After half term, the Cross-Country team enjoyed a drizzly afternoon of racing in Ipswich on Saturday 28 February. The course was extremely muddy making for challenging, slippery conditions. But the Junior Boys managed to stay upright and perform well with Jonas Tam finishing 3rd, Jonty Croskell in 4th and Oscar Parker-Wright in 11th. All season the Senior Girls have dominated the front end of the field and again we had 3 of the top six finishers. On this occasion, it was Amelie Ivie who timed her finish best to take 3rd place ahead of Bea Green in 4th and Olivia Allen in 6th. The team was completed by Simran Chawla coming in 12th. With 8 Senior Boys running, the team prize seems sewn up this year and we had 3 of the top 5 finishers. Over the 7.6km route, Ethan Buskell was fastest on the day, coming 2nd, just ahead of Arthur Dannatt in 3rd and Leon Liu 5th. Leo Pitt was 8th, Jeremy Lo 9th and Tom Copley, George Yiasimi and Edward Lott completed the dominating team performance all in the top 14. Next, on Saturday 7 March we saw the final race in the East Anglian League against runners from Gresham’s, Ipswich and RHS. The team travelled to RHS and the conditions were reasonably dry and still on a flat, fast course. Our only competing Junior, Jonas Tam, improved upon last week’s third place to come 2nd this week, while in the Intermediate Boys, Kit Rudling came 4th. In the Senior Boys we had excellent strength in depth, as we have had all season, with eight runners competing. First to finish was Ethan Buskell who came 2nd overall. Jeremy Lo came through the field strongly to take 5th place, capping off another consistent season. Leon Liu, Kort Tsui and Leo Pitt were next over the line, followed shortly by Tom Copley, Edward Lott and George Yiasimi. The Senior Boys, having showed such consistent quality and excellent camaraderie throughout the season, deservedly took home the East Anglian League Team Trophy.  Finally, 5 of our athletes represented the school at the English Schools National Finals in Liverpool — a fantastic experience with some excellent performances across the board. Well done to everyone who has represented the Cross Country team this season.

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

U18s This half term saw the U18s compete in both the Norfolk County Cup and the Rosslyn Park 7s. Following a valuable learning experience in the County Cup, the squad travelled to Rosslyn Park on 22nd March to compete in the Vase Competition the following day. The boys delivered their strongest performances of the term, securing impressive victories over Monkton Combe and Newcastle-Under-Lyme School. A narrow defeat to Dartford Grammar School, however, meant they were just short of qualifying for Day 2. Standout performances came from Casper Foden, Tom Ratledge, and Alex Sisson. U15s The U15s took part in the Northampton Saints 7s, hosted at Cambridge Rugby Club. They produced an excellent set of performances in the group stages, recording notable wins against Oundle School and Bedford Modern School. These results saw them progress to the Cup semi-finals, where they were narrowly defeated by a strong Samuel Whitbread Academy side. Overall, the team finished among the top performers in a highly competitive field featuring leading schools from across the Midlands and London. Standout performances were delivered by Ben Lowe and Toby Young. U14s This term has seen significant development from the U14s, who have worked consistently hard to improve both individually and as a team. Rosslyn Park provided a particularly positive experience, with clear progress evident throughout the squad. Sam Trickey and Biden Barton were standout performers. U13s and U12s Both the U13s and U12s competed in the Norfolk County Cups, hosted at Redmayne, and performed exceptionally well. Impressively, both teams went undefeated in their respective competitions. A special mention goes to Ben Guo, who played across both age groups, stepping up to represent the U13s and delivering standout performances against older opposition.

The Rowers have had a busy half term, with racing at Norwich Head, Hammersmith Head, Eastern Region JIRR Trials, Schools Head, GB U19 Spring Assessments and The Scullery Head. All year groups raced at Norwich Head, with wins for the 1st VIII as fastest crew of the day, Boys J14 4x+ and Girls J18 2x. At the Eastern Junior Inter-Regional Trials we had 8 of our 13 crews reach the Final, with the Girls J18 2- and Boys J14 2x achieving 2nd place. The highlight of the winter Head racing is the Schools Head of the River and The Scullery Head. The Boys 1st VIII were 15th Championship crew and the Girls 1st 4x- were 16th Championship crew. The J15 Boys and Girls VIII raced the Tideway for the first time.  At The Scullery Head, the Boys 1st 4x- were a fantastic 4th place, with the 2nd 4x- placing well too. The Girls 2nd Quad were 11th in WJ17 4x-. The J14 Boys and Girls Octos were 15th and 16th respectively- both inside the top half of a strong draw. Our three GB U19 trialists continued their selection campaign at the Spring Assessments, taking part in three days of racing in Pairs and Fours. James Howard and Ellie Thwaites produced strong performances to position themselves well in the rankings, while Nicholas Conway impressed with a 2nd-place finish.

On Thursday 26 February, a receptive audience in the Blake Studio were treated to another Amnesty Variety Evening. The evening was a mixture of performance and presentations from our school community, from staff and pupils alike. The evening started with an opening presentation from our Amnesty Group on the importance of human rights and then we were treated to a fantastic and poignant cello recital of Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 by Max Bruch. The evening also included musical performances of Army Dreamers by Kate Bush powerfully performed from Lower 6 pupil, Rosie B, Me and the Sky by Jenna Colella wonderfully sung by Maleeya Watts which was sanfg a compelling rendition of 'She Used to Be Mine' from Waitress by Ben G and Liebestraum by Franz Liszt masterfully played by Marcus Pop (U5). To end the evening was Evie A (M5) singing Imagine' by John Lennon, the perfect end to the night. There were various speeches and poetry readings that also took place and an emotive video from Aggie J (L6) on Human Rights. This event proved to be a great success and incredibly informative as well as showcasing the power of art in the fight for justice. Well done to all who took part.

27 February 2026 saw the return of the gloriously chaotic and hilarious Friends of Norwich School Annual Music Quiz held in the school’s refectory. The school’s answer to The Carpenters (Jonathan Peason and Anna Stephenson) were stalwart compères for the night, delivering ten rounds of music-based questions to suit all musical tastes and abilities. Even the Head chipped in with a round. Extra pizzazz was added by a scratch Sixth Form band made up of Lev, Louis, Maleeya, Sam, Sahib, Rosie and led by the inimitable Daisy Sexton. They played a mix of live music and sang intros for contestants to guess. A fish and chip supper provided by our fabulous in-house Catering Team provided a very welcome interlude. Mr Griffiths led a team of strict markers beavering away furiously between rounds, which resulted in one team of Musical Maestros being duly crowned at the end of proceedings. Funds raised of around £2,200 went towards FONS charitable priorities to support the school - a welcome reflection on the hard work involved in delivering such a joyously entertaining event. Huge thanks to all volunteer organisers and those who helped on the night, and to our ebullient and enthusiastic contestants for making it an evening that will stay long in the memory.

This term has been another successful one for the Dance department. Both the Junior and Senior Dance Companies have qualified for the National finals after competing at The Great Big Dance Off regionals in March. The Junior Dance Company were crowned KS3 Regional Champions, while the KS4/5 team were runners-up with an impressive 191 out of 200 points - just one point shy of winning. Both companies will compete at the National finals in Cheltenham in June. Following this, the Dance department showcased incredible talent at the Senior Dance Festival held at Epic, with over 140 pupils across both the lower and senior schools. This collaborative event highlighted the progression of our students from the start to the end of their school journey. The evening celebrated their dedication, passion, and outstanding commitment to dance, which has made the studio a vibrant hub of activity and inspiration. 

New skills learnt at DJ Club thanks to new decks!

Our Apply+ Programme supports pupils applying for academic courses at university that require admissions tests and/or interviews. This includes courses at Cambridge, Imperial and Oxford, the most selective courses for computer science, economics, law and mathematics and all courses for dentistry, medicine and veterinary medicine. We are delighted that 29 pupils in our Upper 6 have already received offers from Apply+ courses and wish those still waiting for the outcomes of their applications every success. These are: Omar Alfiky Daniel Amaka-Maidoh Thomas Cahir Isaac Chan Arthur Dannatt Katerina Di Maria Isio Emore India-Rose Fox Ben Griffiths Melissa Hawkings Lizzie Henson Ilya Higginson Celeste Horsman Thomas Hsia Thomas Irvine Anish Kantam Isabelle Last Leon Liu Georgia Lloyd Emmanuel Milne Ana Paduaru Maya Peart Adit Raje Mihir Sanghrajka Sruthi Santhosh Charlotte Scott Freya Simmonds Emile Verschoor Halvard Yip