Norwich High School GDST case studies (3)

Impact of partnership work done in 2023 (ISC annual Census 2024)

• 30 state schools involved
• 101-200 state school pupils involved
• 436 staff hours given

Impact Statement

Outreach is firmly embedded in the school’s strategic plan towards 2021 and is part of the school’s culture.  It continues to grow; new initiatives have developed to add to our long-standing, popular offers and Norwich High has linked with more schools and more pupils in the city and region, with a total of 1650 pupils enjoying and benefitting from a form of outreach over the last academic year.

In June we launched the Outreach Programme as a brochure for 2019-20, sending this to all Primary Heads of local schools, giving an outline of events planned for the year and details of how they can book up. The aim here was to allow schools to have an overview of what is offered and plan for their curriculum.

Six specific initiatives are:

1. Science Showcase: Science lessons (Physics) taught in our school laboratories to Yr 5 pupils. This takes place every other week, with the afternoons booked out until June. So far, over 400 pupils have passed through the school and attended one of these lessons, from 6 different schools. This year we have offered these lessons to be held in school, rather than travelling to the local schools, and this has proved more popular and allows a greater variety of equipment to be used. A sample of some feedback is as follows:

What I enjoyed most was….

I loved talking to Oreo and Casper. They were adorable. 2) The dry ice was quite cool. I could not believe my eyes – Aashtri

Talking and feeling Oreo, doing experiments, the dry ice, sucking the ping pong ball through a straw. Thank you – Harshini

I have two favourite things, they are: seeing Oreo and Casper and doing all of the experiments. Thank you so much! – Keira

Learning about dry ice and force pushing and pulling

Watching marshmallow man, the coke canal and the dry ice experiment – Theodore

Teacher feedback:

Yes, the children had the experience of a specialist teacher. One of the Year 5 forces objectives was taught. They got to use different equipment to that which we have in school. It was also nice for them to just simply have a different face teaching them Science!

2. Pantomimes: Three pantomimes were performed by our Yr7 and 8 girls to three different Primary schools in December. In total, 550 pupils enjoyed a pantomime. All of these were directed by small teams of 6th formers and our school Drama Captain. One head teacher commented that the opportunity for his pupils to see a Christmas Panto was fantastic- very few will be seeing one at the Theatre royal over the Christmas holidays”.

3. Sing Up: 5th and 6th form girls with the singing teacher visiting schools to teach techniques and show the fun of singing in small groups and choirs. So far, 7 local primary schools have been visited, with lessons given to yr 5 and 6 children.

“They worked really hard. I loved the warm up!” “I liked singing in a round. It sounded beautiful.” “I liked that they had a really nice voice and the melody was very pretty.” “Everyone joined in and it sounded really good.” The teachers have given some great feedback too, including:

“Please pass my thanks on. Thank you also for organising it for us.” “Just to say a huge thank you to Norwich High School for providing such a fun and engaging workshop. The activities were split into short sessions which meant the children maintained focus and we were impressed with the confidence demonstrated by the Norwich High students (it is not easy standing in front of 60 children you don’t know!). A good balance of demonstrating singing (which was fantastic), together with opportunities for the children to sing and do actions.” “At times we weren’t sure if they were students or teachers which shows how well they came across!”

4. Let’s learn Latin: Latin lessons given by our Yr 10 girls and Latin Teacher to Yr 5 pupils at a local Primary school. All 120 of the Yr4 Year group enjoyed an introductory lesson of Latin to tie in with their topic on Romans at the Avenues Primary school.

5. Art workshop: This link, led by our Head of Art, sees us work with Parkside Special School, providing education for pupils with additional needs within Norwich. 15 pupils in each school, in Years 7-11 took part in the Autumn term. Pupils and staff from Parkside school have evaluated the 12-week cycle of the activity and they are over-whelmingly positive about their experiences and what they have learned from it. Ratings for content, quality, engagement, staff input and organisation, were all scored Good or Very Good.

This involves a small team of Yr 11 and 12 pupils from Norwich High School for Girls (currently 6; 8 last year) together with approximately 15 pupils (mixed gender) each term from

6. Inspiring Females: The Inspiring Females programme, devised and developed at Norwich High School (www.inspiringfemales.org.uk ) is now in its 5th year and has grown year on year, so far involving over 30 maintained secondary schools groups, as well as Sixth Forms and fellow GDST schools. Over 3,500 individual young women have had the opportunity to attend an IF event since its creation.

Up until last year, the events involving the local community were: three summits at a venue in Norwich; a STEM conference at the John Innes Centre in Norwich; IF Arts: A Live Radio broadcast on BBC Norfolk.

Last year, our annual Summit ‘Game-changers’ reached a new zenith in being held at Chelsea Football Club. With 700 girls aged 10-15 in attendance from around the country, over 100 were from the maintained sector, and half of those from Norfolk schools, with disadvantaged girls actively selected.

We were sponsored for this by the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), as well as significant support from three high profile sponsors. Most guest speakers who support the event, volunteer their time and have also been philanthropic in their support, donating books and other beneficial items for the audience.

For 2020, we would like to put on an event of a similar reach in Norfolk, outside the aegis of the GDST for the secondary schools we already have partnerships with, adding, as we did at Chelsea, an event for Junior school girls.

Inspiring Females is an integral part of the Norwich High School identity. It has been shaped and steered by the girls in the school (as well as girls from other schools too). We look to seek sponsorship this year from Norfolk companies, with a view to a more permanent sponsorship of the programme in future years.

The Inspiring Females (IF) programme aims to inspire young women, connecting them with professional role-models and educating them as to what new movements are available in the world of careers, through a mix of pioneering and traditional routes, and empowering them to make the best choices for a positive, fulfilled and happy life.

The IF programme is continuously developing, following feedback from previous events (in the form of both paper-based and electronic surveys which goes to all girls who attend), as well as weekly steering group meetings where invested girls shape each core element of an IF event.

Each element of an IF event is developed by the girls who attend, appreciating their ambitions, ages, what gaps they have in their education (many guests cite that they ‘wished they’d had Inspiring Females when they were at school), and what burning issues matter to them.

Core elements of IF events for all girls who attend include:

•  Having a voice - It is essential that all girls have a voice during each Inspiring Females event; posters, music playlists, 'rolling presentations', a twitter feed, Instagram stories and more, give girls (and guests) opportunities to share what inspires them; girls are actively encouraged to research panel speakers and subjects of discussion before each event, and come-up with questions to ask during the event.

•  Professional young women - Our original steering group stated that 'Inspiring Females' needs to prepare young women for their futures. Following this brief, we have aimed to make each event as professional as possible. All girls are given access to a full programme in advance and personalised itinerarys on each day. An Event and Media Team made up of girls is briefed at each event to ensure they run as smoothly as possible, and are well documented.

• Amazing guest speakers from all walks of life - Guests attending Inspiring Females events this year have represented an even more diverse range of professions including Acting, Fashion, Law Enforcement, Media, Marketing, Engineering, Science, Finance, Human Resources, Education, Healthcare, Wellbeing, Charity, Music, the Armed Forces and Sport. Many guests have also been entrepreneurs from both Norfolk and beyond. Over 300 guests from all walks of life have volunteered their time to support the project, with many more keen to get involved in future projects.

• Diverse panel sessions with Q&A - Many of the events include panel sessions with opportunities for girls to ask questions throughout. Topics for debate have previously included: "What would you have done differently 10 years ago and can you plan the next 10?", "How to be happy!", “Dream it! Dare it! Do it!.” and most recently “Changing the Game!” Girls have been very proactive in asking an excellent range of questions, taking every opportunity to be inspired by the amazing wealth of experience available to them.

• Networking - In advance of each event, all girls are briefed with the following statement: "Get involved, challenge yourself and our guests; and use the opportunities which arise to your full benefit". Networking is key to achieving this goal with tasks designed by the team to encourage all girls to get involved. One event for younger girls called ‘Future You’, helped girls to speed network with over 10 different guests from varied careers within an hour.

• Keynote presentations - At many events, powerful keynote and closing presentations are delivered by high-profile speakers. These speakers come from different backgrounds, ranging from journalist and broadcaster Dr Stephanie Hare, to New York attorney and founder of Women in Business Magazine, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu. Disability activist and public speaker Vix Jensen delivered a very powerful closing note talking openly about how she lives with Cerebral Palsy.

• Workshops - At most events, girls can create their own bespoke programmes from a diverse selection of specialised workshops – this year’s Summit had 40 bespoke sessions girls could choose from. Over the years, feedback has made these sessions become much more interactive or hands-on, and are delivered by speakers which the girls really want to hear from. For example, we were delighted to welcome two high-profile youtubers as a result of popular demand from the girls.

• Activities / wellbeing - Wellbeing is also an essential aspect of Inspiring Females, with many aspects focussing on personal and physical aspects. Guests at many events have provided motivational and informative sessions, as well as fun, relaxation and active sessions. These have included yoga, meditation, fitness, holistic health, mental health, print-making and emotional buoyancy. We even had our first band play at IF: Wellbeing in July 2019!

• A rapidly evolving programme with immense support - Each Inspiring Females event is driven by feedback and a desire for the programme to grow. With opportunities for 700 girls from 29 schools, access to 40 speakers, 40 bespoke sessions, 4 keynote speakers, plus parallel events for girls aged 9 to 10 and Dads and Daughters, this year’s Summit was by far the most ambitious event held yet. This would not have been made by possible without the drive of Norwich High girls and staff, and also newly made sponsors who not only funded the event, but also significantly contributed to the whole experience. Feedback is also important to ensure that the girls who attend find the event valuable/enjoyable -  94% of girls who attended the IF Summit 2019 rated the event as Excellent (50%) or Very Good (44%), all citing speakers, sessions and favourite quotes from the event.

This programme significantly benefits many young women, who would not normally have access a wealth of amazing women who can share their authentic and possibly life-changing or life-affirming experiences. Examples of feedback from girls who attended our most recent summit included:

"I loved that loads of girls from different places all come together as one, listening and getting involved like a family."

“It was amazing to see such a wide range of successful women from SO many different professions, all with different life journeys.”

"Being able to relate to the women – it made me feel confident that I could achieve my dreams and I shouldn’t be scared for the future."

“I valued the informality of each session, as it allowed me to freely ask whatever came to mind and have fun while learning.”

“The inspiration - it drove me to be positive in my thinking and to be grateful for all I have.”

"It was a chance to listen to incredible speakers and be a part of something different and inspiring alongside so many schools. It felt like a really good community."

Community/public benefit:

Through our Activity programme, we engage in many activities across the city. Two examples are:

Mousehold Heath conservation has seen 180 hours of practical conservation work carried out by our girls and a staff member, working alongside the Council Warden for this green lung of the city- an important acid heathland area which needs managing to preserve it for future generations. In addition, a whole-year group conservation day was carried out in June, with every Yr 9 taking part in a community task to clear bracken in this area.

Glowing feedback has been received from the Heath Warden, Will Stewart.

Care home visits have taken place weekly, with approx. 138 hours spent by our girls and a staff member in two local care homes. For some girls, this lead to them gaining their Dementia Friends Award. Following the links developed, elderly residents are invited in to school events; they particularly enjoyed the Heritage Orchard opening day and the dress rehearsal to our school musical, Miss Saigon.