During today’s assembly, pupils heard from the Nancy Oldfield Trust charity, who offer accessible watersports and holidays for people who are disabled or disadvantaged in Norfolk. Their aim is to offer anyone either disadvantaged or having a disability, physical or emotional, temporary or permanent, of any age, the opportunity to enjoy sailing, canoeing, pedal boating, paddleboarding and motor boat cruising on the Norfolk Broads.

Norwich School has worked with the trust for a number of years and more recently has raised money via the Great Punt Run, a sponsored voyage undertaken by pupils. The second Great Punt Run took place on 15 June this year.

This epic journey involves sailing a Norfolk Punt from Beccles on the river Waveney to Barton Turf in one day, a distance of about 50 miles. This involves three rivers and seven bridges, of which four require a mast drop. The route takes the boat and its crew past some of the most iconic places in the Norfolk Broads: Somerleyton Bridge, Breydon Water, Great Yarmouth, Acle Bridge, Ludham Bridge and Barton Broad.

The helm for this spectacular event was Mr Mark Elson, who is the deputy manager at Nancy Oldfield and one of the senior sailing instructors at Norwich School.

The two crew on the Norfolk Punt were Rosie Pank and Ellie Thwaites. Rosie and Ellie were tireless, upbeat and focused throughout that long demanding day. They were instrumental in raising around one thousand pounds in twelve hours, which is a phenomenal achievement.

The event raised £960 for the charity, through sponsorship, which was presented to the charity in assembly.

The charity has also welcomed some of our L6 pupils for their Community Service placements, including Ben Dernie and Daniel Conway who gave an account of their time with the charity:

During the last academic year Ben and I made weekly visits to the Nancy Oldfield Trust through the Lower 6th community service scheme. Each visit we made there offered us a different and thought-provoking experience. It allowed us to help others in a variety of ways. On our first visit we took out a canoe with two clients, one of whom was paralysed from the waist down, and this gave us a great insight into the Trust’s work. We looked forward each week to our future visits, eager to assist further in the trust’s sessions. We were involved in a range of activities: from the maintenance of the extensive fleet to assisting in different activities on the water such as sailing, kayaking and pedal boating. Every week came with its own moments of excitement, and opportunities to help people with mental & physical challenges to enjoy taking part in water-based activities.

One of the biggest projects we undertook was to assist a regular visitor to the charity by designing and then constructing an adaptive wooden canoe for him to use. The project was one that required patience, delicacy, and a good bit of brute force. From the first phase of design, to laying the wooden planks around the mould, the project progressed well with each session ending with a much more canoe-like item in front of us than there had been at the beginning. The hard work slowly began to pay off as the end goal of a finished boat and an inaugural paddle came closer and closer. Finally, after a few epoxy-related disasters and close calls with the staple gun we were able to sand and shape the boat. It was a fulfilling experience for both of us to have been so directly involved in helping a client to achieve their aim of kayaking on Barton Broad.

One of the highlights of our time at Nancy Oldfield was the January day when we had to break the ice on Barton Broad because it was frozen over. Another was the day we tested the best way to attach a wheelchair to a paddleboard which ended up with both of us getting very wet! In June we also had the pleasure of accompanying one of the trips that the school organises alongside English Plus, a wonderful local charity, that cares for the welfare of refugees. We were able to witness at first hand the obvious joy that the Trust provides for all in their care.

Our time at Nancy Oldfield allowed us to learn invaluable skills such as boat maintenance, communication, and friendliness. It showed us the valuable work that the Trust carries out to bring activities, that we do - and take for granted - every day, to those who previously have been unable to do - on water. We would like to thank Mark Elson in particular, and everyone else at the Nancy Oldfield Trust, for accommodating us.

The School has also worked very closely with English+, whose director Rosie Sexton, also joined for the assembly. Norwich School has been able to help fund and facilitate several trips each year with the Nancy Oldfield Trust and the school’s Amnesty Group for refugee families and those recently arrived in Norfolk.