NorwichIntroductionNorwich is the county town of Norfolk. The city lies in EastAnglia, on the River Wensum. It is situated approximately 161 km north-east ofLondon. As per the 2011 Census, the urbanarea of Norwich had a population of 213,166 which extends beyond the cityboundary. According to 2011 census, the total population of Norwich is 132,512whereas the population of the Norwich Travel to Work Area is 282,000, estimatedin mid of 2009.
In the East of England, the city stands fourth in the list ofmost densely populated local government district with 3,480 people per square kilometer.Norwich was designated England’s first UNESCO City of Literature in May 2012.EducationNorwich has five special schools and 13 secondary schools,out of which 11 are academies. The city also has 56 primary schools which includefree schools and 16 academies. There are eight independent schools in the city,two of which are Norwich High School for Girls and Norwich School. The Norwich University of the Arts and the University of East Anglia are the two universitiesin Norwich.
The student populace of Norwich is approximately 15,000. Many studentscome from overseas for studies, constituting the student population of Norwichto be around 15,000. In 1963, The University of East Anglia was established byAngus Wilson and Malcolm Bradbury whose graduates include Kazuo Ishiguro andIan McEwan. The university lies on the outskirts of the city and is popular forits creative-writing programme. The Norwich University of the Arts dates backto 1845 as Norwich School of Design, established in order to provide designersfor local industries.
It was founded by followers and artists of the Norwich Schoolart movement. City College Norwich,Access to Music and Easton and Otley College are three further educationcolleges in Norwich. City College Norwich was established in 1891 and islocated on Ipswich road. It is one of the largest colleges in England. Access to Music is specialised in creativeeducation and industry-focused popular music. It is situated on Magalen Streetat Epic Studios. Easton and Otley College, situated 11 km west of the city andits campuses lies in East and Anglia.
Culture andattractionsIn England, Norwich was the site of the first provincial librarywhich was opened in 1608. The city was the first city which implemented thePublic Libraries Act 1850. In 1701, The Norwich Post, which was the first provincialnewspaper outside London, was first published. The Norwich School of artistswas the first provincial art movement.
Julian of Norwich’s Revelations ofDivine Love which was published in 1395, was the first book written in theEnglish language by a woman. In Today’s date, Norwich is a regional hub forpublishing. As per the year 2012’s estimation, 5 per cent of the UK’sindependent publishing sector was based in the city. In the year 2006, Norwichbecame the UK’s first city of Refugee, part of the International Cities ofRefuge Network (ICORN) which encourages free speech.
Norwich is a famous destination site for a city break. The city is among UK’s top 10shopping destinations. Colman’s Mustard Shop and Museum, Norwich Castle, TheForum, Dragon Hall and Cow Tower are few attraction points of the city. TheNorfolk and Norwich Festival celebrates the arts every year and attractsvisitors into the city from all over eastern England.
The theatres of Norwichprovide a wide variety of programmes and ranges in capacity from 100 to 1,300seats. There are numerous significant museums which enlighten the rich history of the city and of Norfolk. The city isthe headquarters of BBC East.
