Artistic Colour Banishes January Blues!

January 16, 2025

There was a real vibrancy to the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society (n-cas) lecture hosted at Norwich School on 16 January 2025. We are delighted to be the host site of the prestigious n-cas, which has been promoting modern art in the local area since 1956. Their presence on site forms an integral part of our public lecture programme.

 

Previous n-cas Chair Keith Roberts gave a fascinating presentation to a large audience of n-cas members, local creatives, staff, pupils, alumni and parents on three highly respected local artists, all of whom are sadly no longer with us, but whose work is still on display at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery permanent collections. Local filmmaker Mike Toll recorded intimate biopics of local artists onto VHS tapes in the 1980s and 1990s. Following his death in 2018 n-cas and the Norwich 20 Art Group have painstakingly restored these films and digitised them, and they will now reside at the Norwich City Archives Office.

 

Three 30-minute films were introduced and shown in full on the Blake Studio’s large screen of artist/sculptor Bernard Reynolds, weaver Kathleen McFarlane and painter Brüer Tidman. The films showed remarkable artists in their creative prime leading very different lives: Bernard’s work is based heavily on natural influences, and his oeuvre include some 2,000 meticulous life drawings; Kathleen’s love of 3D textures and vibrant colour in her intricate tapestries were astonishing in their size and complexity, not least because her career only really took off in her 50s; Brüer’s work reflected an astonishing talent for speedily-captured sketches of subjects as varied as Great Yarmouth’s Hippodrome Circus and harrowing images of Norwich’s Oak Street night shelter regulars in the 1980s.

 

Pupil Hannah, who has recently joined L6, attending her first public lecture at Norwich School commented: “Wow! This was an incredible evening, not only learning more about inspiring local artists following in the rich artistic traditions of this city, but also being able to meet fellow adults with similar creative interests to my own. I will definitely be attending again”

 

The next talk to be given by n-cas also promises to be of interest to anyone with who has marvelled at the skilful design of the appealing covers of Penguin Books

 

13 February - Norfolk Contemporary Art Society public lecture - An evening with David Pearson

David Pearson is a highly acclaimed designer and publisher, perhaps best known for his work with Penguin books and their beautiful design and appealing covers over a stellar 25-year career. See: David Pearson: “We can be braver with book design in the UK” - Design Week

19:00 – 21:00, with doors open 20 mins beforehand. Blake Studio

All welcome. Members £5.00, non-members £8.00, students FREE. No booking needed. Just turn up.

See: David Pearson, Designer and Publisher — ncas

 

For those who cannot wait that long, we are welcoming back on site in early February the highly respected Royal Geographical Society:

 

6 February – Royal Geographical Society lecture

7.30pm Blake Studio Norwich School, The Close, Norwich NR1 4DD (doors open 7.00pm)

Free for RGS members and students, otherwise £5. All welcome. Booking here: Rewilding: what does it mean for how we understand nature? - RGS


Public lecture entitled: Rewilding: what does it mean for how we understand nature? 

Cambridge University educated Alex Petter, RGS award-winning Geographer is now working as a professional ecologist and will be our evening’s guide for this very pertinent topic. Rewilding has captured the public imagination. As a movement that promises not only to restore nature but to reintroduce wildness to Britain, rewilding has become the latest buzzword in conservation circles. But what are the implications for how we conceive wildness, and does rewilding really challenge our traditionally managerial approach to nature?

 

All our public events will be advertised in our termly publication At Close Quarters. We will imminently be launching this term’s programme and will be publishing it here: Publications | Norwich School

 

We greatly look forward to welcoming you to our public lectures this term.


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Football Focus - The Start of Michaelmas 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • October 13, 2025
The Football 1 st XI has taken a significant rebuild this term after a large proportion of the previous two 1 st XI squads have now finished upper sixth. The newly assembled team have at times played some excellent football against challenging opposition and just need to add more consistency to their play and capitalise on the momentum they create in the remaining matches of the season. A particular highlight was back to back away fixtures against Wymondham College and Gresham's with outstanding team performances enabling us to claim two fantastic victories. Another highlight has been the re-introduction of the 2 nd XI who have enjoyed a mixed set of results so far but have benefited greatly from regular training and fixtures.

An Assembly on World Mental Health Day from Pastoral Prefects

By Eleanor Lewis • October 10, 2025
On Friday 10 October, Pastoral Prefects gave an assembly on the importance of looking after your mental health. World Mental Health Day takes place every year on 10 October. It is a day to remind us of the importance of good mental health and the need to prioritise and invest in everyone's mental health both as individuals and as a community. Poor mental health is not inevitable, and World Mental Health Day is an opportunity for us all to consider how, together, we can help everyone have better mental health. This year we're focusing on the mental health impact of repeated exposure to news coverage of crises and conflicts. The theme is: Overwhelm: when global events and relentless bad news become too much. Constantly hearing about negative news from around the world can feel like a lot to take in – and that’s because it is. Feeling overwhelmed by current events, no matter how big or small, can take a toll on our mental health. In the digital age, managing how much information we take on board might feel impossible. But you can take control and limit the impact of global overwhelm on your well-being. Keeping up with the latest news is simpler than ever thanks to smartphones and social media. However, it’s easy to end up doomscrolling – constantly scrolling through negative news for long periods of time. Doomscrolling is a natural and human response to a world that can feel unstable. However, it can also affect our mental and physical health. While online content can help us feel more informed, reassured and in control, doomscrolling can cause us to become more anxious, sad, or overwhelmed. Doomscrolling can also result in physical issues such as headaches, nausea, neck and shoulder pain or even difficulty sleeping. As pastoral prefects, we are keen to promote good mental health within our school community and we have found some top tips to help you cope with global news overwhelm, refrain from doomscrolling and find a way to balance things to improve the way we feel.

"Back to where it all began" - ONs visit Norwich School for an Informative Session on Apprenticeship Programmes

By Eleanor Lewis • October 8, 2025
"Back to where it all began" was the comment from our guests Ava Gulliver-Jary and Maddy Greenly as they returned to Norwich School to deliver a session on their apprenticeship pathways. Our U6 pupils were treated to an informative and fascinating presentation as part of our weekly FUTURES programme. Ava and Maddy were both sure that university was not the right track for them after A levels. Whilst still at school, they were proactive in seeking options locally, but which offered in-depth training, consistent mentoring, diverse work options and a positive career trajectory. Both were successful in their search for their perfect route: Ava with Smash Marketing and Maddy with AVIVA. Ava's work focus at SMASH Marketing is on client management, social media and marketing, with one day a week spent studying for her foundation degree. Maddy's work/study timetable is similar, but she is part of AVIVA's Global, Corporate & Speciality team, and tasks so far have included insuring arena tours and footballers' limbs! Both were effusive about the benefits of an apprenticeship: learning and on-the-job training, earning a good salary, no student debt, and massive employability credits as they are already in the workplace, doing important work. All work and no play makes Jill a dull girl, but Ava and Maddy were enjoying the social life afforded to them via work and salary, visiting friends at uni at weekends and taking numerous foreign holidays! It was wonderful to welcome Ava and Maddy back to school, looking so well and clearly enjoying and thriving on their apprenticeship programmes. We look forward to watching their career paths develop.

Dancers Enjoy an Action-Packed Workshop with DanceEast

By Eleanor Lewis • October 7, 2025
Last week, our Junior and Senior Dance Company pupils enjoyed an action-packed workshop with DanceEast. The afternoon was bursting with contemporary dance, creative challenges, and plenty of energy and enthusiasm! Our dancers pushed their skills, explored new ideas, and worked brilliantly as a team. A huge thank you to DanceEast for such an engaging and inspiring session - our pupils had a fantastic time!

Danny Bate, ON, Talks to Pupils About his Lifelong Love of Languages

By Eleanor Lewis • October 7, 2025
On Tuesday 7 October, Danny Bate ON came to school to talk to our budding young linguists about his lifelong love of languages and his PHD work on Proto-Indo-European. We learnt about the field of historical linguistics and language reconstruction. We had so many questions and pupils were inspired to explore this area of study further. Danny has a brilliant book newly published, "Why Q needs U" which explores the stories behind the letters of the alphabet and the oddities of English spelling. It ties in beautifully with WoLLoW lessons and we look forward to welcoming him back again in the future. Thank you, Danny!

Clearing Up the Scourge of Land Mines: RGS at Norwich School

By Eleanor Lewis • October 7, 2025
It was a genuine pleasure to welcome back to Norwich School on 07 October 2025 the prestigious Royal Geographical Society (RGS) for the latest in their long series of fascinating lectures on the physical, human and environmental world. It proved to be a profound insight into the work of the highly respected HALO Trust, the world's largest mine-clearing NGO, plugged into 32 challenging countries at geopolitical level and battling to make safe land contaminated by landmines from decades of conflict. Land mines and other unexploded ordnance kill tens of thousands of people around the world every year, mostly civilians, and the mission of the HALO Trust is to end this scourge. In his talk, Clearing a Path Through the New World Disorder, Major General (Retired) Rob Thomson CBE DSO, now the Chief Strategy Officer for the Trust, outlined the vitally important work that his organisation carries out round the globe. A large audience of pupils (including a contingent from as far away as Suffolk), staff, alumni, parents and RGS members heard an impassioned plea for political, negotiated solutions to the world’s conflicts from this soldier of 34 years standing. The audience made clear their strong social conscience in an extremely lively Q&A session which took place afterwards, and our speaker kindly stayed late to engage on a personal basis with attendees. Our next RGS lecture on site is on 06 November 2025 in the Blake Studio (doors open at 19:00) when ON parent Sara White of Explorers Against Extinction will be interviewing the hugely experienced founder of Bradt Travel Guides, Hilary Brandt, in her talk entitled: Traveller into unknown lands . Bookings can be made here: www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/into-unknown-lands . All are welcome.

L6 Pupils Join An Exciting New Community Service Project with Friend in Deed

By Eleanor Lewis • October 6, 2025
On Monday 6 October, our community service programme launched for our Lower 6 pupils. “Monday morning signified the start of our community service launch for our lower sixth formers, one of which is an exciting new project with Kelly from Friend in Deed. Four of our amazing pupils will be meeting weekly to plan exciting adventures with the old and the young, it forms part of a whole year group project where our pupils give up roughly an hour a week of their time to help in the community” said Nicola Hill from Norwich School. “It was a pleasure to meet these sixth formers to talk about what they are studying and discuss their aspirations for the future. Community services is such an excellent opportunity for young people to gain hands on and face to face experience. We are looking forward to seeing what this project brings to all ages” said Kelly, Managing Director of Friend in Deed.

Upper 3 Geographers Visit the Peaks!

By Eleanor Lewis • October 3, 2025
On September 30, fifty-nine members of U3 set off on their annual four-day residential Geography Field Trip to the Peak District, eager to ‘read the landscape’. Over the course of the trip, pupils immersed themselves in the natural beauty and geological wonders of the region. They visited the National Stone Centre for a dynamic round-robin of activities, strolled through the picturesque Dovedale Valley, delved into the intriguing Treakcliff Cavern cave system, and ascended Mam Tor to take in the breathtaking panoramic views of the Hope Valley. With notebooks and pencils in hand, pupils began to unravel the formation of iconic Dovedale features such as the Dovehole Caves and Reynard’s Arch, while also collecting river data to be analysed back in the classroom.  The trip also offered time to unwind and soak up the surroundings. Pupils enjoyed browsing for gems and fossils at local gift shops and relished the opportunity to relax at the scenic Ilam Hall youth hostel. It was a memorable and informative experience, enjoyed thoroughly by both staff and pupils alike.

Scholars' Dinner 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • October 3, 2025
This year’s annual dinner welcomed Professor Christopher Joby (ON) to speak about his life in languages. This thought-provoking lecture started with Professor Joby’s memories of life at Norwich School, the journey through his academic career and his experiences living across the globe. Professor Joby is a Dutch enthusiast (to put it mildly!) and he inspired scholars with his experiences of following this passion. He touched on Taiwan’s Dutch colony of 1624 to 1662, the desire of Polish communities to learn Dutch for economic reasons and the culture shock of moving to South Korea. Professor Joby has published on several fascinating topics and has kindly given a copy of his book Christian Mission in Seventeeth-Century Taiwan to the school in honour of this occasion. Following our lecture and some pertinent questions from the audience, Professor Joby joined our M5 to U6 academic scholars in the school’s refectory for a chance to discuss our own dreams, passions and thoughts of what the future might hold. It is always a joy to welcome an ON back to Norwich School, and there is real pride in knowing that a fascinating, fulfilling and far-reaching academic career all began within the confines of The Close.

The Annual Poetry Slam Sparks Creativity

By Eleanor Lewis • October 2, 2025
Pupils from Lower Four to Upper Six gathered for a vibrant Poetry Slam i n the Undercroft Library on National Poetry Day, showcasing an i mpressive range of talent and creativity. Performances i ncluded original works, from extended narratives to short, sharp pieces, alongside “found” poetry created from a page of a dictionary, classic verse by Christina Rossetti, some humorous contributions, as well as rap performances.  The audience was thoroughly engaged, responding warmly to readings that were by turns witty, moving, thought-provoking and highly original. Among the standout performers were a former Poetry By Heart Best i n County winner* and another prize-winning poet - watch this space for more on this. It was an i nspiring occasion, and a memorable celebration of poetry i n all it s forms.
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