trial Regatta at the start of term. A 17th place was achieved by Daniel and a phenomonal 2nd place for Nicholas. This result gained Nicholas selection to race for GB U19 at Munich International Regatta. Some exciting racing saw Nicholas win Silver in the Coxlesss Four and Gold in the Eights. This week sees all year groups racing at the National Schools Regatta in Nottingham. The J14s Boys and Girls and J15 Boys race on Friday and the Seniors and J15 Girls race on Saturday, with the Boys 1st Eight racing again on Sunday. We wish them all a successful regatta.

A Display of Talent at the Informal Dance Celebration

By Eleanor Lewis • May 21, 2025
The school was buzzing with excitement as students came together for a lively Informal Dance Celebration! Children from across all year groups took to the stage to showcase their incredible talent, energy, and creativity.  The event featured a vibrant mix of dance styles, with something for everyone to enjoy. From the high-energy beats of Hip Hop to the grace and poise of Ballet, and the spirited routines of Cheerleading, each performance lit up the room and had the audience clapping along. It was a joyful celebration of movement, music, and student spirit — a chance for everyone to shine and support one another in a fun, informal setting. A big well done to all the dancers for their hard work and enthusiasm!

Cricket Catch-Up from the Start of Trinity 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • May 21, 2025
The Cricket program has enjoyed an outstanding start to the term, with the fine weather and sunshine providing the perfect backdrop for a series of impressive individual and team performances. Both our U13 and U15 girls’ teams qualified for the Indoor Regional Finals after strong victories in the County rounds, and their hard work during the Winter was rewarded. Our 1st XI girls have begun their season in remarkable fashion, progressing to the third round of the School Magazine Cup. A standout highlight came in their win over Oakham, where India Fox and Alice Brand shared a phenomenal 215-run opening partnership. We also celebrated a historic milestone as Bella Borges became the first girl to score a century for the school. On the boys’ side, the 1st XI remain unbeaten this term and have advanced to the third round of the National Cup, where they will face Oundle. The U15A boys are now County Cup champions, having already recorded impressive victories against Warwick School and Stamford in the National Cup. Across all teams, we’ve seen several hat-tricks and other exceptional individual displays that reflect the depth of talent developing across the program.  We look forward to building on this early momentum as the term progresses.

Lower School Drama Present Grimm's Fairy Tales!

By Eleanor Lewis • May 20, 2025
Our talented drama club pupils recently took the stage to perform a creative adaptation of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, captivating the audience with their storytelling skills and dramatic flair. The performance featured a mix of well-known and lesser-known tales, brought to life with imaginative costumes, expressive acting, and a touch of humour. From the dark twists of classic stories to unexpected surprises, pupils kept everyone engaged from start to finish. It was a fantastic showcase of teamwork, talent, and theatrical magic — a performance to be proud of!
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