Welcome back! It is good to have the community back in the Cathedral and to get started on this new term as we begin another calendar year.

You may remember that when we finished at the end of last term, I encouraged you to practice kindness over the holiday and to participate, even if that involved a little bit of silliness, something we enjoyed with the Red Gowns’ interactive 12 Days of Christmas. I very much hope that you did get stuck in and were kind to those with whom you spent time over the festive period.

These themes of kindness and participation are certainly ones I want you to continue to practise as our community resumes its life together after the holiday.

Regarding kindness, you will remember that I set the examples of random kindness from the London Underground as a bar of expected behaviour in our community. Everybody here should be able to come to school looking forward to their learning and any evidence of that being obstructed is viewed as a serious disciplinary issue. Do not be the obstructor yourself and, if you see someone else being unkind, be the upstander who takes action to ensure such behaviour is stopped. That can be done through the pastoral system or our anonymous reporting system, Whisper. This is the sort of proactive kindness we expect at Norwich School.



Regarding participation with a whiff of silliness, and in light of the freezing weather this week, at the end of the talk I will read out some of the winning entries in Norfolk County Council’s competition to name their gritting vehicle fleet. See if you can think of any yourselves, while I am speaking!

Now you may have come back to term with your own goals. As we know, New Year’s Resolutions cause strong conversations, some people swearing by the ability to have this annual reset, while others are just as determined to avoid such a January fad. Whichever camp you are in, I take the opportunity to remind you of the 5 ways to wellbeing, long championed in our school as a helpful guide to living well. They are: stay active, keep learning, take notice of the natural world, give to others and connect with friends.

In a world where your generation’s digital footprint is ever heavier and more impactful on your future lives, I recommend these simple guidelines for living well in the real world, supplemented by strong sleep hygiene and a sensible, balanced diet. Whatever the impacts of AI, and we seem to be at a stage as a society where we are still establishing our relationship with this powerful new technology, it does not change homo sapiens’ status as a social animal that is stimulated by community, creativity and play. I challenge you in 2026 to be curious, both about yourself and the world around you, and to emphasise fun; do things that you enjoy, that give you pleasure, whether as an individual or as part of a group.

Remember, we are a social species. Take steps to be physically active and to give of yourself to others. These are not just nice touches but fundamental to our daily lives as human beings. No amount of digital presence or AI can adequately make up for these realities.

So, as we begin this new term, I require you to give due consideration to how you will be a positive, contributing member of our community. At Norwich School we care for each other, celebrate our successes and are proactive when others are struggling. Such priority on togetherness is not inevitable, either in a school setting or wider society; it needs careful curation and protection. I believe it is a key reason why hundreds of ONs choose to come back to Cathedral Close on the Saturday after the Michaelmas Term ends, sometimes even before their university term has finished, in order to meet up with their school friends.

Our reading today from page 189 of the hymn book talks about key words being bound around our neck, written on the tablet of our heart. The Norwich School community can be comfortable with the bible’s words of love and faithfulness; after all, they sit well with our own values of love, compassion and inclusion. If we get it right, these values and behaviours are with us throughout our lives, they become part of us because of what we learn about community at Norwich School.

Yet, do not take this community for granted; help to preserve what makes it special and enjoy its benefits while you are here. I believe the following to be true for every single one of you: opportunities in sport, music, drama, dance, community service, clubs and societies, academic progress, pastoral support will never be as easy as when you are at Norwich School. And the real magic is that it is achieved not by shutting ourselves off from the outside world but by embracing our connections with the wider community. Special indeed.

To finish, I wonder how you got on with the gritter-naming competition. I’ll read some of the better ones. I’m not expecting much of a reaction; you can be a tough crowd at the best of times and 8:40 on Tuesday 6 January is not likely to be your finest hour, but they might make some of the staff smile and it will set up the tone of participatory fun with which we are going to start the term.

Blizzard of Oz, Boud-Ice-A, The Grit Gatsby, Gritty Gritty Bang Bang, Lando Norice, Paddingon Brrr, Grit Astley (Never Gonna Slip You Up) – definitely one for the teachers, there.

My three favourites: Edith Gravel, Control Salt Delete and, careful, dodgy US Accent incoming: Snow-Be-Gone Kenobi.

Welcome back and do have a great term!