Amidst the heatwave, in the Norwich Cathedral Cloisters, Jonathan Pearson, Development Director of Norwich School, discusses the importance of the school's beautiful outdoor spaces.
"Good morning. My name is Jonathan Pearson, and I am the school’s Development Director. I am also a proud ON, with a lifelong curiosity about the history of the school, as it is 45 years since I first joined. Therefore, as we are outside right now, I hope you will indulge me a few words on the importance of the school’s outdoor spaces, as this year sees some important anniversaries.
A little quiz to begin with. Let me ask you to reflect for a moment on what you consider to be the iconic view of Norwich School. I asked my office colleagues, and these are their four top suggestions. You can vote more than once and raise your hand if this is your favourite view.
No 1: The view of the playground through the school gates;
No 2: The views from the Carter Centre of the Quad showing the Chapel, Crypt and New Buildings;
No 3: The view of the Cathedral when you come into The Close from Tombland looking through the archway of the Erpingham Gate;
No 4: The wide view you get from the river by the long jump and high jump across the cricket square and looking towards the Lower School and the Cathedral.
Which is the winner? [No 3 was chosen]
In fact, views 3 and 4 are what planning law refers to as ‘protected views’, panoramas of such beauty and heritage that the Council won’t allow development to spoil them.
It is view 4 that I want to focus on today: with your back to Pulls Ferry and the river, overlooking the Lower School grounds and commanding majestic views of the Cathedral in the distance. This is an historic vista little changed over centuries and explains why, when plans were drawn up for the Lower School in the 1970s, a low-level and very modest building was the only structure allowed.
It is a view that all of us here at Norwich School should take great pride in. The hard-working grounds staff do a wonderful job taking meticulous care of the
playing fields whatever the season. As Revd Child described in his recent assembly, it looks immaculate in its newly mown finery at this time of year.
It was however not always thus. It was 150 years ago, in 1873 that the then Headmaster, a Dr Augustus Jessopp, signed the Lease from the Dean and Chapter to take over this flood meadow to make it a formal sports pitch. Until then only knock-about games had been possible. Before any work could commence, squatters who had been making sport there quite unbearable had to be evicted. The first were easy – a large flock of sheep were led away to pastures new. The Norvicensian magazine reports the hazards of sportsmen careering into the animals and of course their prolific droppings. The second sitting tenants were harder to shift - rabbits. Losing balls down holes was a nuisance but it was only when the Headmaster sprained his ankle, twisting it down a rabbit hole, was their urgent relocation to Mousehold Heath prioritised. 100 cartloads of soil soon levelled the pitch. At last high-quality sports could be played here, as has been done ever since.
Another anniversary in the same vicinity: 2023 marks 100 years since the founding of the 8th Norwich Sea Scouts during the Headmastership of Revd W.F. Brown. This was marked by George Schofield and Natalie Chalk in their recent assembly and the centenary celebration was a great event.
This same Headmaster Revd Brown was also responsible for the construction around 100 years ago of the school’s first proper gymnasium for physical education, which is now the Blake Studio. It was radical for its time and hugely popular with pupils. This room featured high wooden wall bars, solid beams for leaping over or under, and ropes for scaling to the ceiling – we would now consider this a health and safety disaster zone. This small building was superseded at the turn of the millennium by the Daynes Sports Centre. If you think the idea of the Blake Studio as a tiny school gymnasium seems odd, it is worth bearing in mind that it replaced the utterly unsuitable School Crypt as the school gym. The Crypt’s stone floors, limited head height and massive pillars were just some of the more obvious drawbacks.
So, why this concerted focus a century or so ago on physical pursuits as part of school life? This was a popular educational theory entitled “Muscular Christianity”, pioneered by Rugby School and popularised by Thomas Hughes’ novel Tom Brown's School Days. It sought to demonstrate that a focus on physical prowess and commitment to health would go hand in hand with an increased commitment to faith and improved education.
In turn, this theory has its origins in the well-known Latin phrase from the Roman poet Juvenal: “mens sana in corpore sano”, translated as "healthy mind; healthy body" - a phrase widely used to express the belief that physical exercise is an essential part of mental and psychological well-being.
Moving to the present day, the benefits of being outside and exercising are universally accepted. Under Government legislation, physical education remains a compulsory subject in the National Curriculum at all key stages. You will also all be familiar with the Five Ways to Wellbeing from Mrs Fairweather’s tutorial materials over recent years:
1. Connect with other people
2. Be physically active
3. Learn new skills
4. Give to others
5. Be mindful
So, at this time of year, I urge you make the most of the benefits of our stunning site and don’t forget the part played by our predecessors to allow generations of pupils to enjoy it: wherever you are in The Close look to the skies and soak up views of the Cathedral and the peregrines; in breaktime enjoy glorious sunshine and green spaces round the Bishop’s Palace and the Lower School playing fields (now, mercifully, free of sheep, rabbits and poo); take pleasure simply in walking between lessons; get involved with exercise in all its forms in the beautiful outdoors. This is how memories of Norwich School are made, so that when you are all ONs and in 45 years’ time, these cherished recollections of sunny days round the Cathedral Close will help sustain you.
For your mental well-being and happiness, I conclude by inviting you to keep in mind ‘healthy mind, healthy body’ from this assembly, a mantra espoused by wise forbears from antiquity, by our 19th and 20th century predecessors and promoted by Governments and educationalists to this day.
I wish you a very pleasant day on site."
