On the School House can be seen this plaque, placed there by the
Society of Old Pastonians in 1984 in grateful recognition of the founding
of the Paston School by Sir William Paston in 1606. It also includes
1984, being the date of the setting up of the Paston College, a Sixth
Form Centre.

“The first day I arrived at the Paston School in September 1952 I was
presented with a copy of the Song School, and instructed to ‘learn it
off by heart’. Reading through the words of the first verse it gave me
an insight into the who, when and why and how our famous school
came into being. I went home with a feeling of immense pride.”

Sir William Paston was a liberally-minded and hospitable gentleman, and
this was no more true than in his setting up, in 1606, the Foundation of a
Free Grammar School in North Walsham, Norfolk, his final and greatest
benefaction. He came from a distinguished family, responsible for the
Paston Letters a written account of life during that time. The family
estates of the Pastons were vast, stretching from Paston, their home
village, to Caister, Oxnead and Walcott amongst others. In founding the
Paston School, to ensure the Norfolk lads had the right to free grammar
education, he left a legacy that would last and continue to be
remembered through to the present day.

“How we sang our heads off:

Anno Domini, Sixteen Six,
As the tale was told to me,
Is a solemn date for us to fix,
Deep in our memory.
Sir William Paston, he up and said,
‘The Norfolk lads, I am sore afraid,
Have overmuch liberty.
Come hither, Reverend Michael Tylles,
And into their heads we’ll hammer
Godly Learning to guide their wills,
Arithmetic, Writing and Grammar.’”

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