Jonathan Pearson, Development Director, reflects on how Norwich School is working to broaden intellectual horizons beyond the syllabus:
"One of the joys of working in a school but not being a teacher is the freedom to explore life beyond the narrow confines of the syllabuses and the curriculum. We have worked hard in recent years to build links with organisations to feed the intellectual curiosity of our wider school community.
Norwich School is now proud to offer a range of engaging talks on its site suitable for all: pupils and parents, alumni and teaching staff; friends of the school and the local community. Talks cover general interest themes, and are designed to be readily accessible. Although we continue looking for suitable future partnerships, we are delighted to have long-standing relations with two parties in delivering their highly successful talks, namely:
1. The Norfolk Cambridge Society:
The NCS is run by alumni of Cambridge University and 2018 saw the inauguration of their series of highly successful and popular lectures on site. Most have been sell-outs and the quality of speakers has been quite exceptional, mostly internationally recognised specialists in their fields of study, meticulously picked for their skill in conveying complex subject matter in an accessible manner. Varied topics of great import are chosen covering all aspects of human existence ranging from the Hadron Collider, democracy, Russia, the British constitution, genocide etc
Lectures happen quarterly throughout the year, comprising a 45-minute lecture followed by a lively Q&A session and then guests head to the school’s refectory for informal discussion over a drink and to allow the audience to meet with the speaker.
Attendance is open to all, not just Cambridge University alumni and pupils from all schools throughout Norfolk are particularly encouraged to attend. The ticket price of £15 is discounted for those booking early and for those still in education. Monies raised go in part towards funding an annual assay completion run by NCS open to all Norfolk Year 13 pupils offered a conditional place to study at Cambridge University. NCS has also generously supported the costs of running the Norfolk Summer School, hosted and run by Norwich School for Year 12 state school pupils to foster educational aspiration in the East of England.
The next lecture will be on 14th June 2022 when Dr Matthew D’Auria, Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of East Anglia, will be speaking on “What is a Nation?” Dr D'Auria is a leading historian and will consider the true nature of nationhood and nationalism, its power to capture hearts and minds and its influence on world stability. This will pave the way for our fourteenth public lecture on 30th September, when Dr Bridget Kendall, Master of Peterhouse and past Senior Foreign Correspondent at the BBC, will talk on “Understanding Russia Today”. Dr Kendall has twice publicly interviewed Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and this will be an exceptional opportunity to hear the views of a leading expert on Russia.
2. The Royal Geographical Society:
The RGS East of England branch has for many years used the Blake Studio at Norwich School as its hub for an interesting series of monthly lectures on a wide range of general interest subjects. Topics covered to date have included travel, ecology, nature, geographical and historical topics. Acclaimed speakers have included photographers, scientists, authors and travellers. The format is a formal lecture, often accompanied by visually stunning presentational material, followed by an informal Q&A, with drinks available before the talk and a chance to meet the speaker at the end.
Tickets are only £5 payable on the door and are free for members of the RGS, pupils and students, and all are welcome.
The next lecture in this series is entitled: Wild: life and landscape, to be given by internationally acclaimed photographer Ben Osborne. Ben has sailed to Antarctica with Sir David Attenborough for the BBC series Life in the Freezer and shot still images for Blue Planet and Planet Earth and in 2007 he was the overall winner of the prestigious ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’. His talk will highlight the Himalayas, South Georgia, Greenland, Africa, Scotland and include other stunning locations. We are expecting a fascinating and entertaining journey which he will illustrate with many of his spectacular images.
It will be held on 10th May 2022 in Norwich School’s Blake Studio from 7pm (for a 7:30 start). All are very welcome, especially those seeking a calming and visually stunning break from exam revision. See: Royal Geographical Society - Wild: life and landscape - Ben Osborne (rgs.org)
The Blake Studio is an ideal venue for such lectures, having easy parking on the playground in Norwich’s medieval city centre with the Cathedral as the backdrop, excellent disabled facilities and an airy, well-equipped, purpose-built space for plenary events to accommodate audiences of around 175."
Future talks are published online and via school post. If you have any queries, please do get in contact: jpearson@norwich-school.org.uk or 07970 657 629. If you are considering attending, a very warm welcome awaits!