Subjects

On Wednesday 11 February, Upper 6 Business pupils were treated to some real-world business exposure. As part of their A Level revision, we were looking at mergers and takeovers. It happens that Candy Kittens are merging with Graze and Grace Bowden (the cousin of Miles Nicholls in U6) works for Candy Kittens as Head of People and Culture. Grace was kind enough to give her time to run a webinar for us. Pupils asked mature and thoughtful questions about her role, the company and the merger. Grace answered openly and Upper 6 pupils came away with a strong understanding of the aims and values of the company and how hard everyone there had to work to ensure successful change. As an added treat, Grace sent us some sweets. Thank you to Grace and Candy Kittens from Upper 6 Business pupils.

There was a buzz in the air as Upper Four pupils gathered for a lively afternoon of book discussion, marking the culmination of many weeks of dedicated reading. Pupils had explored a wide range of titles from the prestigious Carnegie Book Award shortlist, alongside contenders from the Norfolk and Suffolk School Library Association’s Lightning Lit Awards. The event opened with a thoughtful address from Mr Douglas-Field, who reflected on the experience of reading books chosen by others. He shared how stepping outside his usual preferences had been both surprising and rewarding, encouraging pupils to embrace the unfamiliar in their own reading - and wider - choices. Staff from across the school — including Mathematics, Learning Support, and PPD — joined colleagues from the Library and English departments to lead discussion groups, highlighting how reading for pleasure is embraced well beyond the classroom and across the Norwich School staff community. Seven books were discussed in total, sparking a range of thoughtful opinions and lively debate. The most popular title overall was Camp Killer by Cynthia Murphy, a Lightning Lit shortlisted book, while pupils’ favourite from the Carnegie list was King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore, appreciated for its humour and relatable characters.  The afternoon offered a valuable opportunity for pupils to share ideas, reflect on different stories, and hear a variety of perspectives — a fitting and rewarding way to round off a term of reading and literary exploration.

On 15 May, 12 teams of three L6 chemists took part in the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) Young Analyst competition. This is a national competition where the top team from each region will be invited to take part in a national final. This year the pupils took on the role of analytical chemists assisting the Department of Housing to evaluate the suitability of an old industrial area for building new houses. This required them to prepare and titrate a standard solution, analyse the ions present through flame tests, and carry out a delicate thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. They then had to analyse their results and draw conclusions, submitting them to the RSC for judging. Only the most skilled and accurate experimental chemists can do well in this competition! The top 1 teams are as follows; Team 11 - Lizzie Henson, India-Rose Fox, Sruthi Santhosh Team 7 - Mei McAuley, Amy Li, Sissi Chan Team 12 - Emmanuel Milne, Tom Irvine, Omar Alfiky  Congratulations to all who took part!