LOWER 4 PUPIL, ORE AKERE, INTERVIEWS THE RIGHT HONOURABLE STUART LAWRENCE

June 28, 2024

On Friday 28 June, The Right Honourable Stuart Lawrence visited Norwich School, in is visit he spoke to pupils in an assembly and was one of the authors for our Lower 4 Book Festival. Stuart's visit to Norwich School was incredibly inspiring for our pupils. In between his activities for the daay, Stuart sat down with Lower 4 pupil, Ore Akere, to answer some questions.

You can read the interview below;


Ore: Hello! I’m Ore and I am interviewing Stuart Lawrence! My first question is – what quotes have inspired you in your life? This could be from a member of your family.


Stuart: There’s 2 really. One from my mum and one from my dad, my mum’s one would be “You have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason” which talks about how much I used to talk as a young person and maybe not listen as much as I really should have. I found out now that listening is actually a skill that you develop as you grow older, you have to listen to be able to hear what someone says and then reflect upon that; maybe as a child I wasn’t ready to really hear what they were saying to me. As for my dad it would have to be, “you can take a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.” So that concept is about listening to other people, learning from other people and not feeling like you know everything and that also reflects my day-to-day life now as an adult. I don’t know everything, I never am going to know everything but I have a thirst for knowledge, I have a thirst for acquiring knowledge which puts me in good stead. I feel that in that mindset every day is a learning experience, every day you develop, move forward and can get a bit better.


Ore: Ok that is great! Which book has inspired you the most? And is one that you think can inspire others?


Stuart: Now? There’s probably 2, one by Nova Reid called The Good Ally and that talks about how different people in different positions of their life have privilege and have access to things but in that privilege and access that you have, do you just close the door behind yourself? And say “oh that’s just for me!” or do you try and open it up to everyone and try and talk to everyone about how they can be better, having these bits of information and knowledge. I think that’s a really good book. In terms of children's books, I was a massive fan of Roald Dahl and the way that he was able to capture mood and feelings, I love the way he’s not afraid to make up words to best suit the scenario that he is talking about. We are very much prescribed to just use the words that we have or are told are ‘proper words’ or the ‘right words’ whereas he threw that whole thing out the window! This is true especially when you think of something like The BFG and the extravagance of the words that he then extended out and combined other words, I think its amazing to show everyone that you don’t always have to colour inside the lines. Sometimes stepping out of that and being a bit wild and whacky can produce brilliant pieces of art and that is what I love about art because art is one of those things that is in the eye of the beholder, what the same art what it means to me can be totally different to you, which I love as well.


Ore: So, which book did you enjoy writing the most?


Stuart: So I tell people that this is like asking who is your favourite child, if you have more than one. I’m lucky I only have one so I don’t have that questions asked to me very often but I would definitely say that Silence is Not an Option is the book that I am most proud of writing so far and I don’t think I’ll ever write anything as powerful as that. This is because, in essence what I was trying to do, is give my son the knowledge and information that was inside my head about what he was going to experience through secondary school. As much as people tell you about things and you read things I quickly realised that everyone’s personal experience of that journey is their own personal experience. You can give buffers of what it might be like but to say “it is going to be like this” - nobody knows. My childhood experienced of secondary school is not going to be exactly like my son’s childhood experience because I was 11 in the 1980s at the time the world looked like a different place, mobile phones weren’t a thing when I was at school. There were lots of problems and issues and even benefits I never had to think about. So now to think about him going through these things I had to factor all these different elements that is going to effect his mindset, his ability to do and to be the person I want him to be, so I keep that all in the back of my mind.


Ore: So on that note, my last question is - are you a non-technology family? Or do you use technology quite a lot?



Stuart: I definitely would say that we are a non-technology family but I think that what happened with lockdown was that as much as we tried to push our son away from gaming and being online, when your encapsulating people to stay inside their own little bubbles with no other outside influence that is really hard. Especially as I only have one child he really wanted that interaction with other young people like himself as much as me and his mum are ‘cool’ to a certain extent, it’s not as cool as being with your mates. You play football together, you run around you act silly, all these other things we couldn’t bring so we caved a little towards the end of lockdown with technology. Once we gave him the technology eh could then access his other parts of his friendship group but now that we have given it to him we can’t take it away. We try to balance it out, he plays a lot of sport and does a lot of activities outside of school but at the end of the day if that’s his way to chill and relax we have to make room for that.


By Eleanor Lewis May 29, 2025
Ellie Thwaites represented Norwich School in the Youth Nationals in Wales. To celebrate her success in this competition and in sailing as a whole, we asked her a few questions. How long have you been sailing? I have been sailing for my whole life, I learnt to sail in my optimist on Wroxham Broad. I sailed that for about 3 years, then I moved into the topper 4.2, and began traveling regionally and nationally to compete. I was in the 4.2 for about 3 years, then I moved into the topper 5.3 (which is a bigger rig) I sailed in this rig for 2-3 years, of which I became eastern region champion in my final year. I then moved into the ilca4 which I have only recently moved out of, I am now in the ILCA 6, I have competed in two competitions so far in the 6, one of which was the British Youth Nationals. What do you enjoy about sailing? I love how competitive it can be, and also how much freedom you have. Out on the water you have to be very self sufficient since you are out there for 4-5 hours per day. You get to connect with nature, being out in the waves, you see so many animals, like jelly fish, dolphins, seals. Do you take part in any other sports in school? I mainly take part in rowing at school, as it builds my fitness for sailing. I really enjoy it and the training really helps me improve my fitness. I love the competitive factor in rowing, and I love how you are pushing yourself to the max, I am quite a competitive person, so this drives me! How has Norwich School supported you in your sailing? All of my sailing and rowing coaches have been extremely supportive in my sailing journey. Norwich school has helped me by allowing me to leave school to go to events such as these and training, they have helped me with managing my work loads, and giving me extensions. What was preparation like for the nationals? I have been training a lot over the winter, most of my weekends are spent down to the south coast, Weymouth, for training weekends in the ILCAs. How did nationals go? Nationals went very well, I came into the event with the goal of coming in the top 8. But I was going to take it as a learning event, as I have only competed in the boat twice. The first day was very windy and big waves, these were good conditions for me, and lead to me coming off the water with some good results on day one. This consistency continued throughout the event, with mainly 4ths, 3rds, 2nds, 1sts. This meant that by the medal race I was in 2nd place. However my medal race didn’t go as I wanted it to, leading me to come 3rd overall. I was super happy with this result, I learnt lots about the boat and about the venue. All in all it was a very successful week. What are your future hopes in sailing? Eventually I want to make it to the Olympics, that is my end goal. What would you say to anyone who wants to get involved with sailing? Go try it!! You will learn so much and it is such an enjoyable sport, and life skill! Norwich sailing is so welcoming, and is for all skill levels. 
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By Eleanor Lewis May 23, 2025
This year's Children's Yoga Community Service group had great fun creating a yoga class for nursery and reception-aged children based on Julia Donaldson's book 'Superworm'. L6 pupils Uliana Bielova, Thomas Chester and Lizzie Taylor were later joined by Chloe Holmes and visited White House Farm Primary School, Magdalen Gates Primary School, our own Lower School reception class as well as four Once Upon a Time nurseries. They were greeted with lots of enthusiasm from the children and teachers/carers alike. The yoga lessons were fun, interactive and had everyone smiling!  The pupils themselves learned a variety of skills from lesson planning and working with children to public speaking and how to do yoga! They worked well as a team and got a lot out of the experience, as Lizzie Taylor explains: '‘I absolutely loved teaching kids yoga! Children are like natural bursts of serotonin, I always came back to school feeling happy.’
By Eleanor Lewis May 23, 2025
Congratulations to Lower Sixth pupils Nicholas and Kwame on their outstanding international sporting achievements this term, proudly representing Great Britain and England in Rowing and Rugby respectively. Nicholas has enjoyed a remarkable year, consistently delivering impressive performances at various GB U19 Rowing Trials. At the Spring Trial Regatta in April, he secured an excellent second place in the Pairs event, earning selection for the GB U19 Rowing Team. Competing at the Munich International Regatta, Nicholas helped the team win silver in the coxless four and double gold in the eight, triumphing over strong international competition. He will now progress to Crew Formation in July, where final selections will be made for the U19 World and European Championships. Kwame, a key member of the Boys’ 1st XV since Upper Fifth, was invited to the England U17 training camp held at Hartpury earlier this term. In a match against a university side, he made a strong impression by scoring in a victory for the national team. Kwame also continues to play a vital role in the Leicester Tigers U18 Academy side.  We are incredibly proud of both Nicholas and Kwame for these exceptional accomplishments and look forward to following their continued success in the year ahead.
By Eleanor Lewis May 22, 2025
We heard on the grapeVINE (!) that our own Head of Music for the Lower School, Mr Vine, is starting his very own chamber orchestra, so we caught up with him to find out more... How did the idea of a Norfolk Chamber Orchestra come about? For me, the perfect ensemble is a small group creating Chamber music. I love its intimacy, feel, vibe and with the right musicians you can ignite something truly special. I decided a couple of years ago that Suffolk needed a really cool string ensemble, so I set up Suffolk Chamber Orchestra and we have just given our debut concert in Aldeburgh at the Jubilee Hall, where once the great Benjamin Britten stood and performed. And I thought, why just have one orchestra! So, I also created the Norfolk Chamber Orchestra. Both groups are string ensembles, and both feature incredible local players (some ex-London professionals who now live here and some outstanding local musicians that I've taken 4 years to find) How long have you been playing music/singing? What is your musical history? My musical background started at the age of 4, I asked for a violin and that has stayed with me for my whole life. I have been very fortunate to have been able to play with every major orchestra in London and across the UK including Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Sinfonia of London, BBC National Orchestra of Wales to name but a few. I then got into recording and session work and have worked, toured and recorded with a lot of high-profile artists such as Madonna, Oasis, Paul Weller, David Gray, Kylie, Jamiroquai, Brand New Heavies, Take That, Robbie Williams and more. I've also enjoyed working closely with underground artists such as Pressure Drop, Fabio and Grooverider, Tipper and Goldie. What kind of music does the orchestra perform? Is there any way we can listen to it? At the moment the Norfolk Chamber Orchestra is just getting started and our debut concert will be on the 21st June at the Octagon Chapel in Norwich which is a really beautiful venue. Part of our plan is to champion beautiful Norfolk venues, and this is a great one to start with. It will a concert inspired by the coming of night called 'Nachtmusik' and will feature music by Mozart, Borodin, Dvorak and a UK Premiere by Eric Whitacre of 'Sleep' arranged for String ensemble. The concert will start at 7pm and will be for 1 hour and under 12's get in free! The link for tickets is here > Norfolk Chamber Orchestra - Norwich Octagon NACHT MUSIK at Octagon Chapel event tickets from TicketSource How often do you rehearse? How does this work with your work schedule at the school? Because of how brilliant the players are, we will rehearse on the day of the concert, unless we're doing something very contemporary or new. I am the leader and director which means I have to know everything that everyone is playing as there is no conductor - another great thing about having a chamber orchestra! Everyone is together, it's a collaborative feeling. A lot of our concerts will be at weekends, so it balances nicely with my work schedule at Norwich School. Who do you think has been your greatest musical influence? Why? I feel very lucky to have met some incredible musicians throughout my life. It's not necessarily the ones who are the best musically, but I love the ones who have the best stories! I spent some time with Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend from The Who and also Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from Led Zepplin. In terms in inspiring figures, they are up there - and you can imagine the stories! Also remember having a very long night with Tom and Ed ( Chemical Brothers ) at the Cobden Club in London. They wanted to talk about the intricacies of Baroque music and Bach's influence on everything! I then went back to their studio, and they played me the demo of Galvanise! Crazy!
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The U13 and U15 Boys tennis teams began their seasons with a fixture against Hethersett Academy at the Lower Close on Thursday 22 May. The U15s got the proceedings started with their singles matches and there were notable wins for Rufus Snelling at 1 against an opponent he had never beaten and Himash Amarawickrama at 4. Raffy Pantazis and Lucas Berney were just edged out in their singles matches so the game was in the balance going into the doubles. Things looked a little ominous as Rufus and Raffy were easily beaten but thankfully Lucas and his partner, Milo Delahunty levelled up the match with a convincing 6-2 win in their doubles match. So it came down to a shoot out tiebreak as it has against these opponents for the last two years! Lucas partnered Rufus and it was nip and tuck the whole way with some great doubles being played by both sides but at 8 all Hethersett just showed a little more composure and won the next two points and with it the match by 4 matches to 3. The U13s game was a little more straightforward with wins in the singles for Josh Bond, Will Jenkins and Sam King. Josh also won his doubles with his partner Arthur Lamb but it was left to the final pairing of Will and Aarush Arkala to secure the match with a dramatic comeback in their doubles. After trailing 2-5 they then won 4 games on the run to secure a thrilling victory. Final score a 5-1 win for Norwich School.
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Wednesday 21 May quite literally began with a bang! Upper 2 took part in the eagerly awaited Catapult Day, a hands-on exploration that linked directly to the engineering and design elements of our curriculum—with plenty of opportunities to apply mathematical skills along the way. The day began with students measuring the size and mass of a variety of projectiles—from the humble golf ball to the impressively weighty shot put—developing their understanding of data collection, force, and motion. Then came the real excitement: launching those projectiles! Starting by hand, pupils then progressed to an impressive arsenal of historical siege machines, including the Mangonel, Perrier, and Trebuchet. They also had the chance to try their hand at a composite bow and a crossbow, adding a dash of medieval flair to their practical investigations. The day concluded with a suitably dramatic finale, as the younger pupils joined just in time to watch Jacob ignite the cannon—because, let’s face it, nothing quite wraps up a school day like a controlled explosion and the smell of gunpowder in the air! Ali: 'Very fun and I learnt a lot. My highlight was when me and my team pulled the rope down on the perrier to launch the tennis ball!' Tallulah, Darcy, Olivia: 'It was very exciting because we learnt stuff we had never learnt before and we got to try things we've never experienced before! Just don't ask Mr Love about breaking the perrier...!' Oscar: ‘It was very fun and you got to have a go on cross bows, and a bow and arrow.’ Lucas: ‘It was really fun, we got into groups and fired catapults’ Muhammad Ameen: ‘I really liked the canon because when your put fire in it, it went boom.’
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By Eleanor Lewis May 21, 2025
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By Eleanor Lewis May 21, 2025
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.
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