Mrs Cheryl Wood Addresses The Fourth Form For Her Last Time As Head of Fourth Form

May 21, 2024

Mrs Cheryl Wood said farewell to her role as Head of Fourth Form this morning and reflected on her time in this incredibly rewarding role.


"What makes you lot special? This is the last assembly that I’ll have with you as Head of 4th Form and so I thought I would share some of the things about you that I love, have made me laugh a lot, and while there are times, I have felt deeply sad with and for you … we’ll leave that side of it for today.


Seven years is a long time and over this time I would have got to know about 800 4th formers. Now that is a lot of names. Names are important, I think, and every summer and start of Michaelmas term I have had, at various points, tutor group by tutor group the names of you all on my recipe book stand in the kitchen. Cooking, learning names and testing myself – seemed like a recipe for success. At the same time, I challenged myself to name one special fact about each of you. And yet, there would have been times when I would have gone blank and let myself down but nonetheless, I believe that names matter and is the first step in getting to know you well.


Now talking about 4th form as a whole feels risky. You may not realise it but you change so much in your L4 year, metamorphosing into altogether more confident young people. You may not be surprised to learn that one of the best parts of this job is watching how the 4th Formers one has ‘angsted’ over are set free, liked winged seed loosed from the parent stem, half-fledged things set free into 5th form to fly on to develop your selfhoods and become the individuals you have shown the promise to become at the time you were selected for Norwich School. 


Starting in 4th form is exciting, isn’t it – all the opportunities seem to stretch out ahead of you. Yet, the poet Billy Collins in his poem entitled ‘On Turning Ten’ talked about how awful it was to turn ten. He said This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself, as I walk through the universe in my sneakers. It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends, time to turn the first big number.  I bet however that I should be able to find 800 current or ex-4th Formers who would say that turning 11, 12 or 13 had been the most exciting time in their lives and so here is a challenge for someone to write a poem about the excitement of starting at Norwich School in L4 to refute Collins’ idea that fun and excitement ends at 10.


Let’s think about some of the characteristics in the acronym Fourth Form: 

F       Fearful, eager to get things right and def a sense of going forth on a new journey

O        Overflowing with enthusiasm

U        uniforms so smart, clean and crisp – well for the first week anyway

R        reticent yet quietly confident

T        Timorous or over-confident

H        Hopeful

 

F        Feisty, shy, friendly,

O        organised or oh dear its very opposite

R        restless for knowledge, to get that answer, to be first, to be noticed

M       magic, sheer magic

Did you recognise yourself in any of that? 


More seriously and not just a list of adjectives this time. Let me share, if I may, the seven things I love most about you as 4th Formers:


  • You are charming, polite and a pleasure to spend time with.

 

  • You care and are kind about your peers. You go out of your way to support them in difficult times, to share their triumphant moments, and you show such generosity of spirit. What can I say but that you are actually very nice human beings. 

 

Some of the best conversations I have had with 4th Formers have been around the difficult times – and every year there are a number of these occasions. Hopefully you come to realise that these moments are just a part of growing up. When you get it wrong, you are not defined by that and there are opportunities to put matters right. In these moments you have often come along as a group, to tell us what you think is wrong (Funny that, I usually haven’t had to tell you, you tell me). To ask what you can do to help others who are getting it wrong too, and seeking support as you work to help your friendship group.

 

Again, what can I say – such moments of self-awareness, such maturity, such thoughtfulness, and in so many moments glimpses of what make you all extra special.

 

  • You are awfully serious about so many things. Your top subjects, your sport, your clubs and the causes you support. Such passion is typical of Norwich School and it is these things that set you aside. Caring passionately about something is a wonderful, affirming quality and many of you have this in abundance.

 

  • Your enthusiasm is boundless, life-affirming, and it is what makes being a teacher at Norwich School such a privilege. 

 

  • You are multi-dimensional – interested in so much with such a diverse range of interests and talents

 

  • You have made me laugh more times than you might ever imagine. Not at you – I hope – but with you. I am not sure I can elaborate without getting myself into trouble. Let’s leave it at that.

 

  • Lastly, there are your playground antics. I don’t think I need to add anymore, do I?

 

Seven is an important number and is the biblical number of completeness. It seems therefore to be an appropriate time to be standing back from a job I have cared deeply about. Why I have loved it so much is down to you the extraordinary pupils whose wellbeing and development I have been charged with and which has felt like a blessing. This coupled with working alongside the amazing pastoral team who work tirelessly to support you. You owe a debt of gratitude to your Heads of House and your tutors that you might only appreciate in later life. I have loved working with them all and say a big thank you to this professional team.


As you reflect may I share a few thoughts from the poet Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If’

"If you can keep your head when all about you   

   Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

   But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

   Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

   And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it," 

 

I mentioned at the start of this assembly the imminent departure of the U4s to the 5th Form.  I have also talked about journeys in other assemblies and so you might be wondering what the next part of my Norwich School Journey looks like. 


Looking forward with anticipation is important, I firmly believe that is what keeps us motivated and happy - and so I am looking forward to a timetable that is jammed full of the things that I love. First and foremost, it is a full English timetable. I cannot wait to be back full-time in the English department. It means that I’ll get to be a tutor again – best thing ever! It also means a day a week working in the Norwich School Archive. Did you know we had one? I hope to set up an Archive club and some of you might like to join me to record current news items for posterity. 

I leave with you a thoughtful poem entitled Farewell from the poet Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet I encountered in my first year at University. 

I have got my leave. Bid me farewell, my brothers!
I bow to you all and take my departure.

Here I give back the keys of my door
---and I give up all claims to my house.
I only ask for last kind words from you.

We were neighbours for long,
but I received more than I could give.
Now the day has dawned
and the lamp that lit my dark corner is out.
A summons has come and I am ready for my journey.

Thank you for listening..."

Tom Little KC, ON 82-91, Returns to Norwich School

By Sonja Mitchell • September 26, 2025
We are very grateful to Tom Little for being our guest speaker at Prizegiving this year.

Professor Charles Forsdick, ON 78-87, on the Role of Languages to Build a Better World.

By Sonja Mitchell • September 26, 2025
We were delighted to hear Professor Charles Forsdick speak about the importance of languages in society at a recent Norfolk Cambridge Society lecture at Norwich School.

Science and History to the Fore in Lower 3 Leicester Trip

By Eleanor Lewis • September 26, 2025
In the penultimate week of September, Lower 3 set off on their residential trip to Leicester. To complement their curriculum learning, we visited the National Space Centre, Bradgate Park, and the Battle of Bosworth battlefield. On the Wednesday at the Space Centre, the pupils learned what it takes to be an astronaut. They enjoyed an immersive show in the UK’s largest planetarium and scaled the rocket tower to learn about space exploration and its history. On the Thursday, we travelled to Bradgate Park, where we were greeted by some magnificent fallow deer stags with impressive antlers. We ventured further to the ruins of Lady Jane Grey’s house, where we were welcomed by Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey’s mother. Inside the chapel, we re-enacted Jane’s tragic story and then used our history detective skills to work out the purposes of different rooms within the ruins. After a spot of lunch, we began the gentle climb up to Old John’s Tower. Along the way, we saw veteran oak trees and discovered some very old igneous rocks—among the oldest on the planet. We were fortunate enough to be allowed inside Old John’s Tower, where the pupils loved the spectacular views. On the final day, en route back to Norwich, we visited the battlefield where Henry Tudor defeated Richard III. Under the instruction of Sir John, in charge of the livery, we were trained in medieval army combat and learned how to handle a halberd. We then explored the battlefield before, of course, spending some money in the gift shop!  It was a memorable trip that allowed the pupils to work collaboratively, bond as a group, and enhance their curriculum learning.

Girls Mentorship Programme Returns for New Academic Year

September 24, 2025
The school's first female peer-mentoring meeting of the academic year brought together fourth form students with sixth form mentors in an initiative designed to promote sisterhood and establish a strong sense of community within our female cohorts. During the session, younger students shared their academic and personal goals for the year in small discussion groups, with sixth form mentors offering guidance and encouragement drawn from their own experiences. The collaborative atmosphere allowed students to explore practical strategies for achieving their aspirations while building meaningful cross-year relationships. The session concluded with discussions surrounding the name of the programme, with students proposing to honour an inspirational woman who holds significance for them. This programme aims to foster positive female role models within the school while empowering students to support one another's growth and success. Regular meetings throughout the year will continue and this initiative represents the school's ongoing commitment to developing confident and brave young women.

Pupils from the Friedrich-Leopold-Woeste-Gymnasium Visit the Close

By Eleanor Lewis • September 22, 2025
On Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 September, 28 pupils from the Friedrich-Leopold-Woeste-Gymnasium visited Norwich School as part of their Languages trip to Norwich. On Monday, they were treated to a tour of the school in German by our U5 GCSE class and on Tuesday, the two classes were excited to see each other again and spent the afternoon speaking German and English to each other at a Language cafe in UKS, where they ended the afternoon by playing board games together. The pupils enjoyed getting to know each other and speaking each other's languages. They will keep in contact privately now that the German group has departed. Quotes from pupils are as follows: 'We were laughing with them the whole time!' 'We made some strong connections with them and will talk with them online' 'It was very nice to meet them and make some new friends!' 'It was very enjoyable and a lovely opportunity to practise our German and make new friends.' 'It was nice to meet and talk to them while practising our German.' 'We went to the city with them and loved it!' 'We learnt so much about their home in Germany.'

On the Front of the Book - An Assembly from Rev Child

By Eleanor Lewis • September 19, 2025
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27) There’s a saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Years ago I met someone who doesn’t like that saying very much. That’s because his job is to design book covers. I watched him lead a really interesting seminar where he showed us some of his designs. He explained how his artwork was trying to sum up – on just one piece of laminated, folded paper - the message and themes of all the other pages in the book. Just occasionally, some book covers do this by choosing a key phrase from the book and putting it in large letters on the front. A famous example is Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, where some editions had a cover that read: ‘Big Brother is Watching You’. If you know the story then you’ll recognise that as the sinister propaganda message that no-one can get away from. Some copies of the Lord of the Rings had printed on the front ‘One ring to rule them all’. And The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams had just two words on the cover of some editions – ‘DON’T PANIC’. It begins to make sense when you discover that some of the characters in the story are using a space travel guide (the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) which is designed to help you through any difficult situation. And what makes the guide so successful and popular is that its first principle is on the front cover. Whatever happens – DON’T PANIC. Have a look at the cover of your hymn book for a moment. What do you think? We’ve gone for a pretty classic look. The name of our school in gold embossed lettering, and the school crest complete with a motto in Latin for a classy finish. Sometimes I wonder – entirely hypothetically – how we might redesign the cover. If you were going to put a few words on the front, one essential message that everyone in the school was going to see at the beginning of every day, what would it be? Here are a few suggestions I got from people around the school, some more serious than others: · “Show Love” · “Shine Bright!” · “Treat others as you would like to be treated” · “Do some work in your study periods” · “Wake Up!” Actually, I think the words ‘DON’T PANIC’ might work here too. I hope you’re realising, now that we’re a few weeks into term, that panicking is never worth it – and if you’re tempted to panic then sharing your problem and talking to someone almost always helps. Maybe that would be good to remember at the start of the school day. This also reminds me of one of my favourite passages from the Bible, the words of Jesus we heard just now: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? … Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  I’ve had times myself where those words from the Sermon on the Mount have given me some perspective. Perhaps part of that passage would work well on the front of our hymn books – that wouldn’t be a bad thing to keep remembering. We’re not about to reissue the school hymn books with a new cover any time soon. But there’s nothing stopping you imagining a message on the front of the hymn book – whatever you need that message to be. “Don’t panic.” “Do not worry.” “Show love.” Why not have a few helpful words in your mind’s eye every time you pick up these blue books in the morning?

Air Raid Shelter Open to Visitors

By Sonja Mitchell • September 19, 2025
As part of Heritage Open Days we were delighted to open the Air Raid Shelter and Norwich School Chapel to visitors this month.

Contemporary Arts group Entranced by Collaborative Artists in Blake Studio

By Eleanor Lewis • September 18, 2025
Creative Arts are strongly supported at Norwich School, and this was very much in evidence with the return to site of the well-respected local Creative Arts group, the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society (n-cas). For many years we have hosted their ground-breaking talks in the Blake Studio, and we were delighted to welcome them back on 18 September 2025. Our talk was introduced by Lisa Newby, recently appointed Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Norfolk Museums, based at the Castle. She introduced us to Essex-based multimedia artists Daniel & Clara . Since meeting in 2010, the pair have dedicated themselves to a shared life of creative experimentation, working across moving image, photography, performance and ‘mail-art’ to explore the nature of human experience, the natural world and our perception of reality. With work recently on display at Norwich Castle Museum, this was a welcome trip to Norfolk for them and one which saw them entertain an audience of pupils, staff, alumni, n-cas members and local creatives with a visually arresting talk, including some striking images and poetic prose accompaniment. Of great interest were the selection of their short films that showcased their love of the natural world through landscapes, intriguingly crafted taxidermy imagery and appealing sound archives. In the ensuing Q&A the audience seemed very taken by their reflections on how up-and-coming creative artists, such as themselves, have to work hard to earn a living through constant innovation and multimedia versatility. Working with Norwich Castle and commissions from n-cas were undoubted highlights, readily acknowledged by Daniel & Clara. N-cas host regular talks at Norwich School. Their next talk is on 14 October – see: The Mike Toll Film Archive - three short films featuring David Jones, Michael Chapman and Oliver Creed — ncas . All those interested in the creative ats are welcome.  The next talk on site in our culturally enriching series of lectures with partner organisations sees the welcome return on 07 October of the Royal Geographical Society. Major General (Retired) Rob Thomson CBE DSO of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest mine-clearing NGO, will discuss how a changing geopolitical order marked by great power competition, increased conflict, and the retreat of multi-lateralism is affecting human development and security. See: Clearing a path through the new world disorder . All those interested in the natural world and geopolitics are very welcome.

Lower 2 Experience Stone Age Life!

By Eleanor Lewis • September 12, 2025
Lower Twos had a wonderful Stone Age Day, immersing themselves in activities such as tool-making, fishing techniques, and learning about the hides. They built a fire, cooked fish over it, which they all then tried, and some even bravely tried the eyeballs! Using tools and instruments made from bone, the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are eager to continue exploring this era in their Topic lessons throughout the Michaelmas term.

The role of languages to build a better world – the scintillating return of the Norfolk Cambridge Society to Norwich School

By Eleanor Lewis • September 11, 2025
Norwich School has an established tradition of working with partner organisations to host high-quality lectures on our site. We are particularly proud of our links with the prestigious Norfolk Cambridge Society, whose long-running series of 23 lectures has been amazing. The 24 th public lecture took place in the Blake Studio on 11 September 2025 in front of a capacity audience comprising school pupils, parents, staff, alumni, and interested members of the city’s intelligentsia. It was of particular interest to the Norwich School community that the speaker was one of our own: Old Norvicensian Professor Charles Forsdick , Drapers Professor of French at the University of Cambridge and Lead Fellow for Languages at the British Academy. He has published widely on travel writing, colonial history and literature, penal culture and slavery, all reflective of his lifelong humanitarianism. His topic was “The Role of Language Skills in Building a Better World“ in which he discussed the growing importance of language skills in an increasingly complex and dangerous world. Charles is well known as an academic of great insight and erudition, combined with natural talent as a brilliant communicator, a lively sense of humour and a profound social conscience. His love of languages has firm roots in the teaching he received at Norwich School. Indeed, his hometown of East Dereham featured prominently in his talk, and his links to the school and to Norfolk remain strong, Following his talk and over refreshments a lively debate continued, discussing a wide variety of thorny issues brought up in his talk. These included the short-sightedness of monolingualism, the value of languages to improving vaccine take-up during the pandemic, our woeful language proficiency versus our European neighbours and challenges with current grade boundaries in language A Levels. It was a pleasure welcoming the Norfolk Cambridge Society and an illustrious speaker of such calibre on site for such a compelling event. We greatly look forward to next term’s lecture to take place on 5 February 2025: How AI Works and How it will Transform our Lives given by Neil Lawrence , DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge, Senior AI Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute and Visiting Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Sheffield. Booking is now open, and tickets are selling fast. See this link: Lecture: How AI Works and How it will Transform our Lives – Norfolk Cambridge Society . - Jonathan Pearson, Development Director ( jpearson@norwich-school.org.uk )
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