Year 12 pupils Evie, Eva, Alma and Maddie, who have a strong interest in Law, enjoyed a super visit to King’s Lynn Crown Court. The day’s visit gave them insight of the law court protocol and roles together with the opportunity to observe cross examination of prosecution witnesses. It was a superb day linking subject study learning and future opportunities.
The Prep School Green Team set a challenge to all Prep School pupils last week to decorate their recycling bins and raise awareness in our school community of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’. The hotly contested competition was judged on Friday and ‘5TH’ are the winners of a fully recycled and recyclable prize – well done to all!Â
Scarlett spoke to parents on raising daughters and she also did a workshop with all of our Year 7 and 8 girls which the HSMs from Oakeley, Queens and Edi attended with representatives from their Houses.Â
Scarlett is the author of The Smart Girls Handbook and is the CEO of Smart Girls Tribe. She is a fantastic ambassador and has some incredible achievements for a woman in her twenties, including being the host of top rated podcast Smart Girl Tribe, a TV commentator on women’s issues, and an ambassador for the NSPCC and Childline.
Many congratulations to our ESU Debating team who journeyed to Langley on Tuesday evening for the second round of the English-Speaking Union Mace Debating Competition.
Having progressed through the first online round, our team faced the best teams in the Norfolk and Suffolk regions in an in-person heat. They had a difficult draw, having to oppose the abolition of the House of Lords, and faced a strong and experienced Langley proposition. Miranda H-S opened for the team and erected a very strong defence case, defending the Lords’ status as an amending chamber and citing various occasions when its scrutiny had rightfully caused the elected Commons to pause and improve legislation. Mojo A defended the Lords as an institution that had evolved and reflected diversity, and noted that corruption and cronyism were faults of politics generally, and not the exclusive fault of the Lords. Eva O’D summed up, astutely noting the points of clash, addressing questions from the floor and reminding the floor of why the Opposition’s case had merit and had prevailed in the debate. Â
There were six teams in the heat in three debates across four hours of debating and only the best two participating were selected for round three. Happily, Gresham’s made the cut and so for the second year running we progress to the third round of the competition which covers the whole of the eastern region of England and leaves the team one win from the national finals.
This is an impressive achievement, not least as Miranda is the only survivor of last year’s successful team. Well done Miranda, Mojo and Eva!
The Gresham’s School Inter-House target sprint competition recently took place at the end of January. Each of the seven Houses entered a Junior team (Year 9 & Year 10) of five competitors and a Senior team (Year 11, Year 12 & Year 13), also containing five competitors. There were eight Senior teams for the first time, as we welcomed Arkell into the competition. The event has been adapted slightly, in order to make it very spectator friendly and also to allow those who had not done very much shooting the opportunity to be competitive. Each competitor was required to run 200 meters before coming into the air rifle range and shooting down five targets. Once the five targets had been knocked down then the next runner set off around the track. The event was made slightly more exciting as it was run under floodlight, at 8 o’clock in the evening. Both the track and the range were floodlit to create a wonderful atmosphere.
A huge congratulations, and thanks, must go to the 75 pupils that took part and that were involved in the event. Particularly well done to Oakeley for winning the Junior trophy and to Oakeley and Woodlands for becoming joint winners in the Senior trophy. Oakeley also won the combined overall trophy, so very well done to them for defending this trophy for the second year in a row.
Ahead of Safer Internet Day next week our Young Digital Leaders delivered an excellent Chapel talk to the Senior School around the theme of ‘Inspiring Change’.
The digital leaders work in the school to raise awareness and run programs and projects to educate the Senior and Prep school on using the internet safely. They assist pupils, pupil-to-pupil, in knowing how to protect their information, security and wellbeing online.
This year’s Safer Internet Day projects include:
- Chapel talk to senior school
- Prep School talk
- Senior school hunt on the ways the internet has inspired and produced change
- Tutor time Kahoot competition
In Science this week Year 3 recreated the rock cycle in chocolate. By using different types of chocolate and different processes they were able to make chocolate versions of the three rock types. They even made a chocolate volcano!
On the 25th of January, our Under 15 netball team faced a strong Rugby School team in the Independent Schools Netball Competition. A combination of Under 15 and 14 players formed the squad. It was a great opportunity to see some of our younger players step into the squad and gain experience in this competitive environment. When Rugby arrived it was clear to see that their height was going to be a challenge in itself. Rugby came out in force and took a 10 goal lead after the 1st quarter. Our girls showed some good passages of play but were unable to capitalise on these opportunities. Our opposition showed more consistency in their play and pushed their score line on. Gresham’s continued to work hard on the court and could recognise the opposition were stronger than us on the day. Although a tough match, our squad gained a lot of experience and our U14 players now know the challenge ahead of them next year.
Chapel Choir sang beautifully on Thursday evening in a special service of Choral Evensong to mark Burns Night. The Headmaster also proved his Scottish credentials during the service by reading some Burns’ poetry; his faultless accent raised many smiles in the congregation.
The U15 boys Rugby team played in their National Bowl this week, after reaching the final 16. The team had a long bus journey across to Princethorpe College. The match had been postponed due to frozen pitches the week before.
As the wind howled and the pitch glistened with moisture, Gresham’s unleashed a spectacle of brilliant rugby in the first half. Their strategic prowess shone through, cleverly harnessing the gusts to their advantage. At half-time, the scoreboard painted a portrait of a hard-fought battle, with the opposition leading 10-5.
Undeterred by an even windier second half, the team pressed on valiantly. Hector B, Ollie J, and Sam T dazzled with remarkable carries, while Ben B showcased his prowess in the back field. Despite their tenacity, Princethorpe College managed to pull away in the closing stages, securing a 31-12 victory. The final score doesn’t reflect the true intensity of the match, which was fiercely contested.
Well done to the U15s for their commendable journey to the final 16, a testament to their skill and determination. A special mention for the U14’s player who played a pivotal role in this cup run.