FUTURE PATHS – WHERE ARE SOME OF OUR UPPER SIXTH HEADING AFTER SCHOOL LIFE?

February 17, 2022

Here at Norwich School, we place a strong emphasis on equipping pupils with the skills that they need for whatever direction they choose to take beyond School life. We believe our extensive co-curricular programme, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Norfolk Sports Academy, Community Service, Making Musicians and the Gather Arts Festival, reinforces and underpins academic success, and is valued by universities and employers alike. So, with many of our current Upper Sixth beginning to hear from their chosen universities (with 12 pupils successfully achieving Oxbridge offers, having chosen the competitive university route), we reflect on the diverse and varied future paths that our pupils choose on leaving School.

As well as securing places to study a wide range of courses at universities across the UK, some of our pupils choose to travel further afield to pursue their future path overseas, for example in the USA, Hong Kong and Holland, while others are looking ahead to work-based learning programmes or gap years.

With offers still coming in, the range and breadth of options and universities this year’s cohort can look forward to is truly impressive and our congratulations to them all as they begin to embark on future paths.

Medical, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine
Karthik Prabhu - Medicine - Cambridge
Abigail Hill - Veterinary Medicine - Nottingham, Surrey
Rohan Damodar - Veterinary Biosciences - Surrey
Isabella George - Midwifery - Greenwich
Alice Shaw - Adult Nursing - Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham

Engineering
Benjamin Groat – Aeronautical Engineering – Cambridge, Imperial, Southampton, Sheffield
Flynn Robbins – Aerospace Engineering – Sheffield
Bryony Brierley – Architectural Engineering – Heriot-Watt, Liverpool JM, Loughborough, Sheffield
James Dixon – Chemical Engineering – Newcastle, Birmingham
Arjuna Puvanachandra – Mechanical Engineering – Southampton, Bristol
William Blythe-Bartram – Mechanical Engineering – Sheffield
Robert Stevens – Mechanical Engineering – Lancaster, Nottingham, Sheffield
Arthur Wildish – Mechanical Engineering – Newcastle, Northumbria, Nottingham
Ben Scott – Mechanical Engineering – Loughborough, Exeter
Henry Farr – Mechanical Engineering – Bath, Brunel, Imperial
Aaron Chiu Ho Lun – Engineering – HKU
Isaac Betts – Engineering – Exeter, Southampton, Newcastle
Joseph Ford – Engineering – Southampton, Nottingham, Sheffield
Robert Mackintosh – Engineering – Loughborough, Nottingham
Isaac Mann – Engineering – QML

Creative Courses
Mia Bartram – Architecture – Falmouth Unconditional offer
Bryony Brierley: Architectural Engineering – Herriot Watt, LJM, Loughborough, Sheffield
Aanya Mukhtyar – Art and Design – London Met
Thomas Thornton – Graphic Design – Falmouth, Leeds University if the Arts, Northumbria
Amélie Clark – Music – Cambridge, KCL, York, plus Conservatoires: Guildhall, Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music
Poppy Woodruff – Drama – UEA
Abigail Mansley – Drama and English Literature – Manchester
Sam Honey – Computer Games Design – Portsmouth, Nottingham Trent
Adam Jones – Computer Games Design – Staffordshire Gloucestershire Bournemouth Huddersfield, Abertay
James Ribbands – Computer Games – Essex, Birmingham City,
Chloe Davies – Film TV production – Bristol, Royal Holloway, Newcastle
Scarlett Collins – Fashion Marketing – Manchester met, Nottingham, UAL
Amelie Bredican – Fashion Communication – Nottingham Trent
Tilly Banks – Art Design and Fashion Communication – Liverpool Hope, Nottingham Trent
Kit Whitaker – Advertising Brand Design – Falmouth, UAL, Lincoln, Ravensbourne,

Economics, Business & Finance
Oliver Holden – Business and Environment with Industrial Experience – Exeter, Warwick, Leeds
Joseph Roy – Business and Management – Oxford Brookes, Nottingham Trent, Nottingham
Poppy Woodruff – Business Management – UEA
Aidan McCabe – Business Management – LJM
Daniel Murphy – Business Management – Nottingham Trent, Sheffield, London Met
Charlie Humphrey – Bristol, Nottingham, Economics
Akshay Pissay – Economics – Nottingham, York
Luke Yerby – Economics – Reading, Sussex, Nottingham Trent, Kent, Sheffield
Taha Raja – Economics – Sheffield, York
Ben Lettice – Economics and Finance – Sussex
Vani Kumar – Economics with a Year Abroad – QML
Lee Lin – Economics and Finance with a Year in Industry – Bristol, QML
George Smith – Accounting and Finance – Newcastle
Jason Kwok – Management HKUST, Financial Technology, Professional Accounting from CUHK

Languages
Toby Hunt – Modern Languages – Durham, Bristol, Exeter,
Simone Heap – Modern Languages – Exeter, UCL and UCL Institute Paris
Laura Garrod – Modern Languages – UCL, Exeter
Candice Wong – Linguistics – Warwick, KCL, Manchester, Lancaster as well as an interview at Princeton.

Law
Leanne Leung – Exeter, Leeds, Law Batchelor of Law and Business Administration - HKU
Annabel Thompson – Law – Cardiff, Exeter, York
Orla Hardiman – Law and Business Studies – Liverpool, Nottingham Trent, Exeter
Anna Austin – Law with Spanish Law – Bristol, Nottingham
George Sommerville – Law and Business – Nottingham Trent

Humanities and Social Sciences
Hector Frith – Geography with International Relations – Plymouth
Luke Fox – Geography – Manchester
Joshua Means – Geography – UEA
Cora St John Cooper – Geography – Nottingham, Kent
Eleanor Bezova-Lyons – Geography – Durham, UEA, York
George McGuire – Geology with Geography – UEA
Oliver Holden – Global Sustainable Development – Warwick
Ella Craggs – Environmental Science – Birmingham, Leeds, York, Southampton
George McGuire – Exploration Geology – Cardiff, UEA
Abigail Cunningham – History – UCL, York
Sophie Cook – History – Oxford
Bertie Comer – War Studies – KCL
Edward Maxwell-Preston – History – Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Southampton
Nicola Hinsley – History and Ancient History – Swansea, Nottingham, Leicester, Wales Trinity, Surrey
Matthew Doylend – Ancient History – Newcastle, Birmingham
Grace Futter – Classics – Cambridge, Exeter, St. Andrews
Lucy Conroy – Classics – Oxford
Benjamin Tremelling – Archaeology – Cambridge, UCL, Exeter and Toronto
Emily White – History of Art – Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester
Freddie Power – Politics – Cardiff, Newcastle, Sheffield, Warwick
Daniel Collins – Politics and International Relations – Strathclyde
Benedict Cranfield – Politics and International Relations – Nottingham, York
Maxwell Murray – Politics and International Relations – Newcastle, Nottingham
Daniel Griffiths – Politics – UEA, YSJ, Winchester
Eleanor Porter – English – York, Strathclyde
Ruby McDowell – English – UEA, York
Bo Spurling – English – Bristol, York
Joanne Bale – English – York
Jemima Miller – Media and Communication – Loughborough, Cardiff, Newcastle
Isabel Cutts – Anthropology – Durham, Exeter
Adrienne Ng – Urban Planning – Manchester, Reading, Loughborough, UCL
Atiya Bussey – Psychology – Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Nottingham Trent, Newcastle
Elizabeth Collinson – Psychology – Nottingham
Emily Rivett – Psychology – Kent, York, Newcastle
Yin Liang – Psychology and Language Sciences – UCL, Edinburgh
Charlene Chan – Psychology – Sussex
Amelia Cropley – Criminology and Psychology – Nottingham Trent, Loughborough, Bath, Edge Hill
Frederick Paterson – Criminology – Lancaster, Manchester, York
Benedict Fletcher – Criminology – Manchester Met, Nottingham Trent, Leicester, Liverpool
Tatiana Mitchell – Criminology – Northumbria, Leicester, Nottingham
Lucy Jenkinson – Criminology and Social Policy – Cardiff, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol

STEM Courses
Max White – Biological Sciences – Lancaster, Warwick
Xander Wimmer – Biological Sciences – Reading
Chloe Cheng – Biomedical Sciences – Leeds, QML
Joseph Byrne – Biomedical Science – Sheffield
Chloe Loveland – Marine Biology – Newcastle, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Bangor
Joshua Means – Geography/ Marine Biology – Plymouth, Southampton, UEA, Loughborough
Finn Duncan – Ecology – Leeds
Aaron Chiu – Neuroscience – QML
Olivia Richards – Neuroscience – Bristol, Nottingham, Exeter, Cardiff, Leeds
Edward Wilson – Chemistry – Bath, UEA,
Toby Finch – Chemistry – Bristol, Newcastle, UCL
Edward Wilson – Chemistry – Bath, UEA
Navaneeth Hari Krishnan – Physics – Cambridge, Bath, Manchester, Durham
Jacob Brown – Physics – UEA, Warwick, Bath, Manchester
Stephanie Cho – Physics and Philosophy as well as an interview at Princeton – Bristol
William Hardy - Physics Astrophysics – Sussex
Zen Hei Lau – Physics with Foundation – QML
Doris Qiqi Zhang – Mathematics – Birmingham, Bristol
Venus Sze Yu Chow – Mathematics – Bristol
Sonny Cooper – Computer Science – City
Ben Livesey – Computer Science – Anglia Ruskin, Hertfordshire
Sebastian Gotto – Data Science – Bath, Bristol
Olivia White – Sports Science – Loughborough, St Marys, AECC, Edge Hill
Harry Mackenzie – Sport and Exercise Psychology – Edge Hill

International Offers
Aaron Chiu - Bachelor of Science HKU and Bachelor of Engineering in Data Science and Engineering – HKU
Jason Kwok – Finance – HKU Business School

In addition, congratulations to ONs Dan Possener and Harry Vincent who have secured places at Cambridge, Dan to study Theology & Philosophy of Religions and Harry to read Engineering; and Kitty Womack who has received an offer from Oxford to study English Literature.

Offers are still coming in this year and we wish everyone good luck for the remaining weeks!

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People, Planet, Partnerships – Norfolk’s youth speaks up!

November 19, 2025

Under the theme of ‘People, Planet, Partnerships’, we were delighted to welcome back on site on 18 November 2025 the fourth Youth Micro-Lectures event. This prestigious annual event is hosted and organised by Norwich School and put on in the Blake Studio in conjunction with the East of England branch of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). Pupils in Years 10-13 studying geography from around the country were invited to propose topics for short lectures, and the winning five entries were chosen to present in person on the night. Six pupils – Keegan Ansley-Daniels, Bethany Dampier, Gabie Dementjeva and Farah Alwi from Notre Dame High School, Manhaa Islam from Framlingham Earl High School and Lea Zegan (L6R) from Norwich School gave talks on topics they felt passionately about. In ten-minute lectures followed by five minutes of Q&A, we heard about topics as varied as extremes of European weather, the monarch butterfly migration, thoughts on an Antarctic economy, stories behind the Gaza headlines and the human price of clothes. An audience of their peers, Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, Old Norvicensians, teachers, parents and friends of Norwich School heard talks of great insight, commitment and hope, and our presenters fielded all questions fired at them with maturity and aplomb. The evening was hosted with characteristic panache by our very own Dr Anthony Speca, himself a Fellow of the RGS. The event’s honorary Chair, back for his fourth successive year, was Professor Tim O’Riordan OBE DL FBA, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the UEA. He pulled together all the varied strands with perceptive and generous reflections addressed to our speakers in his closing remarks. Huge thanks to our six intrepid presenters for giving us such a fascinating and enjoyable evening. They can be very proud of their performances on the night, inspiring us all that the planet will be in good hands when this generation becomes environmental leaders. Our next RGS talk on site is taking place on Wednesday 10 December 2025 and comprises a public lecture and social event. The talk is entitled: On thin ice: a life in the Antarctic to be given by Professor Dame Jane Francis. We are indeed fortunate to have a speaker of the highest calibre on site for this talk: Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of British Antarctic Survey. In 2017 Prof Francis was appointed a Dame in recognition of services to UK polar science and diplomacy. She became Chancellor of the University of Leeds in 2018, and was elected national President of the Royal Geographical Society in 2024. This event will comprise the talk itself from Jane Francis who will reflect on about her own life in polar research and provide valuable insights into cutting edge research underway in the Antarctic, as well as discussing the region’s many and varied threats. After Q&A, the event becomes more social, with festive with drinks and canapés, offering the chance to meet our speaker and audience members with a shared interest in our planet and its peoples. Doors open 7pm and the lecture will start at 7.30pm and is held in the school refectory at Norwich School. Booking link: On thin ice: a life in the Antarctic . This will be a popular event, so please book ahead. All are welcome.

Oscar Lawrence (M5) and his Journey in Wildlife Journalism

By Eleanor Lewis • November 19, 2025

To celebrate Oscar Lawrence (M5) journey in wildlife journalism and photography, especially with the news of his own column in Norfolk Magazine in 2026, we asked him some questions. What is the best part about writing for Norfolk Wildlife Trust? Tricky - there's so much to love about it. When I write my introductions, I use a couple of purely descriptive paragraphs designed to whisk the reader away into the midst of nature. When I proofread them, the experiences I've had with that species or place come flooding back, and I can remember every last detail of an encounter. And that's a great feeling. Which is your favourite piece? Why? My first ever commission from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust was fantastic. I was challenged with writing about a visit to Hickling Broad on World Swallowtail Day, and when I arrived I was so worried that I would get good photos, or my writing wouldn't be good enough. And by the end of that 3-hour walk, I felt so many thoughts buzzing round my head from the day that I couldn't wait to note down. I was already gripped, and it proved to me that journalism could be an incredibly rewarding passion as well as work. How do you explore your passions for wildlife photography and journalism at Norwich School? Writers' Bloc! Both a fantastic club and a fantastic play on words, I get the majority of my articles done in this relaxed, go-with-the-flow type space. I feel that in this environment I can switch off from everything else that's going on and invest wholly in my writing. How has Norwich School helped you/Supported you on your journey? I've told a good few teachers about my work as a writer, and their motivational and complimentary feedback has driven me to keep going. It has made me feel like what I'm doing can change people's attitudes, and help them see nature in a new and beautiful light. How has your journalism and photography progressed over the years? My writing has changed a whole lot! When I started this as a columnist, I felt I could just go with the flow and however much waffle is left in, it doesn't really matter as people will just skim through it. These days, I try to make every sentence, indeed every word, an immersive experience for my audience to keep them hooked the whole way through. When you write for more prominent news outlets, there's far more to consider about how you pitch your writing: do you go analytical and scientific, or creative and awe-inspiring? It's a difficult balance to strike. There is only so much you can read up about photography. My philosophy with that art has always been "learn by doing", and it seems to have worked alright so far. It was a big leap to switch from Automatic to Manual mode, but I've learnt so much by making the change. From a general skill-building perspective, my reflexes have certainly improved, as I leap for the shutter when a rare bird shoots past. What would you say to any budding journalists? Any tips? There's a lot to be said about this, and everyone will have different views on what the best policy is. But I don't have a set structure and I don't feel the need to bolster every sentence with rhetorical devices. The bottom line is, if you can read a line back to yourself and feel wonder, then it's a line well written. With creative pieces, your prose should motivate an emotive response throughout, leaving the reader flushed with excitement, sympathy and everything in between. You won't get to the level you want to be at without reading the experts' material. If you're lost, just skimming an RSPB article can give you tons of new ideas and vocabulary, even if it isn't about whatever topic you are covering. Finally, be self-conscious. As I write this, I am worried that I'm using "I'm" and "you're" far too many times, and that my answers aren't set out in an engaging way. As you write more and more, you will teach yourself to overanalyse what is on the page, which whilst mentally exhausting at times, means you can self-check without any bias. Essentially, if a sentence gives you (and I hate this phrase) the "ick" even slightly, then don't use it. Because the audience will feel that way too. Tell us about your column in Norfolk Magazine? (Which begins in January 2026) An amazing opportunity to say the least. I honestly couldn't believe I'd been accepted to write for the mag, and I was even more pleased to see the gusto with which they did accept me. I will have a column writing about the best Norfolk days out in nature for the first 6 months of 2026, after which point I will probably still drop in the occasional article. Currently, I have sent off my first article about the stunning Burnham Overy Dunes, and am working on another for the February edition. What's next for you? It would be awesome to lead some more tours, which I will do at Cley Marshes for Norfolk Wildlife Trust. After a successful walk this summer featuring such avian delights as green sandpipers, spoonbills and snipe, I am reassured that any other tours will be just as jam-packed with wildlife. My next will be in February, when I shall probably lead a trek down Cley Bank in search of snow buntings and velvet scoters. In terms of writing, I aspire to work-experience with some of the "big league" newspapers in London, and hopefully work shadowing some tours by e.g. Naturetrek or Oriole Birding to start with. What's the dream? With all these new technologies, surveillance and whatever unemployment problems AI will cause, the future is as worrying a prospect for me as it is for many others. AI can do so much in the way of data organisation, so I sorely hope that 20 years from now, readers will still value the investment and human experiences I convey in my writing. I want to spend as much time in nature as I possibly can throughout my life, and if I can make wildlife into part of my job, my dreams will truly be fulfilled. Let us hope that my heartfelt and awe-inspired stories will still interest the audience of the future.

Norwich School Choristers Feature on Exciting Cathedral Choir Christmas Album

By Eleanor Lewis • November 17, 2025

Norwich Cathedral Choir has released a brand-new album showcasing a selection of carols that has been recorded to celebrate the festive season - Lord of the Dance: Christmas Carols from Norwich Cathedral. The album was released on Friday 7 November on all major streaming platforms and features the choir singing 20 carols ranging from Away in a Manger to The First Nowell and Sussex Carol. In addition, the album is available in CD format from Norwich Cathedral’s gift shop for an introductory price of £10. This was recorded in Norwich Cathedral’s Nave in June this year, with the choir joined by music ensemble Onyx Brass and David Dunnett who retired as the Cathedral organist this summer after an incredible musical tenure of 29 years. Norwich Cathedral’s Master of Music Ashley Grote, who conducted the choir during the recording, said: “I'm really thrilled with our new Christmas album, Lord of the Dance, which is a collection of some of the best-loved carols, some in new arrangements. The combination of the Cathedral Choir, the newly rebuilt organ, along with award-winning ensemble Onyx Brass is a very special sound. It was wonderful to work on this project with Norwich-based independent record label Deux-Elles Classical Recordings; they have managed to capture a sense of what it is like to be in Norwich Cathedral at Christmas time. I hope that the album will bring a lot of joy to people this Christmas!”

Beautiful Sculpture Unveiled at Norwich School

By Eleanor Lewis • November 17, 2025

In some rare sunshine on 17 November 2025, a small group was present at the unveiling of a stylish and captivating sculpture located in Norwich School’s Jubilee Wellbeing Garden. Coni Meade was the worthy winner of a competition sponsored by the Friends of Norwich School to design and realise a beautiful artwork to be positioned in the unique Jubilee Wellbeing Garden, a stone’s throw away from Norwich’s magnificent Cathedral. All those pictured had been involved during the process to get to this point: Mr Campbell, Mr Cann and Mr Bowden from the school’s Art & Design Dept who had come up with the idea for the design competition, who ran it and subsequently helped winner Coni realise his vision; talented artist Coni Meade (ON 21-15) who was back for the day in Norwich from Uni in Loughborough accompanied by his proud parents, Nicholas and Mirona to see the work in situ for the first time; Madelé de Lange (former Chair), Anna Stevenson (Social Chair) and Julia Tooley (Secretary) who represented the Friends of Norwich School charity that generously funded the competition and the sculpture’s realisation; Jonathan Pearson ON and Sonja Mitchell who represented the FONS Grants Committee; Mr Sims who works tirelessly with his green-fingered gang of volunteers to maintain the attractive allotment and garden; ON parent Phil Thomas who represented the Dean and Chapter whose wholehearted support for the development of the garden space has been critical. The unveiling of this sculpture has special resonance for the Cathedral Close, complementing the exciting on-going public exhibition Art in the Close, combining ancient architecture with contemporary sculpture. Coni commented: “The artwork is intended to allow people in the Jubilee Wellbeing Garden to feel relaxed and to be reminded of nature, as they decipher the different quotes in the wings.” A huge thanks to all involved. Please take time to visit the Jubilee Wellbeing Garden to see this permanent and bold artwork in place.

Eliza Barclay (08-19) earns England caps

By Sonja Mitchell • November 17, 2025

Eliza Barclay gets England call up for the England Men's and Mixed Netball Association

Academic Enrichment Day Offered to Academic Scholars

By Eleanor Lewis • November 14, 2025

Pupils from Norwich School, Ormiston Victory Academy and Framingham Earl High School enjoyed a morning of interest and intrigue during our annual Academic Enrichment Day. Offered to Academic Scholars and high achieving pupils, the day, titled "Crime and Mystery" introduced pupils to a wide range of in-depth talks. A highlight was certainly a keynote speech from Diane Ivory, renowned former Scotland Yard fingerprint expert and CSI who explained the fascinating role fingerprint idenitification plays in solving crime, including some of the high profile cases she has worked on personally. Pupils also then had the opportunity to become Crime Scene Investigators themselves, by donning hazmat suits and setting upon solving a crime. 16 workshops took place over the morning, including a workshop on blood spatters, crime deviance and identity, smuggling and signals and body language and deception. Our great thanks go to Diane, workshop leaders and pupils for helping to make for a very interesing morning!

Love Your Enemies - an Address from Rev Child

By Eleanor Lewis • November 14, 2025

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48) Our assemblies this week have had a bit of a theme. As well as marking Armistice Day on Tuesday, we have had some Remembrance hymns, and we heard Dr Boutemy telling us about a member of her family who was displaced and relocated around Europe during wartime. I want to round off this week with a thought about the Bible passage we’ve just heard, where Jesus told his listeners to ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ Because during Remembrance, after the fighting and the fallen have been remembered, people of faith have one further thing to think about – forgiveness. I want to mention three memorials to the idea of Loving Your Enemies that you can find in and around this cathedral. The first is the most famous. If you were to head all the way down to the East End of the cathedral, into the military chapel of St Saviour’s and through a door on the right, you would arrive outside at the grave of Edith Cavell. Many of you will know that she was a nurse in the First World War; you may also know that, according to her Christian principles, she treated wounded soldiers whatever side they were on. She was eventually sentenced to death for helping Allied Troops escape occupied Belgium. The words she said to a visiting chaplain on the night before her execution have become famous: “Standing as I do in view of God and Eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” Edith Cavell was a Norfolk girl who became a famous Englishwoman, but in the end she saw herself as a member of the human family. That’s the cathedral’s first example of someone who forgave her enemies. The second example is much closer. If you look on the pillar wall just down here where the prefects are standing, you can see a plaque in memory of Alan Webster. He was the forward-thinking dean of Norwich Cathedral in the 1970s, and he introduced a number of things that we now take for granted – for instance, the idea of having toilets in the cathedral and opening up Riverside Walk. In many different ways he made Cathedral Close more welcoming. After Norwich he was made the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, which meant that at the end of the Falklands War in 1982, he was the person organising the service to mark the occasion. He was not content to make it a one-sided victory parade; instead he wanted to include prayers for the defeated Argentinians and he proposed having the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish as a gesture of reconciliation. At the time a lot of people disagreed with these ideas, but they came from his determination to love the enemy. The third example comes from the person I think you’re least likely to have heard of. If you were to go through that archway under the organ, you would find a small chapel with a small altar. And on that altar, the cathedral keeps copies (for visitors to take away) of a prayer found written on a scrap of paper in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany. It was written by prisoner number 31,795. It is a prayer of extraordinary grace, and it goes like this: O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us; remember the fruits we have borne thanks to this suffering – our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this. And when they come to the judgement, let all the fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness. Amen. This prisoner prays – quite counterintuitively – for the people who are treating her with cruelty. She doesn’t just forgive them in this life; she prays for them to be forgiven in the life to come, because the suffering of the prisoners has, in one way, been positive; it has allowed them to grow in character and spirit. I don’t quite know how these three people – Edith Cavell, Alan Webster and a less famous wartime prisoner – were able to show love to people it would be much easier to hate. And I also wonder how much difference it will make to us the next time we are annoyed, injured or inconvenienced by someone – and that will be probably be today. But I do know that when we’re in here, we are in a place that takes seriously the ambition to love our enemies.

Pupils Come Together for an Advent Calendar and Warm Clothes Donation for West Earlham Schools

By Eleanor Lewis • November 14, 2025

On Friday 14 November, our community came together for a Home Clothes Day for West Earlham Schools. This Home Clothes Day was a bit different where instead of a financial donation pupils were asked to donate advent calendars and warm clothing. Our families have done us proud once again and we collected 204 calendars plus half a Transit van’s-worth of warm clothes, all of which were dropped off Friday morning. Thank you to Charities Committee pupils Perdie and Peggy who helped with donations! The donations will go towards helping families to have access to warm clothes this winter and allowing children to enjoy having their own advent calendar to celebrate the festive season. Anything we can do to help the incredible teams who look after these children is wonderful and we are so pleased and grateful for how many of our families have donated.

The English and Maths Symposia 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • November 13, 2025

Norwich School was once again delighted to host the annual Norfolk Maths and English Symposia on 13 th November at The Space in Norwich. These two landmark events have become a firm fixture for pupils studying Maths and English at GCSE and A Level, and this year were attended by 550 pupils from 16 schools. The maths event began with a talk from Dr Nira Chamberlain, Principal Consultant in Data Science and Mathematical Modelling and listed as "one of the UK's top 100 scientists", delivered an eye-opening talk on the ethics of AI and how advances in the use of AI in business and economics can be both a threat and a cure for our global society. Dr Ben Sparks spoke on the origin of number and gave a live demonstration of Mandelbrot's fractal design. He also explained how to find out if you have -1 sheep in your field (if you put another sheep in the field you'll still have no sheep...). Finally , Tom Crawford used an ab exerciser and a ball to demonstrate how to track plastic pollution in our seas (hint: it has a lot to do with Coriolis Force). The afternoon was dedicated to English, beginning with a detailed reading of Macbeth from Lecturer in Early Modern Literature (and ON) Peter Auger, a crucial listen for pupils studying Shakespeare's iconic play for GCSE. Next, DJ Taylor, an authority on the works of George Orwell (and also an ON) DJ Taylor introduced pupils to the many facets of the author, an intriguing insight for pupils interested in his works. Finally, DJ Taylor was joined on stage by acclaimed novelist Rachel Hore, author of 17 best selling books, who spoke about her entrance into the world of literature and writing, an inspiring talk for any potential novelist. The events are made possible by our sponsors, Norwich Freemen's Charity, Lady Hind Trust, The John Jarrold Trust, The Paul Bassham Charitable Trust, Norfolk Cambridge Society, R.C. Snelling Charitable Trust and ON John Walton. We look forward to its return in 2026!

The Big Bible Visit for Upper 1 Pupils

By Eleanor Lewis • November 13, 2025

Upper 1 from Norwich School explored the Cathedral during the Big Bible visit, using the vaulted ceiling to trace major biblical stories. Pupils examined different Bibles, dressed in period costumes, and walked the nave to imagine events such as Jesus calming the storm as the seas parted. They also reflected on creation and prophetic tales while engaging in guided discussion. The morning concluded with a shared prayer for health and happiness for the whole year group, offered together in unity.