Posted on: May 23rd 2014
I'm Uma Suri and I was at Norfolk House for seven years, from Reception to Year 6. Now, I am in Year 8 at South Hampstead which, although it is several times bigger than Norfolk House, has a similarly relaxed, cozy mood in classrooms. Another thing the two schools share is an amazing ability to digress in lessons!
Despite the size difference, making friends at South Hampstead was easier than I thought, mostly because so many people were as nervous as me. Besides, anyone you spend eight hours a day with will inevitably become your friend. My favourite memory, and also the thing I miss most about Norfolk House, is just running around the playground, playing stuck in the mud with my class, because it reminds me how unusual it is for a class to be as close as mine was. A lot my friends now are amazed and also a bit jealous that my class was so small and tight-knitted. Also, some people in my class did a lot of tests and exams at their junior schools, but having not done that many myself, I found that I didn't stress and worry like the others.
Being at Norfolk House gave me the skill of adapting. Because so many things were new at South Hampstead, I focused more on trying them out than worrying about them. My favourite subject is, of course, still English and recently I was in a creative writing group called Scheherezade at South Hampstead.
I have tried a lot of extra-curricular activities, and the ones that have stuck most were the sports ones. I do netball, gymnastics and rounders, which we did at Norfolk House, but there are a lot more clubs and teams at South Hampstead. I have also tried a bit of music, and am now learning the saxophone.
I think being at Norfolk House prepared me for secondary school really well because we had a lot going on there, but there are still lots of new things to try, which makes me enthusiastic and up for anything.
