Discoveries
“We give each girl the very best opportunities to find her strengths, explore the whole breadth of subject options, and tailor all that we do around her needs as she develops into a young woman.”
ALISON SEFTON HEAD OF NORWICH HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
Contents
WELCOME___P.5
MADE BY GIRLS___P.6
OUR ENVIRONMENT___P.8
GDST___P.10
ACHIEVEMENTS___P.12
EARLY YEARS
WELCOME___P.15
DISCOVERIES MADE BY GIRLS___P.16
EARLY YEARS___P.18
ACADEMIC PROGRESS___P.20
PASTORAL CARE___P.23
JOIN OUR SCHOOL
VISITS AND OPEN DAYS__P.24
LITTLE CATERPILLARS__P.25
HOW TO JOIN___P.26
ADMISSIONS___P.27
Welcome to Norwich High School for Girls
At Norwich High School for Girls, we believe passionately in putting girls first. We give each girl the very best opportunities to find her strengths, explore the whole breadth of subject options, and tailor all that we do around her needs as she develops into a young woman. We are a large enough school to provide rich opportunities, but yet small enough that every girl is known and valued.
How girls grow and how they learn is different.
Girls and boys are equal – but they’re not the same. Co-educational environments can place a huge pressure on girls, whose confidence and curiosity can suffer as a result.
Negative impacts on girls during their education can have much longer repercussions as they navigate Higher Education, careers and the decisions they inevitably face around balancing the demands of modern life.
Our school exists to rebalance the odds in your daughter’s favour. We create an environment where they are free to be themselves and can learn without limits.
Where they support each other to be curious and confident, where there are no limits to what they can discover about the world – and themselves.
Our girls leave us resilient, passionate, and unapologetic – ready to lead, ready to explore what makes them happy, ready to follow their own paths.
What I believe really makes Norwich High School for Girls special is the exceptionally strong sense of community; a community which lasts throughout their time here and long after girls have left the school.
Alison Sefton HEAD OF NORWICH HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
CONFIDENCE
is our way of celebrating the bold, curious and confident young women who make our school what it is.
FRIENDS
We believe that our role as a school is to PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENT for your girls to be themselves – and that their successes are testament to what happens when they have a PLACE OF THEIR OWN in which to THRIVE.
Where they are SUPPORTED by each other, CELEBRATED by each other, PUSHED FORWARD by each other.
Where they can SPEAK UP without fear of judgement – PLAY without fear of ridicule LEARN COMPLETELY WITHOUT LIMITS.
When you visit us we are sure you’ll feel the difference it makes to be in a place for girls, of girls, and
Our environment
Our expansive site gives each girl the space to grow, explore and develop a healthy approach to their life.
Stafford House is home to our youngest girls, from Nursery to Year 6, and they have their own dedicated space with well lit, airy classrooms along with a spacious Art studio, STEM Lab and fully equipped Food Technology Room.
In all classrooms, round tables promote communication and collaboration and it is not unusual to see girls spilling out into the corridors and communal spaces to use the green screens or record evidence of their learning. The outdoor space is well utilised and the woodland playground, outdoor theatre and polytunnel are often busy with groups of girls re-enacting the Roman invasion, acting out an extract of their literature spine text, roasting marshmallows over a campfire or watering and weeding their produce.
The Early Years Hub in Stafford House allows us to prioritise the kind of active and imaginative play that is so vital for girls. Outside a large wooden deck provides a platform for the playhouses with a newly tarmacked kart track to one side and a large barked area filled with mud kitchens, STEM workshops and even a potions lab to the other.
There is a seamless transition from the dynamic outdoor play area to the airy and bright indoor spaces. For the Nursery children, there is a dedicated room where girls can feel safe and supported, and have fun exploring a large play loft with an upstairs area. Moving through the shared area for cooking, construction and messy play into Reception, there are zoned areas for role play, small world and a comfortable corner cave, all of which the girls can explore during their free-flow independent learning time.
Eaton Grove, the home to our senior girls, celebrates all that is truly special about an education at Norwich High School for Girls. A beautiful regency building, surrounded by 14 acres of expansive woodland, green space and many original features such as our CrinkleCrankle wall, there is always something to inspire or excite every girl within our community.
Our classrooms have all been developed into dynamic educational spaces, designed to facilitate best educational practice.
Lanchester House is home to our Sixth Form centre – a superb, spacious, modern environment where girls can commit to their learning, but also relax in a space where they can work collaboratively and socialise with new friends.
Performance and music is extremely well catered for with a state-of-the-art theatre space,
a picturesque outdoor theatre and a dedicated Music School building for rehearsals and music lessons.
Sports provision is extensive and comprehensive. Sporting facilities include a 25m indoor heated swimming pool, two on site multiuse games areas and an astro turf hockey pitch, tennis courts, a dedicated sports hall, rowing gym and new fitness suite.
Outdoor learning areas surround the main buildings of Norwich High School for Girls –there is a dedicated Forest Schools area as well as many large open spaces and pitches. Dingly Dell is home to the heritage orchard, a pond, House allotments and open space for outdoor activities. It has even been used for an archaeological dig using tools made by the girls in a Product Design workshop.
GDST
Girls’ Day School Trust
We are proud to be part of the Girls’ Day School Trust, a family of 26 girls’ schools across England and Wales, established 150 years ago. As experts and pioneers of girls’ education, GDST schools are designed for girls who go on to design the future.
The GDST works closely with schools to ensure they are at the forefront of innovation, ensuring an outstanding education for your daughter. In all GDST schools, and as we will talk to you about here at Norwich, academic excellence is a given, but we are also focused on developing character beyond the curriculum.
Schools are designed to create environments where girls thrive, where physical and emotional wellbeing is paramount.
Throughout the academic year, the GDST runs a series of events and initiatives for girls at all ages, so they can come together to collaborate and learn from each other – from the Junior Maths Conference to Leadership initiatives for our Senior and Sixth Form students.
GDST Undivided represents the GDST commitment to diversity and inclusion and is a golden thread that runs through everything we do at the GDST and in each school.
Achievements and recognition
A LEVEL RESULTS 2024
94% A*-C / 26% A* / 66% A*-A / 80% A*-B
GCSE RESULTS 2024
23% 9 / 40% 9-8 / 58% 9-7 / 76% 9-6 / 97% 9-4
Sunday Times Schools Guide
Norwich High School for Girls was ranked as the Best Independent Secondary School in Norfolk in the Sunday Times Parent Power League 2024. The Parent Power League is the guide to the best national and regional schools of the year. We were ranked as fourth overall in East Anglia and 116th nationally.
ISI Report
Following our ISI routine inspection in April 2024 by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the inspectors judged Norwich High to be meeting the required Independent School Standards in every area and commented positively on all aspects of the provision covered by the report.
Independent Girls’ School of the Year Finalist
Norwich High School for Girls was named as a finalist in the Independent Girls’ School of the Year category and shortlisted in the Independent Pre-Prep School of the Year category in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2024.
Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards
In 2024, Norwich High School for Girls Senior School was Highly Commended in two categories in the Muddy Stilettos 2024 Best Schools Awards: Passionate About Sport and Most Inclusive School.
Norfolk Education Awards
Norwich High School for Girls were selected as a finalist for ‘Outstanding Support for Students’ in the 2024 EDP Norfolk Education Awards.
Welcome to Norwich High Prep School and Nursery
At Norwich High Prep School and Nursery everything is designed to bring out the best in our girls. Whether they are just starting out on their school journey or preparing for transition into our Senior School, our girls thrive in the comfortable, family atmosphere that can be felt throughout the school. The warmth of the relationships between the staff and the pupils and between the girls themselves has shaped an inclusive and caring community where every girl is valued and every individual success is celebrated.
Our curriculum is forward thinking, focused on developing the skills and character our girls will need to prepare them for their future.
We are passionate about tailoring our academic experience to the needs of our girls and have designed a curriculum that not only provides the necessary academic rigour but also challenges the girls to become active thinkers and learners. They thrive in a classroom culture where mistakes are valued, resilience is encouraged and independence is developed.
I am sure, when you discover our amazing school for yourself, you will find it to be a place where your daughter will be nurtured, challenged and learn to spread her wings.
Susan Roberts HEAD OF PREP SCHOOL AND NURSERY
Discoveries
As our girls start out on their journeys with us, it is OUR MISSION to kindle their INNATE CURIOSITY – to give them every CONCEIVABLE OPPORTUNITY to EXPLORE the world around them.
It is why we talk about the importance of ‘DISCOVERY’; because your daughter’s first years should be full of NEW EXPERIENCES, full of ADVENTURES, full of QUESTIONS, full of POSSIBILITIES –full of DISCOVERIES.
Early Years
Creativity, imagination and curiosity are at the heart of the learning in our Early Years Hub.
By joining Norwich High School for Girls at the start of your daughter’s educational journey, you are providing her with the ideal springboard from which to launch her learning. We believe it is important to foster that which is unique about each child and we understand that young children develop at different rates. Through providing an enabling environment and a strong partnership between home and school we are able to help our girls make a confident and self assured start to school life.
In Nursery and Reception the girls follow an individualised programme, ensuring that their enthusiasm for learning is nurtured and their enjoyment of the discoveries they make builds on their natural curiosity enabling them to make rapid and sustained progress.
Creativity, imagination and discovery are at the heart of the learning in our Early Years Hub. Our indoor spaces are light and airy, allowing for plenty of room to take part in role play or
lay out a train set, and are flexible enough to be reconfigured quickly to suit different activities. The dynamic learning environment enables our girls to explore and take risks, letting their imagination run wild, as learning flows freely between the inside and outside spaces.
Our exciting outdoor play area is designed to inspire role play and the playhouses and dens provide a wealth of opportunities to be imaginative. The bespoke wooden structures for sand, water and mud play inspire activities that spark curiosity, stimulate learning and help the girls make sense of their world. From creating magic potions in the lab to producing the sloppiest mud pie worthy of The Great British Bake Off, our girls are given room to explore and experiment and the freedom to make discoveries and mistakes. The tarmac track allows the girls to improve their balance on the bikes and scooters and the climbing frame and slide encourage them to be adventurous as they play.
Academic progress
We believe whole heartedly that learning should be a journey of exploration.
Using the Early Years Framework as the basis of their planning, our highly motivated and experienced Early Years team deliver a child-centred, stimulating curriculum focused on the interests of the girls, following their lines of enquiry, enabling each girl to pursue an individualised programme of study.
Meticulous planning ensures harmony between child initiated learning and adult directed tasks, and through our comprehensive programme, the girls develop a solid foundation in the key early reading, writing and mathematical skills. By the end of Reception the majority of our girls have a confident grasp of phonics and enjoy discovering books for themselves. They are developing good pencil control which leads to accurate letter formation and they have the confidence to write independently, all of which is excellent preparation for the transition into Year 1.
Alongside the academic learning it is vital for our Nursery and Reception girls to enjoy a wide variety of different opportunities to play and explore. Whether it is making cakes with playdough, building castles for dinosaurs, creating coloured bubbly potions or taking part in a pretend tea party, every day brings new discoveries.
However, beyond the Early Years Hub there are regular opportunities for the girls to use our wider facilities, both in the Prep School and on the rest of our 14 acre site. They enjoy weekly sessions in our library, swimming pool, polytunnel and woodland area as part of their curriculum. Our specialist teachers provide the Early Years girls with a plethora of opportunities to discover their talents in swimming, dance, French, Forest Schools and music each week. Alongside cooking, art and STEM sessions, the girls have plenty to expand their understanding as they try their hand at new things.
Pastoral care and wellbeing
Excellent pastoral care is about putting our girls’ needs at the centre of the way we approach the Early Years.
Starting from 3 years old in our Nursery, your daughter will enjoy a warm, safe and nurturing environment where she will be known as an individual; from her favourite foods to what makes her roar with laughter. We know how to support your daughter’s personal, social and emotional development through these important first years at school and we can provide her with the individual care she needs to flourish. We will help her to find her voice and feel confident expressing herself. She will be encouraged to rise to challenges with determination, perseverance and, most importantly, a smile on her face.
As our girls move through Nursery into Reception they take part in an increasing number of activities with the rest of the Prep School, such as assemblies and whole school activity days, enabling them to become familiar with the staff, interact with the older girls and get to know the routines of school life, making the transition into Year 1 a seamless experience.
Key to each girl’s success is the partnership that we form with all of our parents. You are always welcome to pop in for a chat when you drop off your daughter in the morning or when you pick her up at the end of the day. Bespoke
planners are provided for each girl as a link between home and school and parents have access to staff email addresses as another means of communication. For Early Years we also use a secure online learning journal called Tapestry, to share your daughter’s experiences with you and we post photographs, observations and comments throughout the day. We invite you as parents to get actively involved by ‘liking’ and commenting on our observations and also adding your own examples to this incredible record of your daughter’s development through the Early Years.
School starts from 8:00am and the Early Years girls enjoy a playtime outside at the start of their day. A number of extra curricular opportunities are open to Nursery and Reception at lunch time and clubs, such as ballet and yoga and gym, take place at the end of the day. Before school care is available from 7:30am free of charge and after school care is available free of charge until 3:30pm to support working parents and until 4:00pm for those who are also collecting an older sibling. However, for a small charge, this can be extended until 6:00pm for those who need it and during this time the girls are be provided with a light tea and enjoy playing games and doing art and craft activities.
Visits and open days
Come and visit us!
We warmly welcome you to visit our school – either for our annual open day in the autumn, or at a time that suits your family. In the Prep School and Nursery a member of staff will take you on a guided tour of the school, from our state of the art Early Years Hub to our specialist teaching rooms for STEM, Languages, Music and Art.
You will be able to watch sample lessons and have the opportunity to talk to students, staff and current parents about your curriculum and pastoral queries. Your tour will include the facilities we share with the Senior School such as the Forest Schools area, the swimming
pool and the sports hall. All prospective parents will meet with Mrs Roberts, Head of the Prep School and Nursery as part of their tour.
Taster sessions and individual visits
We will be happy to work with you to find suitable times for you and your daughter to visit.
Little Caterpillars – If your daughter is aged between two and four years old, you are welcome to bring her to our Little Caterpillars group which runs regularly throughout the year. Please see overleaf for more information.
Little Caterpillars
Our Little Caterpillars Stay and Play group offers free half-termly courses of sessions for pre-schoolers.
Families, including grandparents and childminders, are invited to come to Norwich High School for Girls and use our Early Years Hub for an hour per week over a half term period. The sessions include the opportunity for outdoor exploration and play with themes such as forest schools, arts and crafts and cooking.
Register your interest by emailing s.shearer@nor.gdst.net or call 01603 351 878.
How to join
Your daughter will be eligible to join the Prep School following her third birthday. Once you have made an application via the form on our website, you will be invited to bring your daughter into school for a play session in the Early Years Hub. Once your daughter is settled with the staff and other girls, you are welcome to wait in school while she plays. An offer of a place would be made following a successful play session.
Visit www.norwichhigh.gdst.net/join-our-school
Admissions
We welcome applications for places in Early Years throughout the year and girls may join after their third birthday. Nursery is term time only and each girl must attend for a minimum of six sessions a week, which usually equates to three full days. The sessions chosen can be altered or extended each term. Reception places are full time. Wrap around care is available for Early Years girls from 7:30am until 6:00pm each day.
For further details please see the Admissions Guide on our website which also lists application closing dates and the dates for upcoming Open Days and assessments: www.norwichhigh.gdst.net/join-our-school
If you would like to arrange to visit, please contact our Registrar who would be happy to help you.
CONTACT DETAILS
Miss Ali Ready 01603 453 265 admissions@nor.gdst.net
