Basic Information & Location
Norwich School is a selective English independent day school in Norwich Cathedral Close in Norwich City Centre. Norwich is a small and safe city with a university in the East of England. The School was established by the first bishop of Norwich in 1096. The school was re-founded in 1547 by King Edward VI and moved to its current site beside the cathedral in 1551. It is a co-educational school of just over 1000 pupils and accepts a small number of international pupils (approximately 15) who want to complete A Levels in a very British environment and who are ambitious enough to target a top university.
School Motto
Praemia Virtutis Honores
(Honours are the rewards of virtue)
Academic Development
In league tables of British schools it is consistently ranked first in Norfolk and Suffolk and amongst the highest in the United Kingdom. Most pupils study three subjects to A-level though some will start (and continue) with four. All the international pupils have the opportunity to study Chinese A Level. Most also complete the School’s Independent Study Award which some will turn into an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). In total, more than 20 subjects are offered at A-level. Sixth-formers must also take part in a community service programme where pupils volunteer in various local organisations around the city. Norwich School Leavers mainly go onto Russell Group universities as well as Oxford and Cambridge and universities in Hong Kong and Holland.
Pastoral Care & Boarding
The pastoral care of the school is organised by through the House system. Pupils are allocated to one of the eight houses upon joining the Senior School and stay with that house during their time in School. Each house is run by a housemaster, who is also an active member of the teaching staff. Each year group within a house, called a tutor group, is run by a tutor who monitors pupils’ academic progress, general welfare and extra-curricular involvement. The tutor, who is the first point of contact for pastoral and academic matters, sees everyone in the tutor group daily for registration and weekly for a longer tutor period. At Norwich School, the Houses are med after distinguished Old Norvicensians, Head Masters and benefactors of the school. In each Sixth Form tutor group, there are normally 2 international pupils.
Norwich School is a day school and not a boarding school. All the international pupils are part of the unique homestay programme and live with local families, many of whom have a connection to the school. As part of this programme, pupils have their own study bedroom and live as part of the family. This lets them experience British home life, improves their language skills and have the chance to live away from the School. The school is convinced that this scheme means its international pupils are well-prepared for university life.
Extra-curricular & Personal Development
Norwich School aims to equip its young people for a lifetime of leadership and service. It sees these two concepts as interdependent; inspirational leadership always involving the service of others, and through service, essential leadership skills are developed.
All pupils are given opportunities to develop their leadership skills through planned activities across the school including:
Taught lessons, workshops and training
Societies and pupil representative bodies
Team leadership by being a prefect, peer supporter
The Community Service Programme
Sea Scouts and Duke of Edinburgh.
In the Senior School, Lower 6 pupils take part in weekly-timetabled community service activities. The placements bring pupils into direct contact with a wide cross-section of the Norwich and Norfolk community, several of which contain people less fortute than themselves.
Norwich school is proud of its Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme and it offers all three levels of Bronze, Silver and Gold in full. The school has a variety of leaders and helpers, both teachers and support staff, who are available to help and assist participants to achieve their awards. Many participants achieve all three awards and pupils joining the school can sign-up for the award scheme at the appropriate level. Levels already achieved at other schools are automatically brought over to the school via the eDofE system.
