News & Events
Latest News From the Senior and Lower Schools
Lower School News
Norwich Lower School is proud to announce that the Little Roots allotment has been named a winner in the Bees’ Needs Champions Awards 2026, a national recognition scheme led by DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The Little Roots allotment has received one of the 2026 Bees’ Needs Champion Awards in recognition of its commitment to supporting pollinators and enhancing biodiversity through practical environmental action. The prestigious award celebrates organisations that are making a positive difference for bees and other pollinating insects by creating and protecting habitats, raising awareness, and encouraging community involvement. Recognised in the Communities category, Little Roots was commended for its efforts to create pollinator-friendly spaces and enrich local habitats. Through initiatives such as wildflower planting, habitat creation and the addition of a pond, the Little Roots allotment is helping to create an environment that not only enriching for people, but for wildlife too. The Bees’ Needs Champion Awards celebrate the work of organisations across the country that are taking action to support pollinators. Protecting pollinators is essential for maintaining a healthy environment, supporting biodiversity and ensuring thriving green spaces for future generations. Commenting on the award, Mr Worton and Mrs Morgan said: “Protecting our pollinators is essential for a healthy environment and thriving communities. Through our biodiversity initiatives, we are helping to safeguard important habitats while creating greener, more vibrant spaces that pupils and wildlife can enjoy. We are delighted to receive this national recognition for our efforts.” The awards were presented on 14th July, at RHS Wisley, to tie in with Bees’ Needs week. Mr and Mrs Boothby were presented with the award by Mary Creagh MP, the Defra Minister for Nature. The Norwich Lower School gardeners have also recently been recognised in two separate gardening competitions at the recent Royal Norfolk Show. Lower One and Upper One were thrilled to be awarded a gold medal for outstanding exhibit in the School Gardening competition; their entry featured a beautifully designed wheelbarrow display inspired by Beatrix Potter’s Mr McGregor’s garden, created in celebration of 160 years since Beatrix Potter’s birth. In the School Growing competition over forty pupils eagerly took part, nurturing their basil, calendula and radish plants at home with care and commitment in the weeks leading up to the Show. The best examples from each category were then selected and taken to the Showground, where they were judged against entries from other schools. Norwich School pupils were delighted to win all three categories which they entered. Mrs Morgan said: “We are incredibly proud of our pupils for their creativity, perseverance and teamwork and we are delighted to celebrate winning four gold medals at this year’s Royal Norfolk Show! Outdoor learning and gardening skills are interwoven throughout the Lower School curriculum, and our successes at both the Bees’ Needs Champions awards and the Norfolk Show are a testament to this.”
After qualifying for the National Finals at the East Area Prep School Athletics Championships, held at Bedford International Stadium, Thomas secured 1st place in the U12 Discus with an impressive throw of 25m. As a result, Thomas then went on to represent the school at the National Finals, hosted at the iconic Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. After his first three throws, he was sitting in 2nd place. Under the competition rules, only the top eight athletes after three rounds earned a fourth and final throw. Saving his very best until last, Thomas produced a sensational final throw of 28m to claim the gold medal and become the U12 National Discus Champion! Having only taken up the discus in April, this is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the dedication, hard work and commitment Thomas has shown in such a short space of time. Congratulations , Thomas – a fantastic accomplishment and one to be incredibly proud of!
On a beautifully warm and sunny day, the Lower School pupils brought music and joy to the residents of Abbeyfields with a delightful outdoor performance on the lawn. With umbrellas providing welcome shade, the setting was filled with a wonderful sense of community as pupils and residents gathered together. The programme opened with Lower 2 Little Voices, who gave an energetic and vibrant rendition of El Cumbanchero from Havana, immediately lifting spirits. This was followed by the ever-entertaining School Dinners, whose fun and characterful performance showcased an impressive four-part harmony, much to the resident's delight. Then, a special highlight came from U3 pupil Betsy Chuan, who gave a poised and expressive solo piano performance of Ballade pour Adeline, capturing the attention of all present. Finally, the Lower School Chamber Choir continued the programme with a more reflective set, performing O Moon and The Water is Wide, demonstrating some beautiful harmony and blended singing. They concluded their performance with the ever popular Scottish Riddle. The afternoon was filled with smiles, warm applause, and meaningful conversations afterwards, as pupils took time to chat with residents about music, tennis and the World Cup! It was a truly uplifting occasion, celebrating music, connection and community in the most joyful way.
Senior School News
The start of the Academic Year is a very busy time as we return to school life following the summer break. One of the highlights of the start of term is the Clubs and Societies Fair. It is an event full of enthusiasm, hub bub and excitement. This year was no exception as we held the Fair on Tuesday 8 September in our Upper King Street building. The Fair is an opportunity for pupils, new and returning, to go around stalls representing our various Clubs and Societies and find out more about their aims and activities. Over six locations 30 clubs and societies created table top displays showcasing their club or society. It is always pleasing to see pupils leading the stands and talking to other pupils about the activity that they enjoy and are representing. There is no better advocate for that particular activity. Our Games Department were on hand to talk about the vast array of activities that pupils can join. The Music Department had a rolling backdrop of images from concerts and recitals. It was wonderful to hear during the course of the Fair one of our Fourth Form pupils who took to the piano for an impromptu gifted performance. Two of our activities, KS3 Textile Club and Community Knitting Club covered a table in the items that they have made, all colourful and many of the pieces had been designed by pupils. Ms Scott, along with some of our Sixth Form pupils, showcased our EDI societies. Warhammer and The Fellowship: Dungeons and Dragons had a display of their games. Our Cubing Club was represented, and it was wonderous to watch a group of pupils completing their cubes which such dexterity and enthusiasm. In the Café, our DJ Club provided the musical accompaniment keeping us all entertained. This year it was wonderful to welcome back Writers’ Bloc. This has proved a very popular activity and we look forward to reading the creative works from the group, there maybe a budding Dame Julia Donaldson within our midst. Following the Clubs and Societies Fair, pupils are invited to formally register for the activities via SOCS. We have 120 Co-Curricular activities taking place before school, during break and lunchtimes and also after school. With healthy membership at the majority of the activities with some over subscribed. Our Clubs and Societies are now up and running. Our SOCS platform holds all the up to date information regarding the Co-Curricular Clubs and Societies. Those pupils who have registered for lunchtime clubs often need early lunchcards. This year during the various early lunchtime collection sessions, queues of pupils collected early lunchcards. For some pupils, part of the fun is collecting a card for each day of the week. We hope all pupils enjoy joining in these activities which provide opportunities to develop new interests, skills and form new friendships.
We were fortunate to welcome Dr Sean Ward from Sheringham Medical Practice this morning for an informal "Meet the Doctor" event. Dr Ward is also Clinical Director for Sheringham, Holt and Fakenham Medical Practices and a teaching fellow Norwich Medical School and has vast experience with both patients and medical students. He was able to pose questions and suggest responses which certainly stimulated the brain first thing on a Monday morning! Sean offered his time after receiving a number of enquiries from pupils who are interested in pursuing a medical career and deciding it would be easier to speak to everyone at the same time. The hour-long meeting was relaxed and full of interesting conversation, questions and food for thought, including the building of three new hospitals in East Anglia, all with private rooms instead of traditional wards - all to prevent the spread of infection, and incredible use of robotics in surgery, allowing surgeons to perform intricate operations from another country. The message from Sean was very clear; medicine and healthcare are never "just one career". Whether research based, or in a practical role, whether working for the NHS or even as a medic for the armed forces, there is endless opportunity to learn and develop. Training or university is just the beginning!
As part of the national Heritage Open Day scheme, Norwich School was delighted to open its Air Raid Shelter, Crypt and school Chapel to visitors this month.
Blog
I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ (Psalm 122:1) We’ve been in the cathedral a fair bit since term started. I want to start with a question for you to think about, whether you’re new here or whether you’ve been around for a while: How many different ways into the cathedral do you think there are? When you came in this morning, you had a choice of two doorways – the two west corners at the back. On the first day of term, for a bit of pomp and ceremony, we opened the main west doors to allow a procession in and out. There are other ways in through the gift shop; or through the north or south transepts. All the way up at the east end there’s a door that leads from Edith Cavell’s grave outside to the inside of the military chapel. There used to be a suspended walkway from upstairs in the Bishop’s Palace across to the first floor level in here to save the bishop getting rained on. I’m actually not sure myself how many ways into Norwich Cathedral there are now. If you know the answer – or if at some point you have a spare ten minutes to walk round the building counting the doorways – perhaps you could let me know. Many years ago, before I lived and worked in Norwich, before I was even a priest, I visited Norwich Cathedral with a group of year 6 children from South London. They were in Norfolk on their week-long school journey to experience something different to their usual. I don’t remember which door we came in that day. But I do remember that I was a bit concerned about one of the pupils in the group. His name was Daniel. He was the naughty one. I was worried he was going to find the cathedral boring and start messing around. As it turned out, I was completely wrong. We started our tour in the cloisters – the outdoors space on the south side surrounded by walkways and pillars. Our guide was a retired teacher who guessed that, before we saw the stained glass windows or the bishop’s cathedra, we might like to see a game played by the monks who originally lived here. It was a very simple game – the monks would stand on the ledges in the cloisters and swing round the pillars like apes. (We know that they did this because their feet wore grooves into the stone that you can still see today.) Our guide had already spotted Daniel, and he asked him to demonstrate swinging round the pillars. Sure enough, Daniel’s feet naturally fitted into the grooves as he moved. From that moment, he was fascinated. I think partly because he simply wasn’t expecting there to be fun in the cathedral. But with the help of the guide, Daniel found his own way into this place. Later we were shown some hidden medieval graffiti. Right in the middle of it we happened to find Daniel’s initials, carved by someone centuries ago. It was wonderful to watch Daniel feeling like he belonged here. However many literal doorways there are, I hope you can all find your own figurative way into this cathedral. If you have some kind of a maths brain, the physics and the proportions around us are extraordinary. A while ago Dr Leeder gave an assembly on how many Smarties you can fit in this space. Let the numbers inspire you. If you’re someone who likes Art and Design, there’s no shortage of craftmanship in here that you can get up close to. It’s not all in the past; even today you might see a modern stonemason winching a block of stone up the scaffolding outside to repair centuries of rain and wind erosion. Be inspired by the necessary work of people who are really good at 3D Design. If you’ve just started a course in Psychology, ask yourself why human beings are motivated to begin buildings like this in the first place. The first ever Bishop of Norwich, buried at the east end, was consumed by shame and guilt; he began the construction of this cathedral as a penance. Just about everything we teach is represented: languages, like Latin and a little Anglo-Norman; or poetry, written on the walls; or music, of course; or history, in bucketloads. It’s all here, waiting for you to spot something that catches your interest, and which will take you further in. What is generally true in education is true here: there are many ways in. Just choose your doorway. I want to close by reading part of an email that I got from an ON recently. This is someone who has been away from Norwich School for two decades and now lives in Australia; these are his recollections. Looking back, it is quite remarkable that a load of teenagers meet in the cathedral in the morning… I barely noticed how unusual this was at the time, but the very act of starting the day within an enormous, time-tested cathedral and singing together has by itself a very unifying and edifying effect. When catching up with my peers occasionally, one repeated theme that emerges is how we miss the sense of the transcendent that pervaded school life in the cathedral close. It's so easy to become busied up with urban life and work… longing for meaning and fullness and forgetting where it comes from. You may know that on this date 25 years ago – the 11th September 2001, or 9/11 – there was an attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington which sent shock waves around the globe. We keep this anniversary in mind as we come to our prayer for this morning, which is the Benedictine Prayer for Peace. Benedictine prayer for peace We would like to be people of peace; to walk the paths of peace our whole life long, and to lead others into the ways of peace. May there be peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, peace in our sorely troubled world. May we be peace-makers, ready to take the first step in ending bitterness, being the first to hold out our hands in friendship and forgiveness. May peace, grace and love permeate our daily living. In the fullness of time, may we know the reward of being peacemakers.
I'm wearing my Make America Great Again hats today and you will be forming an opinion of what that represents. Costume is very powerful, and a MAGA hat is almost like a flag. I don't know, I must try to be balanced, and there might be Donald Trump fans in your family. In social situations, I signal my hostility to MAGA with a frown. Can I recommend that to you? When you are part of a conversation that you know is unkind, don't be a bystander. Very often a frown is a powerful and effective response that sends a very clear signal without provoking a bigger argument. It’s called frown power. Maybe we should put the ‘Great’ back into Britain. That’s a gentle joke on the people who say that sort of thing, since it indicates that they don't know what Great Britain means. Excuse me a moment while I explain. There is a large group of about 150 inhabited islands off the coast of northwestern Europe. Collectively they are called the British Isles. There are two big ones: the one on the left(west) is called Ireland. The one on the right is called Great Britain, because it is the biggest of the British Isles. This morning you are resident in a country called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain isn't going to stop being Great anytime soon. My assembly today aims to encourage you to imagine an even better Britain: not by looking back into an imagined past, but to inspire you to work towards a future version that's even better than the present, or the past. Today I have a dreadful story to tell you about a disaster in Wales that took place almost exactly 60 years ago. Just because quite a lot of things are bad now, it doesn’t mean that everything is getting worse, or that things used to better. Things that are normal today: health and safety, counselling, accountability, litigation, compensation – were almost completely absent 60 years ago. I’m 56, so while 60 years ago sounds like ancient history if you are 12, it isn’t all that long ago in reality. On that dreadful day in October 1966, it had been raining hard for weeks. The 240 pupils of the Aberfan Junior School wound their way through the back lanes of miners’ terrace houses on their way to morning assembly. You probably know that coal mining built industrial Britain. But by 1966, the coal industry had been in long decline and several pits had shut. The mining workforce had fallen from its peak, but pit jobs kept Aberfan going. The National Coal Board had control of UK mining and wielded great power. It had a firm grip on government, and it was held in what now seems uncomfortable reverence. The working man knew his place; authority knew best. Numerous complaints had been made to the Coal Board about the dangers of one of the seven gigantic spoil tips that loomed high above the village. Every mining community had its tips of waste material dug from the mines. The entire south Wales valleys landscape was jagged with them. The one above Aberfan had slipped three years previously when an ominous crater appeared at the top. A bulge had formed at the foot of the tip as a stream that was unable to drain away liquefied the tip into thick, black quicksand. The Coal Board brushed the complaints aside. Everyone knew that if they made a fuss, the mine would be closed. If the disaster had come 20 minutes earlier, the junior school below the tip would have been empty. In the classrooms lights began to flicker and sway before there was an ominous roar. A glistening black avalanche consumed everything in its path and then ruptured a water main, engorging it further and increasing the speed of its descent towards the school. A survivor said later, “one minute we were young innocent children of eight years of age … and then at twenty past nine we were totally different people and would never be the same again.” I have decided to leave most of the witness testimony out of this assembly. One of the first police officers on the scene recalls being rigid with shock. "A huge bank of water was coming directly towards us," she said. "It was like a tsunami, it was terrifying”. The crisis whistle sounded in the colliery and miners, their headlamps still lit, ran to the school where women were clawing at the slurry trying in vain to reach the children. News reports described the site resembling an earthquake or the aftermath of a high explosive bomb. I can’t tell you what the parents went through, but one rescuer recalled: “It goes to show how primitive it all seems; I wrote up a notice and pinned it to the chapel door informing parents that death certificates will be issued at the local fish and chip shop”. The waiting took 15 days to identify 144 bodies. The handful of surviving children did not really have a formal education for many years. Time and again, testimonies from the past describe the same thing – no one talked about what happened. This was an age of a stiff upper lip, embodied by the tough, macho miners themselves. Psychological help was stigmatised and viewed with suspicion. A local GP described the village as consumed with guilt, psychological problems, alcoholism and nervous breakdowns. All of that went untreated. What followed was a saga of cruelty and indignity. Donations to the Aberfan Disaster Fund poured in from all over the world but the money was taken away and the bereaved were initially refused help to pay for their children’s gravestones. The Coal Board initially offered £50 of compensation for each dead child before raising it to the "generous offer" of £500. A more substantial sum, it was advised, would have destroyed the working-class recipients not used to large amounts of money. The NCB chairman insisted to reporters that it was “impossible to know that there was a spring in the heart of this tip” although everyone else seemed to know and Ordnance Survey maps proved it. The tribunal that followed concluded the disaster was “a terrifying tale of bungling ineptitude by many men charged with tasks for which they were totally unfitted, of failure to heed clear warnings, and of a total lack of direction from above”. No one lost their jobs, was demoted or fined. This is obviously a horrible story. I’m telling you because you need to know, and it’s an antidote to thinking that Britain was such a brilliant place in the past. I could have chosen any number of examples. The 70s, 80s and 90s featured behaviour and events that I can scarcely believe are true from today’s perspective. And of course, the main reason I’m telling you is because you represent the Britain of the future. We won’t move forwards by nostalgic memories of some phoney past. As future leaders and people who will serve our communities, it’s your job to present an attractive vision of a better society that we can all work towards. Our speaker at prizegiving, Chanel Contos, was an inspiring example of a youthful changemaker. And the obvious first step is for you to be the change you want to see in the world.
Welcome to the Cathedral or welcome back to the Cathedral. Whether this is your first school service or not, it is great to have the whole senior school community together in this extraordinary building – how lucky we are to gather here. I very much enjoyed meeting our new pupils at the various induction events yesterday and am grateful to all in the community who helped to make these events successful. As you would expect, we talked about the importance of settling in and feeling that you belong. As I now widen this welcome to the rest of the senior school, I echo the same message and observe that part of settling is identifying and aiming for targets during the coming year. Whether it be connected to academic work, sport, music, performing arts, community service, outdoor education or a particular club or society, there will be numerous things you want to achieve this year. I wonder what has shaped this ambition. Because whether you are a new or returning pupil, there will be context for each of you. The start of a new school year is a glorious opportunity, a blank page on which to create the next part of your life journey. However, it cannot be the first page, even for our new L4. We are shaped by long-term factors such as home life, but we are also shaped by more immediate factors such as holiday reading, recent trips and things we have seen. Some of what I want to say today came from a summer visit to an exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre, part of the UEA, more of which later. So a key question becomes, “Where have you come from and where are you going?” And while there will be many answers to the first part of this question as the new year starts, I am afraid that there is no opt-out to the second part; you have no choice but to engage. This is not because of school but because of the world around us. It is changing fast and it is coming at you; it is not waiting for you to emerge from school to stroll into your chosen career. You have to be using us to build up your skills and interests so that you are ready for the world beyond school. An obvious example is AI. There is no doubt that AI will be important in your period of active work during and after school, but what is increasingly clear is that the power-brokers will be those who know how to harness its power within a moral, historical and cultural framework; put another way, learning how to ask the right questions and make appropriate use of the answers. A related area is around information and knowledge: It is true that the modern world has a lot of information available at the press of the button, but the most successful users of this facility will be those who have read broadly and deeply enough to have their own hinterland of knowledge, a curated facility for imagination and experience of an open-minded approach to make exciting connections with new information. To expand on this theme of world readiness, the development of genuine interests, the creation of areas of expertise and the practising of interpersonal skills are emerging as being at least as important as paper qualifications. Results are often needed to get in the door, to get the in-person interview, but the clincher in getting the role, the internship or the work experience is the warm personality you show, the adaptability to changing circumstances that you can evidence, the creativity to solve a problem, the collaborative spirit to involve others in a shared endeavour. Norvicensians can take on this challenge with great confidence: the strength of our community is authentic and sincere, so you can practise everything on the above list while you are with us. However, to do so, you need to involve yourself; hence the invitation earlier to think about what your targets are for the year. It means that events like the Clubs and Societies Fair next Tuesday are very important for everyone here, whether you are new or not. That will give you the chance to get involved in various opportunities so that you can be developing your personal portfolio and practising the skills you will need both during and after your Norwich School careers. And there is an important motivator for getting stuck into the breadth of opportunity available in Cathedral Close other than utility for later life. It is fun! The Sainsbury Centre exhibition to which I referred earlier is called Play Power. Its introduction states the following: “Showcasing a variety of manifestations of play, both past and present, ranging from board games, games of chance, physical activity, creativity, video games and make believe, as well as ritual gambling and divination, the exhibition highlights the enduring role of play in shaping human societies”. I commend the exhibition to you and also encourage you to find opportunities to play. As the exhibition shows, play has been part of different societies throughout history because play gives us the chance to learn about ourselves and others in a safe space. Play is not just having a break from the serious stuff; it may just be creating the extra, magic ingredient to shape your life in the future. To conclude, much of what I have said so far has been about individual development: building up critical judgment and improving your reading portfolio as part of your intellectual development; taking opportunities to learn and be creative through play in our clubs and societies programme. Yet many of the 21st century skills I referenced earlier were relational: collaboration, adaptability, teamwork. And this is where perhaps the biggest jewel in the Norwich School crown can be found: the community itself. Because we care about each other, because both peer and teacher-pupil relationships are so strong, you can commit fully to getting involved with the confidence that any such efforts will be welcomed and supported. Here, you will be able, indeed expected, to practise being kind, showing humility and working with others. All these behaviours build up the gentle self-confidence and desire to be a force for good that are the hallmarks of our best Norvicensians. I encourage you not to take the quality of our community for granted but to make the most of it. In my experience, it is not normal for educational settings to be so thoughtful, positive and supportive; it is a culture that needs to be nurtured, practised and celebrated. With all that I have said today, there is a significant overlap with today’s bible reading: “never be lacking in zeal…Live in harmony with one another…Do not be conceited…Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone…”. In the light of our outstanding public examination results, where so many of our new L6 and departing U6 performed right at the top of expectations, I finish with a call-to-arms about the importance of a positive attitude. It is a quote from the industrialist, Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right”. Have a great first day of term; I look forward to observing you “thinking that you can” around school!
Meet the Team
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