What Will Your Enduring Legacy Be?

February 28, 2025

Jonathan Pearson, the School’s Development Director and Norwich School alumnus, gives us his take on passing educational values to the next generation….


At home I have a grainy old photo of a group of Norwich School linguists taken at the playground gates in 1986. Once you have got over the initial shock of the quite hideous mullets and spiky bed-hair, you may recognise myself, Jonathan Pearson, amongst the sixth formers. Look harder and on the end of the front row is a dark-haired, heavily bearded young teacher, proud of his youthful charges. That young man is none other than our then French A-Level teacher, the legendary Mr Bedford-Payne.


Fast forward 32 years to 2018 and in the same New Buildings classrooms where Mr Bedford-Payne taught me, he is still teaching Norwich School classes. Sitting in one of the rows is a certain Edward Pearson, my middle son. Things have come full circle. I am delighted to have been able to pass on a Norwich School education to Edward and to my other two sons. There are quite a number of you sitting here today whose mother or father is a former pupil, and I suspect they may also feel the same. You may or may not decide to send your own children to Norwich School one day or indeed to other great schools across the country. However, the focus of today’s assembly is more generally about successfully passing on the baton of education to the next generation, and sharing with others the important values learned whilst at school. I firmly believe in the positivity of this approach. My role at school is Development Director but also being a parent here and an Old Norvicensian accounts for why I have such pride in this school in particular. The focus of my work here is to foster a strong external community comprising former pupils, past and current parents, charities, businesses and well-wishers, all of whom help us be the best school we can. We very much encourage this community to pass on the baton of education to the next generation.


You will already have had some experience of how beneficial these external interactions can be. We get great speakers from all walks of life during the school year, but I always take particular interest when we get Old Norvicensians speakers at assemblies, at Prize Giving, at public lectures on site or in classes. They are always worth listening to. Of course such ONs will have the natural advantage of having completed their education, so can offer valuable insights about careers and sharing their life experiences. I cannot recommend highly enough Mrs James' current series of careers breakfasts. Recent ON presenters have included astrologists, financiers, medics, authors and the like. Absolute gold dust.


As they achieve material success, providing financial help is another way ONs pass a meaningful legacy back to Norwich School. For example, it won't have escaped the notice of attendees at Prize Giving that its programme is stuffed with prizes endowed by ONs inspired to support academic, sporting and co-curricular achievements. I am gratified that funds raised through the generosity of alumni have provided substantial funds for current building work at the Lower School, as well as for refurbishment costs to adapt so beautifully our new 15 Upper King Street facility.


The biggest contribution ONs have recently given, however, is through generous bursary funding, and that includes to many pupils sitting in front of me right now. Such support ensures your talent and potential is given a chance to shine, an opportunity which otherwise might have been denied you.


Why do they want to give back? What's in it for them, you might ask? The answer is invariably simple: they love this school and appreciate the critical part it has played in their lives. They want to see it thrive, to pay back the educational foundation upon which they have built their successful lives. You are the future and only a good education can give you that best start in life. They understand that well and feel compelled to help. How marvellous is that?


But what can you pass on? I hope when you are an ON you will be minded to help the school in some of the ways already outlined, but I urge you not to wait till you leave school. Pass it on now! You know the values the school lives by: love, compassion and inclusion. If you have younger siblings, pass on these values in your everyday lives. If you are an older pupil, or a prefect, or a team captain or lead a society or club, share such good practice with younger pupils. Pass on that love of learning, a lifelong curiosity for cultural and intellectual challenges, pass on fair play and respect in sport and in your daily behaviours, give freely of your time, enthusiasm for life etc etc. I am sure tomorrow’s world will be a better place for it.


I appreciate how fortunate I was to enjoy my early years as a pupil at Norwich School like you. We seemed to have studied lots of poetry in my day. It seemed natural to continue that focus at University and this love of the poetic form has stayed with me throughout my life. I wanted to introduce to you a poem with the Latin title Vitaï Lampada, translated as The Torch of Life. Before your heart sinks at the thought of Latin poetry before 9am, please bear with me. It’s in English, it's short and trust me it's a brilliant poem.


In a moment you will hear it read to you by L4 pupil Rosie Brew, but here are just a few words of introduction. It was written by Sir Henry Newbolt in 1892 and became seriously popular during WW1. Its essential timeless message speaks of fair play and the importance of passing such values on to future generations, which has been the theme of today's assembly.


There are just three verses. Stanza one opens on a cricket pitch in The Close, in Clifton College, Bristol - not Norwich, but it easily could be. A tense cricket game is reaching its climax. A calm captain urges the poet to play fairly to win the game. Verse two shatters this idyll as we are transported to the desperate theatre of war. The battle is bloody, the soldiers' protective formation is shattered, and the Gatling machine gun is jammed. All looks doomed, till the poet harks back to the serene fair play inspiration of the cricket square in order to rally the troops. And the moving final verse sees the poet in old age reminding us that, as health fails and we draw our last breath, there is nothing more critical than to have passed on to the next generation the values by which we have proudly lived our own lives.


So here is Rosie reading Vitaï Lampada by Sir Henry Newbolt. I hope you enjoy it.


There's a breathless hush in the Close to-night --

Ten to make and the match to win --

A bumping pitch and a blinding light,

An hour to play and the last man in.

And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat,

Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,

But his Captain's hand on his shoulder smote --

'Play up! play up! and play the game!'


The sand of the desert is sodden red, --

Red with the wreck of a square that broke; --

The Gatling's jammed and the Colonel dead,

And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.

The river of death has brimmed his banks,

And England's far, and Honour a name,

But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:

'Play up! play up! and play the game!'


This is the word that year by year,

While in her place the School is set,

Every one of her sons must hear,

And none that hears it dare forget.

This they all with a joyful mind

Bear through life like a torch in flame,

 And falling fling to the host behind --

'Play up! play up! and play the game!'


Thank you, Rosie, for reading so well.


So let me leave you again with that last powerful line to reflect on….


This they all with a joyful mind Bear through life like a torch in flame, And falling fling to the host behind -- 'Play up! play up! and play the game!' I invite you to ask yourself what will you proudly pass on from your education here to the next cohort of boys and girls sitting in these same seats in a generation’s time? What will your enduring legacy be?


By Eleanor Lewis September 29, 2025
On Monday 29 September, 32 runners from the Cross-Country Club travelled to a sunny and hilly Woodbridge for the first round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup. The Junior Girls team came 3rd overall with excellent performances from Poppy Short, Iris Wells, Annabelle Hitchings, Ophee Martin and Emi Muntingh, who came 4th in the race. We also took the 4 th spot in the Junior Boys thanks to a determined run from Samuel Trickey, with Jonty Croskell, Ruan Ekkerd, Joshua Bevan and Albie Cater all in the top 25 finishers and Henry Drew and Oscar Bevington not far behind. Our Intermediate Girls team were hit by injuries, but Ruby Ivie ran very well to secure 10 th place, and Anna Clayton finished strongly for the team as well. The Intermediate Boys all finished in the top 20, with Riccardo Di Maria first home for Norwich in 12th, closely followed by Harry Kensell, Noah Buchan and Jamie Kidd. The Senior Boys were up against some of the region's very best cross-country runners. They held their own with Nicholas Conway first home for Norwich in 11 th place and Kort Tsui, Leo Pitt, George Yiasimi and Edward Lott not far behind. The performance of the day came from the Senior Girls who came 2nd in the team competition. Individually they all finished highly with Georgia Lloyd 14th, Bella Muntingh 12th, Olivia Allen 9th, Amelie Ivie 6th, Bea Green 5th and Minnie Andrews 3rd. Well done to all those who took part
By Sonja Mitchell September 26, 2025
We are very grateful to Tom Little for being our guest speaker at Prizegiving this year.
By Sonja Mitchell September 26, 2025
We were delighted to hear Professor Charles Forsdick speak about the importance of languages in society at a recent Norfolk Cambridge Society lecture at Norwich School.
By Eleanor Lewis September 26, 2025
In the penultimate week of September, Lower 3 set off on their residential trip to Leicester. To complement their curriculum learning, we visited the National Space Centre, Bradgate Park, and the Battle of Bosworth battlefield. On the Wednesday at the Space Centre, the pupils learned what it takes to be an astronaut. They enjoyed an immersive show in the UK’s largest planetarium and scaled the rocket tower to learn about space exploration and its history. On the Thursday, we travelled to Bradgate Park, where we were greeted by some magnificent fallow deer stags with impressive antlers. We ventured further to the ruins of Lady Jane Grey’s house, where we were welcomed by Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey’s mother. Inside the chapel, we re-enacted Jane’s tragic story and then used our history detective skills to work out the purposes of different rooms within the ruins. After a spot of lunch, we began the gentle climb up to Old John’s Tower. Along the way, we saw veteran oak trees and discovered some very old igneous rocks—among the oldest on the planet. We were fortunate enough to be allowed inside Old John’s Tower, where the pupils loved the spectacular views. On the final day, en route back to Norwich, we visited the battlefield where Henry Tudor defeated Richard III. Under the instruction of Sir John, in charge of the livery, we were trained in medieval army combat and learned how to handle a halberd. We then explored the battlefield before, of course, spending some money in the gift shop!  It was a memorable trip that allowed the pupils to work collaboratively, bond as a group, and enhance their curriculum learning.
September 24, 2025
The school's first female peer-mentoring meeting of the academic year brought together fourth form students with sixth form mentors in an initiative designed to promote sisterhood and establish a strong sense of community within our female cohorts. During the session, younger students shared their academic and personal goals for the year in small discussion groups, with sixth form mentors offering guidance and encouragement drawn from their own experiences. The collaborative atmosphere allowed students to explore practical strategies for achieving their aspirations while building meaningful cross-year relationships. The session concluded with discussions surrounding the name of the programme, with students proposing to honour an inspirational woman who holds significance for them. This programme aims to foster positive female role models within the school while empowering students to support one another's growth and success. Regular meetings throughout the year will continue and this initiative represents the school's ongoing commitment to developing confident and brave young women.
By Eleanor Lewis September 22, 2025
On Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 September, 28 pupils from the Friedrich-Leopold-Woeste-Gymnasium visited Norwich School as part of their Languages trip to Norwich. On Monday, they were treated to a tour of the school in German by our U5 GCSE class and on Tuesday, the two classes were excited to see each other again and spent the afternoon speaking German and English to each other at a Language cafe in UKS, where they ended the afternoon by playing board games together. The pupils enjoyed getting to know each other and speaking each other's languages. They will keep in contact privately now that the German group has departed. Quotes from pupils are as follows: 'We were laughing with them the whole time!' 'We made some strong connections with them and will talk with them online' 'It was very nice to meet them and make some new friends!' 'It was very enjoyable and a lovely opportunity to practise our German and make new friends.' 'It was nice to meet and talk to them while practising our German.' 'We went to the city with them and loved it!' 'We learnt so much about their home in Germany.'
By Eleanor Lewis September 19, 2025
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27) There’s a saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Years ago I met someone who doesn’t like that saying very much. That’s because his job is to design book covers. I watched him lead a really interesting seminar where he showed us some of his designs. He explained how his artwork was trying to sum up – on just one piece of laminated, folded paper - the message and themes of all the other pages in the book. Just occasionally, some book covers do this by choosing a key phrase from the book and putting it in large letters on the front. A famous example is Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, where some editions had a cover that read: ‘Big Brother is Watching You’. If you know the story then you’ll recognise that as the sinister propaganda message that no-one can get away from. Some copies of the Lord of the Rings had printed on the front ‘One ring to rule them all’. And The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams had just two words on the cover of some editions – ‘DON’T PANIC’. It begins to make sense when you discover that some of the characters in the story are using a space travel guide (the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) which is designed to help you through any difficult situation. And what makes the guide so successful and popular is that its first principle is on the front cover. Whatever happens – DON’T PANIC. Have a look at the cover of your hymn book for a moment. What do you think? We’ve gone for a pretty classic look. The name of our school in gold embossed lettering, and the school crest complete with a motto in Latin for a classy finish. Sometimes I wonder – entirely hypothetically – how we might redesign the cover. If you were going to put a few words on the front, one essential message that everyone in the school was going to see at the beginning of every day, what would it be? Here are a few suggestions I got from people around the school, some more serious than others: · “Show Love” · “Shine Bright!” · “Treat others as you would like to be treated” · “Do some work in your study periods” · “Wake Up!” Actually, I think the words ‘DON’T PANIC’ might work here too. I hope you’re realising, now that we’re a few weeks into term, that panicking is never worth it – and if you’re tempted to panic then sharing your problem and talking to someone almost always helps. Maybe that would be good to remember at the start of the school day. This also reminds me of one of my favourite passages from the Bible, the words of Jesus we heard just now: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? … Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  I’ve had times myself where those words from the Sermon on the Mount have given me some perspective. Perhaps part of that passage would work well on the front of our hymn books – that wouldn’t be a bad thing to keep remembering. We’re not about to reissue the school hymn books with a new cover any time soon. But there’s nothing stopping you imagining a message on the front of the hymn book – whatever you need that message to be. “Don’t panic.” “Do not worry.” “Show love.” Why not have a few helpful words in your mind’s eye every time you pick up these blue books in the morning?
By Sonja Mitchell September 19, 2025
As part of Heritage Open Days we were delighted to open the Air Raid Shelter and Norwich School Chapel to visitors this month.
By Eleanor Lewis September 18, 2025
Creative Arts are strongly supported at Norwich School, and this was very much in evidence with the return to site of the well-respected local Creative Arts group, the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society (n-cas). For many years we have hosted their ground-breaking talks in the Blake Studio, and we were delighted to welcome them back on 18 September 2025. Our talk was introduced by Lisa Newby, recently appointed Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Norfolk Museums, based at the Castle. She introduced us to Essex-based multimedia artists Daniel & Clara . Since meeting in 2010, the pair have dedicated themselves to a shared life of creative experimentation, working across moving image, photography, performance and ‘mail-art’ to explore the nature of human experience, the natural world and our perception of reality. With work recently on display at Norwich Castle Museum, this was a welcome trip to Norfolk for them and one which saw them entertain an audience of pupils, staff, alumni, n-cas members and local creatives with a visually arresting talk, including some striking images and poetic prose accompaniment. Of great interest were the selection of their short films that showcased their love of the natural world through landscapes, intriguingly crafted taxidermy imagery and appealing sound archives. In the ensuing Q&A the audience seemed very taken by their reflections on how up-and-coming creative artists, such as themselves, have to work hard to earn a living through constant innovation and multimedia versatility. Working with Norwich Castle and commissions from n-cas were undoubted highlights, readily acknowledged by Daniel & Clara. N-cas host regular talks at Norwich School. Their next talk is on 14 October – see: The Mike Toll Film Archive - three short films featuring David Jones, Michael Chapman and Oliver Creed — ncas . All those interested in the creative ats are welcome.  The next talk on site in our culturally enriching series of lectures with partner organisations sees the welcome return on 07 October of the Royal Geographical Society. Major General (Retired) Rob Thomson CBE DSO of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest mine-clearing NGO, will discuss how a changing geopolitical order marked by great power competition, increased conflict, and the retreat of multi-lateralism is affecting human development and security. See: Clearing a path through the new world disorder . All those interested in the natural world and geopolitics are very welcome.
By Eleanor Lewis September 12, 2025
Lower Twos had a wonderful Stone Age Day, immersing themselves in activities such as tool-making, fishing techniques, and learning about the hides. They built a fire, cooked fish over it, which they all then tried, and some even bravely tried the eyeballs! Using tools and instruments made from bone, the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are eager to continue exploring this era in their Topic lessons throughout the Michaelmas term.
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