My Secondary School
I did my secondary schooling at the Hewett School in Norwich from 1971 to 1978. I have noted some of my experiences there in the early seventies, see Chapter 103, and in the late seventies, see Chapter 118.
Decline
While I do not know the details, in the intervening years between when I left and now, the school has gone through a difficult time. Although there is a school with the Hewett name on that site, the Hewett Academy, part of the Inspiration Trust, is much smaller only occupying what was the Lower School.
Demolition
As part of Hewett Academy’s rebuilding programme, much of the old school building has been or is being demolished. This includes most of what were Middle and Upper Schools but the Academy refers to as East and South Block. Much of the demolition work that has already taken place has been documented by Melita Morgan and others on the Hewett School The Grand Reunion Facebook group.
Reunion/Open Day
Ahead of the planned demolition, the school agreed to allow former pupils one final look round the site. This was variously called a reunion or open day. It took place on 9 November 2024. I was one of more than 2,000 people who attended and have documented my experiences of that day here.
Buy a Brick
One thing that was happening on that day was that visitors/former pupils were being offered the opportunity to buy a brick which would be recovered when the building was demolished. The sales took place in the Lower School hall. I duly registered and paid my £5. I don’t think I was aware that requests had been made to give former pupils the opportunity to buy something physical when the building was demolished. My understanding is that funds raised would go to charity.
Asked to Collect
To be honest, I largely forgot about it. However, earlier this month, on 8 July 2025, I received an email from the school asking me to collect the brick. The email explained that the bricks had been taken from the South and East school areas which were known to me as Upper and Middle Schools. Most of the email was taken up with explaining the position concerning the bricks and asbestos, which was not something I had thought about!
Collection Process
A couple of days later, I was planning to be in Norwich as I have been spending time at the Norfolk Heritage Centre at the library going through their newspaper archives. I decided that, once I had finished at the library, I would walk up to the school and collect my brick. This may not have been the wisest decision as it was a very hot day and I went at lunch-time, the hottest time of the day! I did not necessarily go the most direct as I wanted to walk on the Lakenham Way from behind Sainsburys to St John’s Close. I don’t believe this route was possible when I was at Hewett. My understanding is that it only opened in 1999.
Gate One?
The instructions for brick collection seemed pretty straightforward except I wasn’t exactly sure which gate one on Cecil Road was. From the Open Day, I thought it might have been what was Lower School entrance but I wasn’t sure. I was fairly sure that the only part of the school being used by the Academy was the Lower School. Anyway, as I was coming from Hall Road, I decided to try going in through the Middle School entrance. This enabled me to have a look at the demolition to date and also took me safely to the main Reception.
I Have Come to Collect a Brick
There, I simply asked for the brick. While this seemed a pretty odd request to me(!), the staff were unfazed and simply checked my name against the list they had and gave me the brick! I had had the forethought to bring a plastic bag to wrap it in. Nevertheless, I decided to carry it separately for fear of it crushing the papers in my rucksack. I felt very self-conscious, particularly while waiting for the bus by City College. But, no-one came up to me and asked why I was carrying a single brick! To be honest, I doubt anyone noticed. I guess I was just the guy with a rucksack and a plastic bag!
Just a Brick?
Although the email from the school mentioned that I would be given a letter when I collected the brick, this did not happen and I was given just a brick. However, when I contacted the school, they were kind enough to send me the letter providing proof that, far from being just a brick, my brick was the genuine article from the school demolition!
A Plaque
While I was happy with “just a brick” as that was enough for me to encapsulate memories of my time at school, I thought it might help family members if there was some kind of plaque on it. So I bought one. It and the brick now have pride of place in our garden!
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