"Welcome or welcome back; it is great to have the 2023/24 Norwich School community together in the Cathedral for the first time. We are so lucky to be able to gather in this space.



Now, how are you feeling? I am assuming that the answer is some combination of “excited but nervous”, even you world weary M5. If you were to say to others and to yourself that you are calm or not really bothered, it is unlikely to be the case entirely; I suspect there are some physical giveaway signs. Part of this is internal and part is external.

First, the internal: whether you are new to L4, returning for U6 or anything between, you will be excited about your plans for the year but nervous because you are not entirely sure about how they will pan out. That is to be expected: one of the joys of this time of the year is that we have another academic year to create the path under our feet; to apply for our preferred university course at the top of the school, to get into a sports team or choir, to join a new club or try a new subject. But you have not done it yet so there is inevitably some uncertainty in the journey. I hope you will be able to harness the nervous energy you are feeling to help you to reach this target in the days and weeks ahead; that is where the excitement comes in.

Second, the external: it is not possible to be entirely in control as an individual; after all, we have nearly 1000 young people in the building now and another 100 or so staff. That must have an effect on every single one of us. It is one of the reasons why being in a crowd for a big show or sports match has such a thrill of excitement. We are a social species and our relational nature is brought to the front of our minds at Norwich School as we meet together for the first time.

To illustrate my point, please take time now to think of an event when you had a strong emotional reaction: you may have been happy, uncomfortable, sad or angry; it may have happened during the last holiday or be something from further back. This will have been a strong reaction because it will have had a physical element to it: for example, increased heart-rate, or a crystal clear memory of the circumstances and the cause. For some of you, the instance may be relatively trivial, while for others it may be a significant moment in your life. If anything recalled is too upsetting, please do be in touch with a member of staff for support.

While you are thinking, I can share a couple with you from my own experience: first, a happy one which those in Lower Sixth Form might recognize: the wave of utter relief and joy when I opened my own GCSE results to find the grades that I had been hoping for all summer. It was a long time ago but I still remember it clearly. More challengingly, I recall the surge of anger I felt as a car passenger during the summer holiday when my daughter, driving for the first time on a motorway, was harassed by another motorist for a perceived breach of driving etiquette.

I don’t propose to attempt a poor science lesson at this point, but it is likely that your amygdala was involved in your reaction; this is a primitive region of the brain which is associated with our fight/flight response, as well as being our connected with emotions and memories. It is also likely that hormones were released in your body’s reaction; depending on the nature of the memory it might have been adrenaline (associated with our fight/flight response), or one of the hormones associated with feelings of happiness: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin or endorphins.

All such reactions point to our evolutionary journey: our origins as a hunter-gatherer species operating in nomadic groups. When I think about this topic, I always think how disappointing it would be to get homo sapiens in a game of species Top Trumps. In comparison with other animals, our scores for speed, height, weight, fur, length of canine tooth, ferocity, pretty much anything, would inevitably see us losing to most opponents. The one area where we would win is intelligence; and much of this is based on our ability to collaborate. Humans did not hunt, build shelters or defend themselves alone; they did it in groups. There was a strong us/them way of interacting with the world and the physical reactions you have been reflecting on come from mechanisms developed some 300,000 years ago as homo sapiens evolved. When human beings became less nomadic and more sedentary through the advent of agriculture, the ability to make links with other groups for diplomacy or trade became even more important.

We are wired to weigh things up and react fast. Some of our non-verbal reactions to other people are timed at 150 milliseconds. The memories you conjured, whether happy or sad, may have involved what someone said to you, but they may just as well have been non-verbal. Indeed, someone’s reaction to you may have been crystallised long before a word was said.

So, what is the point of bringing all this before you on the first day of term? Well, it is because it is a fresh year for everyone and the inevitable weighing up of those around us has already started and will be taking place constantly from now on; she is a bit taller, he has a new haircut, they are interested in new music, year 12 look good in their different uniforms, and so on. New pupils and returning pupils alike will want to feel settled and comfortable in the environment so that they are ready to learn. Until that happens, there is less chance that you will take in much from your teachers. Some of you will have heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the following truth is well-acknowledged within it: we cannot access higher order brain functions until our basic needs are met. Put simply, we need to feel safe, to feel that we belong before we can learn.

At the start of this year, we don’t just have the time as individuals to create the path under our feet; we get the chance to do it as a community. With each interaction, we get to affect someone else’s day. We will get hundreds of chances each day to make a positive or negative effect on the wider Norwich School community. Do you keep the door open or let it shut in face of the next person? Smile, scowl or (the worst) ignore someone as you go past? Stop to help a new pupil who is lost or walk on? Nod at someone’s first classroom comment of the year or sneer?

Every one of us can remember a time when someone made us feel special, made us feel valued. I suspect we can also all remember a time of a negative physical reaction because someone was unkind, off-hand, dismissive, rude. 

At the start of this year, please make a conscious effort to co-operate and collaborate with others.

And there is a footnote to this, for which we need to go back to my daughter’s driving incident. The driver who behaved badly did not know that it was my daughter’s first time on the motorway. The dangerous driving and unreasonable gesticulation of the other driver would never have been acceptable, but they were worse because they took no account of my daughter’s relative inexperience and nervousness. For the world weary returning Norwich School pupil, it may just be a door not being opened; for the new or minoritized pupil on the other side, it may feel much more significant.

Trust and happiness are in large part relational because we are a social species. There is a special atmosphere at Norwich School and it is built on such qualities. However, it is only special because we make it so and we all have a responsibility at the start of this year to live out those aspirations through our actions. I want Norwich School to be a place of kindness, joy and optimism; I want every one of you to help me to make this so. The bible reading today is a good practical guide:

“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”.

Welcome to 2023/24 and have a great term!"