Norwich High School for Girls: The shape of education today

Norwich High School for Girls, which has been located on Newmarket Road since 1932, is a modern school in a historic setting supporting a radical, innovative and evolving educational community for its 600 pupils.  

Students benefit from greater diversity of subject choice, improved self-confidence and more resilience, as well as enhanced academic achievements and career progression. This has been demonstrated in the past few weeks as students received their A level results, with many going on to study at Oxford and Cambridge. 

“The students did exceptionally well and are now on their journeys to university and degree apprenticeships,” said head Alison Sefton. “We're absolutely delighted for them.” 

Alison Sefton, head of Norwich High School for Girls (GDST) (Image: Norwich High School for Girls)

Alison, who moved from Shropshire to take over as head in September 2020, has a single-minded focus on what is right for each student, supporting them in whichever arena they wish to pursue – including everything from medicine and fashion to marketing and architecture.  

“Whether they’re a three-year-old in our nursery or a Year 13 student finalising their UCAS applications, it's about tailoring what we do to be right for them,” she said.  

For its 150th anniversary, GDST surveyed 5,000 girls in state schools, independent schools and academies across the UK to understand what matters most to them and how they feel about their personal and professional futures.   

The Girls Futures report found that GDST students are more passionate about pursuing leadership positions; are more comfortable speaking out and expressing their views; and are significantly less likely to feel that being a girl holds them back from participating in subjects at school.   

“They aspire to a type of leadership where measures of success are multi-dimensional,” Alison said. “Honesty, integrity and resilience are qualities that they believe leaders should possess. It's not just about status, salary, prestige, power – they enjoy a very collaborative style of leadership and we see that in the classroom on a day-to-day basis.” 

Norwich High School for Girls is a member of the Girl’s Day School Trust (GDST) (Image: Norwich High School for Girls)

The research found that girls want a flexible environment without compromising on work-life balance, so the school provides opportunities to help explore the many different forms that leadership can take. 

“From a really young age, students might be running the Snack Shack at break time or organising events for peers – or they might be a form captain responsible for digital leadership,” said Alison.

Norwich High School for Girls not only listens to what the students want, but also what parents want for their children.  

“Parents want their daughters to be future-ready,” Alison says. “They want them to be challenged and nurtured, but they also want them to be empowered to set themselves goals, be aspirational and go on to do the things they want to do to.”  

The ACTIVE approach celebrates the process of learning as well as the outcome (Image: Norwich High School for Girls)

Alison says it’s not just about the core subjects on the timetable. 

“They want them to be able to grow and learn beyond the classroom. It’s also about things like leadership opportunities, financial education, outdoor learning and understanding the broader concepts of the world.  

“Ultimately what parents want, what teachers want and what I want as head is to enable these young people to leave school as confident, ambitious and positive individuals.” 

To achieve this, Norwich High School for Girls has established a unique learning approach which encourages students to be adaptable, community-minded, technologically mature, independent, visionary and eager to learn (ACTIVE). 

The ACTIVE programme aims to improve students’ attitudes to learning and their wellbeing by developing skills such as adaptability, technological competence, teamworking, emotional intelligence and presentation.  

It provides meaningful feedback for students’ independent learning in Year 7 to Year 11, rather than numerical grades, to help establish positive habits that create the conditions for sustained success and future employability. This helps girls to overcome perfectionism and enjoy collaboration with their peers.  

“We’ve adapted the way we teach problem-solving skills to enhance higher-order critical thinking to support students’ learning,” said Alison. 

Norwich High School for Girls helps students overcome perfectionism and enjoy collaboration with their peers (Image: Norwich High School for Girls)

This approach involves helping students to understand not to simply rely on rote memorisation or regurgitating information.  

“You’ve got to be able to use information and apply it in different ways,” Alison said. 

“We recognise that not all girls are the same, but these traits and these attributes tend to be there somewhere. An active learner is a student who is putting something themselves into their learning – not just being pulled through it by the teacher. We ask them to be adaptable." 

As a member of GDST, Norwich High School for Girls affords opportunities for collaboration with 24 other schools that share a similar ethos.  

“Even if I only have one student in my sixth form that wants to apply for architecture, I can be sure that there are other students applying for architecture at other schools within the Trust. So we are living by that collaboration that we expect our students to live by.

“Students are one part of our school, but you've also got the teachers, the support staff, the parents and alumnae. You've also got this group of schools that we belong to. It is a huge community.”

This community-minded approach also encourages social responsibility, as students consider the ethical and environmental impact of their chosen career path. 

“We want the girls to be aware of the impact that their actions have on others – whether it's within their class, within their year group or beyond.” 

Norwich High School for Girls supports students in whichever arena they wish to pursue – from medicine and fashion to marketing and architecture (Image: Norwich High School for Girls)

Beyond social responsibility, Alison feels that technological literacy “has to be a given these days”. 

“Technology is going to be part of all our worlds forever,” she said. “Even our youngest learners in the prep school have access to an iPad for their learning.  

“Technology should enhance the learning – not overtake the learning. The ACTIVE approach is trying to celebrate the process of learning as well as the outcome.

“We’re expecting our students to recognise that technology is there to be used to enhance learning, but also to practice self-discipline. It’s not just about not having too much screen time. It’s about the quality of what you're doing on the screen.” 

To this end, Norwich High School for Girls teaches students how to be self-directed.  

“We want them to be visionary and prepared to test the boundaries of their comfort zone. Any student who is eager to learn, who is asking for more help and support and exploring where to go next – this is a student that will succeed. 

“If you can build those skills for learning, they will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life.” 

But teachers also need to be able to adapt to changes in education. 

“AI is going to impact the way we teach and the way students learn,” said Alison. “A great teacher is someone who cares about their students and wants to see them succeed. 

“We have to grasp these technologies and work out how they can enhance students’ learning and support teachers.” 

Teachers at Norwich High School for Girls care about their students and want to help them succeed (Image: Norwich High School for Girls)

Ultimately, Norwich High School for Girls celebrates each student as one-of-a-kind, while also being part of a family. In this supportive environment, students are given the best opportunity to become future-ready. 

This concept is best exemplified by Alison’s growth mindset approach, which she calls the “power of yet”.  

“If I say: ‘can you climb Mount Everest?’ Rather than saying ‘no’, you say ‘not yet’. 

“Then we help students embrace challenges and understand what steps to take to get to that end goal.” 

Norwich High School for Girls will be holding its annual Open Morning on Saturday, September 30, and its Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday, October 11. Students and their families are invited to visit the school to tour the facilities across the 14-acre site on Newmarket Road and to meet staff and students alike. Find out more about open events and book your place here. 

For more information, visit norwichhigh.gdst.net