Fifth Form
(Years 9 to 11)
"My name is Andrew Curtis and I have been the Assistant Head (Fifth Form) since September 2020. The Fifth Form consists of the Lower (L5), Middle (M5) and Upper (U5) Fifth Forms: Years 9, 10, and 11. Pupils normally enter the Fifth Form by transitioning from our Fourth Form or joining from another school. We typically admit an additional 25 pupils at our L5 entry point: those who have completed preparatory school and those who transfer from the maintained sector. Everyone is welcome.
L5 is an important year for consolidating knowledge and skills before deciding which subjects to take at GCSE. Expert staff provide support for both pupils and parents as this process is negotiated. In M5 and U5, pupils study their chosen subjects according to the relevant GCSE specifications, before sitting public examinations at the end of U5.
Pupils in the Fifth Form find themselves at an important moment in their development. The journey from being a child to becoming an adult is often exciting, sometimes a bit scary, but always interesting! Working with this group of pupils is a huge privilege as one gets to share in the highs and lows of the teenage experience. We aim to have unconditional positive regard for all pupils, working together to enable them to fulfil their individual potential."
Mr Andrew Curtis
Head of Fifth Form
Fifth Form News
26 Middle 5 pupils recently participated in the British Physics Olympiad Junior Physics Challenge alongside more than 12,000 other Year 10 pupils from 273 schools across the UK. It consisted of an assortment of physics problems and ideas ranging from technical questions from beyond the scope of the GCSE curriculum, to questions testing pupil understanding of broader physics knowledge and the application of the subject outside of school, including the latest developments in the sphere of physics publicised in the media and scientific journals. I am delighted to announce that our candidates achieved the following exceptional results: Gold Awards Owen Laidler Luke Roy Hugo Dawe Albert Rush Marcus Pop Simran Chawla Sophia Wigglesworth Tody Tsang Silver Awards Rupert Strike Min Ting Deng Himash Amarawickrama Nia Treavett Juwairiah Ahmed Rufus Snelling Safal Neupane Suvir Sanghrajka Alena Lai Ahmed Mohammed Selina Ip Serena Wing Sum Chan Bronze Awards Mahi Patel Sujay Kollipara Imogen Stevens Ethan Tam Nathan Ashley Preeyasa Neupane 
From Thursday 12 to Saturday 14 June, 67 of our L5 pupils travelled to the battlefields in France and Belgium. This experience offered a powerful opportunity for our pupils to connect their classroom learning with the real-life stories and landscapes that shaped the First World War. Over the course of the weekend our pupils had the opportunity to engage with the locations and the lives of those who fought in the war and explore personal connections to ancestors. We have been particularly moved by how deeply the pupils engaged with the land and the lives of those who fought in the First World War. Their curiosity, empathy, and reflective questions demonstrated a genuine connection to the history and sacrifices we encountered as shown by the reflections of each day three of our pupils below. I was impressed by their exemplary behaviour throughout the trip, their respect for the sites we visited, as well as for members of the public, was truly outstanding. Our drivers and guides repeatedly praised the group, and at several of the locations, the caretakers of monuments sought out staff to commend the pupils’ thoughtful and considerate conduct. I would like to thank our guides Henry and David from Anglia Tours as well as the staff who accompanied the trip: Miss Stone, Mr Grant, Mrs Arien, Miss How, Mrs James, Mr Pearce, Mr Peters and Miss Tilbrook. Below are some reflections from the pupils... "Arriving at Lijssenthoek cemetery after a long coach trip through France, we made our way along a pathway lined with the tallies of those who died and were buried in the cemetery throughout the First World War. Although we had seen the death tallies rise and fall by day, nothing could have prepared us for our first sight of a First World War cemetery. Continuing through the cemetery, we saw the graves of soldiers of many nations, proving why it was called a 'world' war. We were then given an activity to identify a grave from a soldier's last name and location in the cemetery. After a challenging search that made me appreciate the sheer scale of the cemetery, I came across the correct headstone. After reporting back to our tour guide, Henry, he told us background information about each one of our soldiers. This made these men more than just names on limestone bricks as it enabled us to relate to them. The lieutenant I identified, for example, played rugby, much like myself. After a delicious meal in Ypres, we continued to a secluded cemetery to the final resting place of Nigel Bavin an Old Norvicensian. As the last post played, I had the honour of placing the wreath, and silence fell on the cemetery. I believe that this experience was beneficial in making us comprehend the true effect of a World War as if we were born at the wrong time that fallen soldier could have been one of our classmates." - Joseph L "We spent the first part of the Friday tracking the progress of the Sheffield ‘Pals’ Regiment across No Man’s Land on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The Pals would have arrived at the Front Line trench the night before – a trench we were able to sit in. We went up the same slope they would have advanced out of, into the field beyond, and the first thing we saw, maybe twenty metres from the trench, was a cemetery. Suffice it to say that not many of the Pals got very far. Henry gave each of us a name of a member of the Regiment (mine was Sergeant-Major Frank Lewis) and told us to see if we could find our name in the cemetery. I was shocked how many soldiers were MIA, and whose bodies had still not been found. We then travelled to Newfoundland Park, which is Canadian territory, gifted to them by France after the war. This was where the Newfoundland Regiment began their advance on the Somme, and the trench system is still intact, as are – buried somewhere under the ground – bodies of soldiers. The losses sustained by the tiny population of Newfoundland (a mere 200,000 – just 50,000 more than the population of Norwich) lead to its joining Canada in 1947.  We also visited Lochnagar Crater, the site of where, ten minutes before the Big Push on the first day of the Somme, a huge mine was detonated beneath the German line. The explosion was recorded, but the scale of it is only truly realised by visiting the crater, the size of which must, despite 110 years of soil deposition, be seen to be believed. Next was Ulster Tower, a memorial to the Northern Irish regiment. The tower was a faithful reproduction of a tower in Northern Ireland that would have been the last thing the Irish soldiers saw of their country as they left, some forever. This is also the site of an excellent ice cream shop. Last on the agenda was Thiepval Memorial. This was a joint Anglo-French construction, with the name of every soldier whose body was never found after the Somme, and it is immense. There are upwards of 72,000 names on the walls of Thiepval, and only seeing every wall covered head to foot in names allowed me to visualise just how bloody the Somme was. Friday was sombre, but also very fulfilling. There are some things that lists of facts and figures in a history classroom cannot allow you to experience or prepare you for." - Jamie K "On our last day of the battlefields trip of 2025, we visited many spectacular, heart aching and delicious places including a Belgium chocolate shop! After the fulfilling treat of the chocolate, we travelled to the Passchendaele Museum where we were given immersive experiences of what life was like for a soldier in the First World War. The experiences included displays of uniform and the difference between the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance, a recreation of the underground bunkers and bunk beds (which were made of wood and chicken wire), a recreation of the trenches where we could see the “the elephant rooms” which were hollowed out holes which we were able to just about comfortably stand in. The museum was able to recount the soldier’s experience at Passchendaele including one soldier who had spent over six months elsewhere along the trenches which he would rather do all over again then those three months of Passchendaele. The last British cemetery we visited was Tyne Cot. Whilst we were there, we were given the task of splitting into pairs and choosing a grave with preferably a name, epitaph or one with a connection to us or our region. Most people chose soldiers who died young or fought as part of the Norfolk or Suffolk regiment. Each gravestone was perfectly kept and respected. Our last location, the German Cemetery of Langemark, was a stark contrast to the British graves. While the Triple Entente make their cemeteries extravagant and airy so much that it feels like it could be a variation of heaven, the German graves are small uplifted dark grey rectangles where there are over 44,000 soldiers of Christian and Jewish beliefs were buried next to each other as equals against all antisemitism in Germany at that time. I think this is particularly striking considering the start of WWII and the holocaust occurred only around twenty years later. This trip was one where we were taught valuable information and we all are very thankful for everyone who was involved in organising such an enjoyable and educational weekend. Though the trip was emotional it was something that all of us pupils will forever be grateful for." - Antonia C
Mr Pearce, Deputy Head of UCAS, Politics Teacher and our Apply Plus programme lead, offers some top tips for the art of revising well. As we approach Trinity Term and public examinations loom on the horizon, remember that lots of the keys to success are surprisingly simple and manageable. The top tips below come from a wide range of previous pupils who are now off doing brilliant things at university, the workplace, and beyond, but who were once nervously staring at fast-approaching exams just like you are now. Here are their pearls of wisdom on revision … Don’t wait until you feel like it: if you wait until you ‘feel like’ revising, it will likely never happen. Set yourself a start time, and then get cracking. As someone once said, “Just do it”. You’ll feel much more like it when you’ve made a start, and the sense of satisfaction and progress kick-starts an upwards progression. More often than not, positive emotions follow positive actions rather than the other way around. Make a plan: having all your topics planned out and assigned to particular revision slots on particular days is really useful. This is the only way you can be sure that you have enough time to get through everything, so make a plan and do your best to stick to it. Be kind to yourself too – “no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy”, and precious few pupils stick perfectly to their revision aims: but the very act of making a plan helps you take control and measure your progress as you go along. Revise actively! My old biology teacher at school always use to say his number one, most magical, most sophisticated and most earth-shattering revision tip was… “use a pen”. Underwhelmed? So was I. But it’s fundamental: simply ‘reading over’ information is not an effective way to get it to stick in your brain. So use a pen – or whatever other format you’ll use in the real exam – and revise actively! One of the most effective ways to do this is to make a great set of notes on each topic, then make notes on your notes, then condense them down until the whole topic is summarised on a single side of A4. Other great active revision tools include the highly recommended “write, learn, cover, test, check, repeat as required" method, as well as good old flash cards, mind maps, posters and mnemonics. Find what works for you, but always revise actively . Sit at a proper desk: I once tried ‘revising’ in the sunshine because it was a nice day. It didn’t work. The temptation to revise on your bed or on the sofa can be strong too, but the only place for really focused work is a proper table or desk. After all, it also replicates the real exam situation better, so it’s a win-win. Use a countdown clock: at the start of a work session, set a countdown timer for the amount you intend to do. Start the timer and start working, but STOP the timer whenever you do anything that is not actually revision… making drinks, organising your folder, going to the toilet, and so on. This will focus your work time on productive work more effectively, which, in turn, will also ensure you get better time off; work should be work, rest should be rest, play should be play. The more effectively and efficiently you work, the better your time off will feel too. Avoid distractions: we all know the dangers of procrastination, where we put off work until we’ve tidied our room or decorated our revision timetable. Outright distraction is even more dangerous, so you need to be ruthless: turn the music off (unless it truly helps you learn), leave your phone in another room entirely, and bring a supply of snacks and drinks to your desk so you don’t have to make that lengthy trip to the kitchen. And remember, if you find yourself getting distracted, stop the clock, because you’ve stopped working! Take short breaks: your brain can’t focus on difficult revision for any more than an hour in one go, possibly even less. Find out what works for you, but 30 minutes solid revision followed by a 5-minute break is often a good pattern. Practice papers / questions: this is crucial! You’re spending all this time gaining knowledge, but we all know the painful truth that your beautiful hard-earned knowledge isn’t worth very much if you can’t apply it to the exam questions. Like any great sportsperson, you don’t just need power: you need technique to enable you to get the most out of that power. In exams, knowledge is power, but we need to know exactly what the examiners want us to do with it in the exam. So: practise lots of timed exam questions, and use mark schemes to help you assess how well you did. Ask your teachers to mark them too – it’s the sort of thing we really like because it shows you’re doing all the right things! Stay healthy – sleep well, eat well and exercise: it can be tempting to go ‘revision crazy’ around exam time… “I’ll sleep when exams are over!” But revision is a very brain-hungry activity, and your brain is an energy-hungry machine: it needs servicing and maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape. The reality is that the right balance of sleep, healthy eating, exercise, connecting with friends and having some fun become more rather than less important during exams. Did you know that doing exercise makes the knowledge you’ve revised stick in your brain better, even if the exercise comes after the revision session rather than before it? Make these good things happen. You’ll be infinitely more effective at revising if you’re keeping yourself well. Balance is key: here’s the equation: rest without work is less fulfilling, less rewarding and less fun. Work without rest is less productive, less effective, and more stressful. All performers, from Olympic athletes on the track to world-class musicians on the stage, know that no success comes without serious hard work, but also that appropriate rest is essential for growth and strength. If it’s good enough for them… Not all of these suggestions will suit everyone, but the most important thing for everyone to remember is that you need to be organised, balanced and disciplined when it comes to revision. After all, revision lasts just a little while – but the qualifications you stand to achieve last a lifetime. Make the most of revision time, and we look forward to seeing your smile on results day. And if you need us before then, reach out – to your tutor, your teachers, your Head of House, or the Wellbeing Team: we’re all here to help!
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