The son of the Reverend Samuel Norwood, of
Whalley,
Lancashire, Norwood was educated at the
Merchant Taylors' School and
St John's, Oxford. After passing the Home
Civil Service examination, he joined the
Admiralty in 1899, but left in 1901 to pursue a career in education. He was a
classics schoolmaster at
Leeds Grammar School (1901–1906), before serving as Headmaster of
Bristol Grammar School (1906–1916), Master of
Marlborough College (1917–1925), Headmaster of
Harrow (1926–1934) and President of
St John's, Oxford, from 1934 to 1946.
Norwood Report After being appointed to chair a committee for
R. A. Butler, the
President of the Board of Education, Norwood and committee wrote a 151-page document entitled
Curriculum and Examinations in Secondary Schools: Report of the Committee of the Secondary School Examinations Council Appointed by the President of the Board of Education in 1941. In June 1943, they published the
Norwood Report on
secondary schooling: subsequently, some of its recommendations were adopted. In particular, the report led in time to the creation of three kinds of secondary schools:
grammar schools;
secondary technical schools;
secondary moderns.
Other During the Second World War, Norwood served on the Tribunal hearing the cases of men seeking to be accepted as
conscientious objectors. At this time, Norwood owned and lived at
Trerose Manor in Cornwall. His son-in-law was the Rev C. B. Canning, Headmaster of
Canford. After
WW2, in 1946, Norwood was the President of the
Geographical Association, following an earlier Marlborough colleague: Clement Cyril Carter (who had been president at the outbreak of the war) to the position. As well as his role in education he also wrote an introduction for
The British Encyclopaedia in 1933. He retired to
Iwerne Minster in
Dorset where he died in 1956. He was married to Catherine Margaret Kilner in December 1901 and was
knighted in 1938 for services to education. A building is named after him as part of Bristol Grammar School's Elton Road Houses and is primarily used for the teaching of modern languages. The main dining hall at
Marlborough College is named the Norwood Hall. Norwood wrote the lyrics, in Latin, for Bristol Grammar School's song,
Carmen Bristoliense, which is still sung today. ==References==