Coke House

Welcome to Coke House!

"My role as Head of Coke House is most rewarding. I work with a fantastic team of tutors who are extremely dedicated and passionate about each pupil enjoying their time at Norwich School. We work closely alongside senior pastoral, academic and co-curricular staff, to ensure that each pupil’s needs are met, and they can go about their daily journey through school positively. We aim to support all pupils in the House to achieve their potential in an empathetic and compassionate environment, whilst helping resolve any difficulties and celebrating the many successes. The House takes its name from Sir Edward Coke - Barrister, Judge, and politician during the 16th Century. He pursued his career with a balanced perspective, an open mind, and a determination for morality – these are the values that we hope to develop in our pupils as they progress through each year and thrive in our House. “

House History

Coke House was founded in 1945 and is named after Sir Edward Coke, who was Speaker of the House of Commons and Attorney-General under Elizabeth I and was Chief Justice under James I. Coke was a zealous prosecutor of Sir Walter Raleigh (“Thou art a monster. Thou hast an English face but a Spanish heart”) and of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators. He is attributed with coining the phrase: "the house of an Englishman is to him as his castle". He laid the foundations of his family’s great wealth and is without doubt one of the most influential legal minds this school has ever produced.

Cokesians are expected to make the very best of their individual academic, musical and sporting talents, and to use those talents both for their own improvement and for the betterment of others. While inter-house competition is enjoyed, co-operation is highly valued, fairness is paramount and winning is a consequence of hard work.

Much of Sir Edward’s influence lives on today and, in some small way, this House follows his lead with a balanced perspective, an open mind, and a determination to do what is right.

House News

Friendly Competition and Teambuilding for Lower 5 at Bramley Lakes

By Eleanor Lewis • October 3, 2025

Despite the grey skies and constant drizzle, the opportunity to be crowned as the winning Lower 5 tutor group of Bramley Lakes, 2025, meant that all pupils gave it their all to bring home the coveted shield. Within their House tutor groups, and supported by tutors and pastoral prefects, the competition was fierce, and the lead chopped and changed throughout the day. Each group was being scored on their communication, effort, peer support and positivity. Activities included, trebuchet building, crate stack and other high ropes challenges, axe throwing and archery. Water balloons were fired from the trebuchets at rival Lower 5 tutor groups, with particular pupils getting even more soaked in the wet weather. It was a pleasure to see all tutor groups working together, and making the most of the day. Despite Nelson's best efforts, it was Coke that triumphed in the end, retaining their crown from the previous three years! Can Coke go for an unprecedented five in a row next year? Only time will tell.

Coke House Annual Visit to Holkham Hall

By Eleanor Lewis • April 29, 2025

On our recent Coke house trip to Holkham Hall, we were lucky to have ideal weather to admire the grounds in their full beauty. As soon as we entered the hall on our tour, it was apparent how interconnected the hall was with Coke house as all throughout the hall, there were many paintings of relatives of Sir Edward Coke, whom our house is named after. We were amazed at the sheer volume of artwork in the house from paintings to statues to murals. We learnt about the Palladian architecture style of the whole estate, meaning that there was a considerable importance placed on symmetry; It’s truly amazing to stand in the centre of the house and see through the whole property. One of the activities we did was preventive conservation, helping document emerging damage in the hall so that it can be monitored and prevented from further deterioration. After completing the necessary work, we took to the gardens surrounding the grounds for a well-deserved break – playing croquet and looking around at the various plants and herbs being nurtured by the gardeners working at the hall. Varying croquet skill levels and severe (but friendly) competitiveness meant we finished the day on a high. We left Holkham hall enriched with a deeper understanding of Coke’s history, and a better knowledge of our peers. - Nova Adkins, Zach Bradley, Rose Cook and Leon Lui - L6 pupils

Valpy House Celebrate Shrove Tuesday

By Eleanor Lewis • March 4, 2025

In keeping with Norwich School tradition, Valpy House led the celebrations of Shrove Tuesday by serving pancakes to the school at breaktime. Pupils in the house are encouraged to bring in toppings that they think everyone will enjoy. The traditional lemon & sugar option is still a big seller, while the more adventurous tastes could add bananas, strawberries, cream, marshmallows, and this year's new trend was biscoff spread. We sold almost 150 pancakes this year, with the proceeds raised going to Action Cancer UK. There was also a large bag of leftovers, which were donated to a local foodbank. Also at lunchtime we held a pancake flipping contest, with the winner flipping their (plastic) pancake 44 times in 30 seconds. Can you beat that?