The school has maintained a strong academic tradition and has educated a number of notable figures including Lord Nelson, Sir Edward Coke and 18 Fellows of the Royal Society among many others.

[5][6] Until the English Reformation the bishop would appoint the headteacher (termed Head Master by the school), though on several occasions this role had been fulfilled by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[5] In 1538, the school was separated from its cathedral foundation and placed under the control of the mayor, sheriffs, and commonalty of the city of Norwich following a successful petition to Henry VIII for the possession of Blackfriars' Hall, a Dominican friary which was surrendered to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

[12] Issued four months into the king's accession, the charter expressly implemented an arrangement designed by Henry VIII and was confirmed by Edward Seymour, Lord Protector.

[22] A master and "usher" (deputy headteacher) were to be appointed by the city out of the revenues assigned to them, who were required to have a good knowledge of classical languages, namely Latin and Greek.

[20] The 1566 statutes declared the school was to provide Greek and Latin instruction for 90 sons of Norwich citizens free of expense and up to ten fee-paying pupils.

[30] When Elizabeth I visited Norwich on a separate occasion in 1578 the master at the time, Stephen Limbert, is said to have delivered an oration, which "so pleased Her Majesty that she said it had been the best she had heard, and gave him her hand to kiss, and afterwards sent back to enquire his name.

"[32] The encounter has been said to characterise the public image of Elizabeth I as a monarch who indulged her subjects with goodwill and has been used for the interpretation of the character of Theseus in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

One pupil remarked: Parr's fame for severity spread a sort of panic through the city, especially among the mothers, who would sometimes interpose a remonstrance, which occasioned a ludicrous scene, but seldom availed the culprit, while the wiser were willing to leave their boys in his hands.

[36]Richard Twining, the tea merchant, however, was advised by his brother John to send his eldest son to Norwich, writing of Parr, "I have been told that he flogs too much, but I doubt those from whom I have heard it think any use of punishment too much".

[43] ... he may visit the grammar school that has sent forth scholars, divines, warriors, and lawyers; a Keye, a Clarke, an Earle, a Nelson, and a Rajah Brooke, to spread its fame in the wide world.

He may see in it a record of the days when grammar was forbidden to be taught elsewhere; he may peep through the oriels that look in upon the charnel-house of the ancient dead beneath; may feast his eyes upon the beauties of the Erpingham, and strange composite details of the Ethelbert gateways ...

[44] Valpy published a popular textbook on Latin style, Elegantiae Latinae (1803), which went through ten editions in his lifetime and The Greek Testament, with English notes, selected and original (1815) in three volumes.

[45] In 1837, in the wake of the Municipal Reform Act the patronage of the governors went to twenty-one independent trustees appointed by the Lord Chancellor, separating the governance of the school from the city corporation.

[44][47] By the mid-19th century the school failed to cater to the requirements of the new urban middle class due to its predominant focus on classical education and was perceived by the city's large Nonconformist community as too exclusively Anglican.

[49][50] The curriculum was broadened to include non-classical subjects such as mathematics, drawing, German and French, as part of a trend seen in several schools including Marlborough College, Rossall, Wellington, Clifton and Richmond to establish modern departments where pupils would be allowed to omit learning Greek and follow a non-classical curriculum to fulfill the increasing demand for a "high" but less classical education.

[49][51] A strict moral code was instilled, the chapel becoming the focal point of school life, a prefectorial system was implemented to encourage leadership and responsibility, and there was a greater focus on sport which was thought to foster team spirit and individual initiative, reflecting the prevailing belief in muscular Christianity among educationalists.

[44][53] These reforms were accompanied by building expansion, such as the completion in 1860 of the Gothic Revival north wing of School House which contained a large dormitory for boarding pupils.

[61] During the Second World War several buildings were destroyed in the Baedeker raids on Norwich, while School End House was commandeered by the Auxiliary Territorial Service and the Bishop's Palace was used by the American Red Cross.

The windows originally contained the names and arms of benefactors who contributed to the renovation of the chapel after its purchase by the city and the imperial crown of Edward VI, but by the 19th century many had been lost.

[83] Among those that can be seen today are the coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Dyers, and a shield carrying the Latin motto Par Fama Labori which literally translates to "Fame is equal to the toil".

In contrast archaeologist Roberta Gilchrist suggests that the design was influenced by the "visual culture of medieval death", its architecture holding additional iconographic meaning connected to its use for storage of charnel.

Art historian Veronica Sekules describes the St Ethelbert's Gate as it was in the 14th century as "a highly decorative building presenting a façade rich in images, which the cathedral otherwise lacked.

It was originally located outside the Norwich Guildhall but was relocated to its current site next to the school in the Upper Close in 1856 at the suggestion of the sculptor Richard Westmacott the Younger.

Under Bishop Salmon the palace underwent ambitious expansion, possibly prompted by damage from the riot of 1272 and his personal success of being elected as Lord Chancellor to Edward III in 1319.

[70] Today the building contains classrooms where mathematics and geography are taught, the junior common room (for sixth form pupils) and libraries in the former parlour and undercroft.

[156][157] The group is also a Royal Yachting Association Training Centre, and runs courses for dinghy sailing, powerboating and marine VHF radio, in addition to offering British Canoe Union star awards.

Over the years the school has educated a number of notable figures, including Lord Nelson,[141]England Rugby Player Freddie Steward, the jurist Sir Edward Coke,[159] Rajah of Sarawak Sir James Brooke,[160] philosopher Samuel Clarke,[161] former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Michael Ashcroft,[162] author George Borrow[160] and 2010 World Time Trial Champion cyclist Emma Pooley.

[163] Distinguished ONs in science include Joe Farman, co-discover of the Antarctic ozone hole,[164] Tom Cavalier-Smith, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford,[165] historical ecologist Oliver Rackham,[166] and at least 18 Fellows of the Royal Society among others.

[183] Other notable staff have included John Crome, founder of the Norwich School of painters,[184] classicist G. A. Williamson (1922–1960),[185] and historian and current Director of Studies David N.