Library Booked for FONS Coffee Morning!
March 28, 2025
On 28th March 2025, we were delighted to host the Friends of Norwich School (FONS) for one of their regular coffee mornings, but In an unusual location: The Reynolds Library in the senior school.
It is an important function of the Friends of Norwich School that they offer fellowship on site for all parents, guardians, grandparents and friends of the school. This large and mixed group regularly meets socially.
Over coffees and croissants, attendees exchange news, help each other with the inevitable complexities of school life and offer support to each other, as well as hearing updates from the school. A large group joined us for this latest gathering - a diverse group ranging in age from under fives to those in their 80s!
Trustee Jonathan Pearson ON provided updates on the recent successful FONS Music quiz and explained how numerous school clubs and societies have benefited from substantial grants from the FONS (thanks to their sterling fundraising efforts). He concluded with an interesting introduction to the historic Reynolds Library, changing its original use in the 17th century as a personal Chapel to the Bishops of Norwich, through to its current use as the school’s principal reference library, and including many nuggets of local history detailing its impressive heritage.
These coffee mornings are free to attend, require no advance booking, take place every half term, and are open to all. They offer valuable opportunities for fellowship and engagement.
All details of FONS can be found here and we encourage all in the Norwich School family to get involved. See: Friends of Norwich School | Norwich School
The Trinity term began with 10 J15 and J16 rowers representing the Eastern region at the Junior Inter Regional Regatta. All crews reached the A Finals, with J. Howard and J. Hawkes winning a Silver medal in the J16 Pairs. Sunday 4 May saw the Senior Boys and Girls crews raced at Wallingford Regatta in some tricky cross winds. One of the Girls Coxed Fours was less than 1 second off a place in the Repechage. A valuable day of racing to the start of the Regatta season. The following weekend the Senior Boys and J15 Boys and Girls crews raced at Nottingham City. The four Senior boys that had raced a Quad the previous weekend, switched to a Coxed Four and had a great race against Emmanuel College, leading until the last 250m. The J15 crews were all racing as Development Crews (open to all ages), but again had some good racing beating from Club and Cambridge College crews. The First Eight put a tough morning race behind them to win the Open Eights event in the afternoon. Daniel White and Nicholas Conway attended the GB U19 Spring Trial Regatta at the start of term. A 17th place was achieved by Daniel and a phenomonal 2nd place for Nicholas. This result gained Nicholas selection to race for GB U19 at Munich International Regatta. Some exciting racing saw Nicholas win Silver in the Coxlesss Four and Gold in the Eights. This week sees all year groups racing at the National Schools Regatta in Nottingham. The J14s Boys and Girls and J15 Boys race on Friday and the Seniors and J15 Girls race on Saturday, with the Boys 1st Eight racing again on Sunday. We wish them all a successful regatta.
The Cricket program has enjoyed an outstanding start to the term, with the fine weather and sunshine providing the perfect backdrop for a series of impressive individual and team performances. Both our U13 and U15 girls’ teams qualified for the Indoor Regional Finals after strong victories in the County rounds, and their hard work during the Winter was rewarded. Our 1st XI girls have begun their season in remarkable fashion, progressing to the third round of the School Magazine Cup. A standout highlight came in their win over Oakham, where India Fox and Alice Brand shared a phenomenal 215-run opening partnership. We also celebrated a historic milestone as Bella Borges became the first girl to score a century for the school. On the boys’ side, the 1st XI remain unbeaten this term and have advanced to the third round of the National Cup, where they will face Oundle. The U15A boys are now County Cup champions, having already recorded impressive victories against Warwick School and Stamford in the National Cup. Across all teams, we’ve seen several hat-tricks and other exceptional individual displays that reflect the depth of talent developing across the program. We look forward to building on this early momentum as the term progresses.
On 14 May 2025 we were delighted to welcome back on site the illustrious Norfolk Contemporary Art Society (n-cas) for the latest in their impressive programme of talks hosted at Norwich School. Our speaker was talented, London-based artist Trevor Burgess. He remembered fondly his local connections, having curated the Norwich Gallery and having been heavily involved in the arts scene in Norfolk during the 1990s. A significant element of Burgess's subsequent career has been as an artist-curator in a number of successful national exhibitions, during which time he has won numerous awards and prizes. Over 100 of his paintings are available at Bridgeman Images and were included in his lecture. His fascinating talk was on the subject of What is Colour. Trevor reflected that more than 40% of the human brain is taken up with processing visual stimuli and the colour palette of art works is hugely critical to their appreciation. This was sumptuously illustrated in a slide deck of painstakingly selected images. With such a large and compelling collection of beautiful fine art under his consideration (Monet, Matisse, Munch as well as eastern influences), Trevor‘s thoughtful and engaging talk prompted much debate amongst our audience of n-cas members, local creative artists, pupils, ONs and staff over refreshments with the speaker afterwards. Pupil Hetty who had helped at the event commented: As a Lower Sixth art scholar it was really interesting to hear about the topic of colour in paintings, specifically oil paintings. Last night’s talk by Trevor Burgess explored paintings being a platform for guiding emotions and creating a sense of space through colour. He addressed many artists renowned for their use of colour such as C é zanne, Matisse, Oskar Kokoschka and Joaquin Sorolla. One of the key notes I am going to take away from the talk is to paint the light and the experience not just the object. For our next talk in the Blake Studio, we welcome back the Royal Geographical Society for another mouth-watering talk over half term, to which all are welcome: Thursday 29 May – Royal Geographical Society public lecture - A Life in Green: looking back, looking forward – Sir Jonathon Porritt CBE. Jonathon is a very eminent writer and high-profile environmental campaigner. He is perhaps best-known for his work and advocacy for Friends of the Earth and the Green Party over many decades, bringing to national prominence important ecological issues and crises. Jonathon’s talk will address what we have learnt from the last 50 years of activism on climate and biodiversity issues, and what are now the priorities when the challenge has never been more pressing. We are very fortunate to have attracted to site a speaker of his profile and calibre, and this promises to be a lively and though-provoking evening. Timings : 7.30pm - Blake Studio Norwich School, The Close - doors open 7.00pm Booking link : A life in green: looking back, looking forward - RGS . Tickets to be bought in advance please as space for tickets sold on the door is likely to be very restricted. Details of Norwich School’s eclectic selection of cultural events round site feature in our termly publication, At Close Quarters , with the Trinity Term 2025 edition now out. See: Publications | Norwich School . Do join us.
Most (over 90%) Norwich School pupils who applied through UCAS to university this academic year have now received decisions from all the universities they applied to. We congratulate all pupils on their university offers and offers for apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships received so far. We hope these pupils will understand that the size of the Upper 6 year group means we cannot publicise every offer; the offers below all required additional hurdles (e.g. interviews/admissions tests/auditions/portfolios) as well as a UCAS form. Apply Plus offers received since mid-March (when 16 Apply Plus offers were shared): Caidon Cary – Chemical Engineering at University of Manchester Matthew Coelho Bartram – Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London Oliver Howard – Mathematics at Imperial College London Jack Rowley – Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London Offers to study medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine received since mid-March (when 18 of these offers were shared): India Bayes (ON) – Dentistry at University of Sheffield and University of Leeds Natasha Bew (ON) – Medicine at University of Sunderland Menuka Jayakody – Medicine at University of Bristol Sushant Singh – Medicine at UEA Offers to study creative courses for pupils who we have not yet shared offers for: Zach Baker – Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) at the University of Surrey Anoushka Craggs – Foundation Course in Acting at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Leah Feetham – BA Musical Theatre and Dance at Bird College Conservatoire, at Performers College (part of BIMM University) and Stella Mann College of Performing Arts. Foundation Musical Theatre at Italia Conti. Katie Jackson - Architecture at University of Liverpool and at UCL (15 applications per place for this course) Freya Tyack – Architecture at University of Nottingham Offers to study at universities abroad received since mid-March (when 5 pupils’ offers were shared): Bosco Tang - Dentistry at HKU (Hong Kong) Lawry Williams – Economics at the University of Western Australia (in Perth) Several pupils have secured reduced grade offers due to being identified by universities as ‘High Performance Athletes’ for a range of sports. We congratulate Fraser Evans on his Sports Scholarship (hockey) to the University of Birmingham.
Our Lower 1 and Upper 1 pupils performed in the Hall recently for their Informal Concert that brought joy, smiles and plenty of musical magic to everyone in the audience. For some of our young performers, it was their very first time in front of a crowd – and they rose to the occasion beautifully! From heartfelt solos to lively duos, the evening was a celebration of talent, courage, and pure enjoyment. Parents and families were treated to a vibrant mix of music, including a spirited drumming performance of Queen’s We Will Rock You, a dynamic vocal duet of I’m Still Standing by Elton John, and a crowd-pleasing rendition of Seven Nation Army. Instruments on show included piano, guitar, drums and recorder. The atmosphere was warm and encouraging, with cheers and applause filling the room. It truly was a night of happiness, musical discovery, and unforgettable memories. Bravo to all our brilliant young performers! Our next Informal Concert takes place on Thursday 5 June at 16:45 in the Lower School Hall and will feature pupils from Lower 2 and Upper 2.
From 15 to 24 May 'RETURN' by Marion Piper is brought to the Crypt Gallery. Marion Piper presents a sequence of paintings made over the past two years for her show RETURN at the Crypt Gallery. Geometric abstraction and colour interaction combine with her interest in early Italian Renaissance painting. She playfully explore rhythms, perspectives and spaces, both real and imaginary. 15th - 24th May Open daily 11:00 - 16:00 Closed on Sundays and Bank Holiday Monday. Free admission. Informal artist talk in the gallery on Saturday 24th May at 14:00, no booking required. RETURN is supported by NCAS Small Grants programme. Visit the NCAS website here.
On Tuesday 13 May the L6 scholars were taken on a trip to Kenwood House and Highgate Cemetery in London by Dr Farr and Mr Murray. The trip was intended to inform an ongoing discussion that we were having in scholarship lessons on identity and biographical writing. In Kenwood, the pupils presented on a painting of their choice to the group and we considered the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804) and her relationship to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. We then had a tour of Highgate Cemetery with a view to thinking further about social identity in the Victorian period. We were fortunate enough to bask in beautiful sunshine throughout the day. Later in the school year the scholars will be producing pieces of writing based upon our experience of these two fascinating locations.
This year has been full of exciting opportunities that have allowed me to grow both personally and as part of the school community. As a Lower Sixth pupil, I’ve been involved in the community service programme through volunteering with Break charity giving me valuable experience supporting the preparations for GoGo Safari. This gave me a real insight into the behind-the-scenes work involved in running a large charity event, and I came away with a deep appreciation for the time, planning, and dedication it takes to bring something like this to life. This hands-on experience has been complemented by a range of enriching academic and extracurricular opportunities such as the out of school talks hosted by the school, one of my favourites was the inspiring NCAS lecture by David Pearson, focused on book design and typography. It was fascinating to see how design choices can influence how we engage with stories and information. Another standout moment was meeting Ed Balls, where a group of us spoke to him about the school’s partnerships. Creativity has been a big part of my year too. I was involved in launching the Close Creatives Collective, a new Lower Sixth group that brings together students with shared creative interests. This has allowed me to work closely with the marketing department on poster design and visual materials, which has been a great way to apply creative thinking to real-life briefs. Alongside this, I’ve had the privilege of co-leading Earthwatch, an environmental initiative within the school. We introduced reusable cups and marked Earth Day with an assembly to raise awareness about sustainability. As a provisional prefect, I’ve supported school events, helped welcome new pupils, and even had the opportunity to speak in the Cathedral. I also joined Toastmasters to improve my public speaking skills, and proudly represented the school throughout the netball season—an experience that strengthened my sense of team spirit and commitment. - Hetty Holden, L6
Due to its success last academic year, FONS is delighted to support the 2025 Norfolk Maths Challenge once again.
On Friday 9 May, Rev Child gave an assembly to mark VE day. ‘Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2:22-24) The fact that VE day was a cause of huge celebration doesn’t really need explaining. The war was over – at least in Europe. War is an unholy thing. People on all sides of the conflict were in no doubt about that, not least because they had seen their churches and other holy places blasted and broken. That was true in Norwich when bombs fell around Cathedral Close. Some of you may recall a Remembrance address Mr Pearson gave a couple of years ago where he told us about the night the pupils of Norwich School helped put out fires on the cathedral roof. Coventry was bombed, and you can still visit the roofless shell of the old cathedral, which now has a modern cathedral standing next to it. The thousand-year-old Church of St Andrew in Plymouth was another notable church to suffer a direct hit as the nearby naval bases were attacked. One famous story that has been talked about again this week concerns this church. It was, in fact, a teacher who, on finding out that St Andrews had been bombed, arranged for a wooden sign to be made, with a single Latin word written on it: ‘RESURGAM’. Resurgam means ‘I will rise’ – it’s from here that we get our English word ‘resurgent’. The wooden sign was placed over the doorway of St Andrew’s, which was still standing, in the hope that the church would rise again around it – and, more broadly, that peace, civilisation and everything good would rise again. In the aftermath of the war, while there was no money for rebuilding, the smashed floor of the church was cleared and then cultivated as a garden where people could go for a peaceful wander. Eventually the church building did rise again, and if you visit Plymouth today you can see that the wooden sign has been replaced with a permanent stone sign that still bears that one hopeful word, ‘Resurgam’. It’s a story which shows how the people of that generation managed to hold on to hope even in the darkest days. And we did rise again! Look at us now in this educational community, in this city, in this country, all of which thrived in the eighty years of peacetime that followed the war. Look at us with our positive plans and our prospects – which we owe not only to that military determination that the war should be a success, but also to that civilian determination that the peace should be a success. Would we have been able to do the same? If it had been our generation dealing with the desperation of war, would we have held on to hope? I like to think that we would – and I think that partly because we have a long history of doing so. The word ‘Resurgam’, for instance, can also be found underneath the emblem of a Phoenix on the wall of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It speaks of renewal and rebuilding after the Great Fire of London. On Wednesday you heard Mrs Fairweather talking about the poems of Maya Angelou. You may know that one of her most famous poems is called ‘Still I Rise’ – you may even have studied it in English. It’s a modern classic, an expression of spirit and determination in the face of oppression. Being resolved that we will not stay down, that we will rise again, is a thread that runs through our shared culture and our national heritage. If you haven’t spotted the connection already, all of this is most appropriate in this Easter season. The Christian resurrection account, a story of resurgent hope, has inspired generation after generation. Jesus was dead and buried, and all hope was lost. But then it turned out, as our Bible reading today tells us, “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him”. It’s why the word ‘Resurgam’ belongs particularly over the door of a church. And it is why our country and our culture, having been influenced for centuries by faith, is inclined to say ‘we will rise again’. I think that’s something to celebrate on a day like VE day.
