To complement the History Department’s upcoming battlefields trip, Year 9 are studying an Experiences of War unit in English lessons to gain an insight into the experience of conflict from a range of different perspectives. One famous poem the pupils might study is Charge of Light Brigade by Alfed Lord Tennyson. Big School Hall is an excellent venue for re-enacting the battle with paper canons!
On Thursday, our international cohort at the Senior School – both returning pupils and those new to the school – got together for a Welcome Tea Party in the library. Despite the heat there was a real buzz with pupils from 16 different countries getting to know each other, swapping experiences and picking up tips on school life.
Mrs Alexander led Chapel on Wednesday morning on the topic of kindness and resilience. To give a visual example of how effective strong foundations are, this year’s prefect team formed two human pyramids. No prefects were harmed in the making of the pyramids and the message was well received by the pupils.
A new, co-educational day house, Arkell, has been officially opened at Gresham’s Senior School. Arkell was declared open yesterday by John Arkell, Headmaster of Gresham’s 1991-2002, accompanied by Douglas Robb, Headmaster, and some of Arkell’s new pupils.
Arkell is the first day house at Gresham’s and follows the model of an independent day school closing at 5.30pm each day. To reflect this, the school fees are similar to those of local, independent day schools.
Pupils in Arkell can enjoy the depth and breadth of a Gresham’s education alongside all other day and boarding pupils and are encouraged to participate fully in the academic and co-curricular activities on offer. We look forward to their participation in House Competitions!
Gresham’s is once again celebrating as another set of fantastic results have been achieved by our pupils this summer, this time for our Year 11’s. Results show significant improvement on 2019 results in all metrics, from top grades to pass rate, despite the media reporting that results would return to those levels. In fact, the pass rate is higher than that of 2022, when grading was more generous, and A*-B/9-6 grades are up to the highest level in recent memory, excepting the years of alternative grading systems. Almost 50% of GCSE exams were graded at A*, A, 9, 8 or 7.
Our highest achieving pupils have excelled: one has achieved the extraordinary distinction of all 9’s and 16 pupils have an average of 8 and above, while we have also received an email from the OCR exam board informing us that one of our GCSE Art & Design: Three-Dimensional Design pupils has been awarded a certificate as one of the highest performers in the world this year, as the Dyson Building continues to provide our pupils access to the facilities necessary to achieve these exceptional outcomes.
We are particularly thrilled to share the news that 75 pupils have at least one grade 9 or 8 this year, showing that Greshamians are being recognised for their individual talents, achieving excellent results across the full breadth of subjects on offer – and there were an impressive 41 subject options reporting results this year!
Gresham’s is delighted to announce fantastic results for our A Level and BTEC students. 45% of A Level exams were graded at A* or A with 86.3% graded A* to C. Our entire BTEC cohort secured results of Merit and above with a quarter graded at Starred Distinction.
They have bucked the national trends that are being reported with the percentage of A* grades above our 2021 results and all measures from top grades to pass rate significantly above pre-pandemic levels from 2019.
Our students have also successfully fulfilled the requirements of their university offers with over 96% of those applying for 2023 entry securing their places already! A further 17 who have applied since leaving last year have all secured places too. Thanks to their hard work and that of all members of the school community, Old Greshamians will be heading off to Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Exeter, Edinburgh, Goldsmiths, KCL, Leeds, Loughborough, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Southampton, Surrey, Sussex, UCL, UEA, Warwick, Westminster and York; as well as specialist institutions such as the Royal Agricultural College, Harper Adams, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Leeds Conservatoire, Manchester Conservatoire, University of the Arts London, Norwich University of the Arts, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; as well as degree apprenticeships, Oxford University (2) and a sport scholarship
Leicester Tigers supporters are invited to watch the squad in action during the week-long training camp in Norfolk as part of pre-season preparations for the 23/24 campaign.
Dan McKellar’s playing group will be spending the penultimate week of the pre-season in Norfolk as they continue to prepare for the new campaign, which kicks off with a pre-season fixture against Nottingham Rugby at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Friday, September 1.
Following the session, the players and coaches will be available to meet supporters and pose for selfies, sign autographs and chat about the upcoming season.
A mobile Club Shop will also be onsite for any fans looking to get kitted out in the brand-new ranges ahead of the 23/24 season.
OPEN TRAINING SESSION
When: Wednesday, August 16
Venue: Gresham’s School, Norfolk (NR25 6EA)
Timings:
Parking is available onsite at Gresham’s School.
The Gresham’s Rifle Team have been at Bisley, during July, for the annual Schools and Imperial Meetings. Expectations were not particularly high, as a result of very little full-bore training during the summer term. However, as shooting got underway, it soon became apparent that we were not in fact all that far off the pace.
There were some early successes during the days build up to the Ashburton Shield. Harry P got the team off to a good start by winning the Monday Aggregate. Hannah B then finished 2nd in the Tuesday Aggregate, which helped the team on its way to winning the Tuesday team competition. The strong individual performances continued with Harry P adding the Wednesday Aggregate to his win on Monday and he also finished in 2nd place in the 300 yard Aggregate. Gresham’s had 11 of their 13 strong team in the Schools Hundred, which is for the top 100 shots during the week, with Harry P in 3rd and Hannah B in 4th. There were some excellent performances by the new shots in the team, with Margarethe G and Grace S appearing on numerous Prize Lists during the week and Ilana B and Corin H acquiring huge amounts of good experience.
The Rifle Team was supported and assisted by Mr Clarke for the Schools Meeting and Mrs Liberman was in charge of running the Pavilion and the catering for the duration of the trip. The Team were extremely pleased, and grateful, to have the support of some staff members on Ashburton Day. The Headmaster and his wife, Mr Kinder (as he so often does), Ms Whittle, Miss King, Miss Grasby, Mr Daniels and Mr Liberman very kindly supported the team for the entire day and they were joined by many friends and family. Thank you all for your support.
Conditions were nothing like as hot as the previous year but there were other factors to consider this year. The wind was trickier and there was the occasional heavy rain storm to contend with. The VIII got off to a very slow start, dropping far too many points at 300 yards. After the first distance the team were already down in 7th place. The team got it together for the following two distances and finished with the 3rd top score at 600 yards and the 3rd top score at 500 yards but unfortunately all of the damage had already been done at 300 yards and the team had to settle for a respectable 4th place in the final standings. Well done to Victoria College on their victory, it has been 62 years since they last won the title.
Our Under 16 Cadets had a reasonable day on the range and managed to finish in 5th place in the Cadet Pairs and 5th place in the Cadet Fours competitions. Well done to Ilana B, Margarethe G, Corin H and Grace S on their good shooting and this is hugely encouraging for the future.
The Schools Meeting was followed by the 154th Imperial Meeting and 15 members of the team shot in the second week of competition.
Thanks must go to all of the staff and all of the pupils that helped to make the summer such a huge success for the Rifle Club
Fifteen members of Gresham’s Rifle Club were at Bisley this year to compete in the National Rifle Association’s 154th Imperial Meeting, which took place immediately after the Schools Meeting. Every member of the team shot well in what were extremely wet and windy conditions, certainly at the start of the week. The newer, less experienced, members of the team were all on fairly steep learning curves, whilst the more experienced shooters in the team were trying to compete for the very top scores.
There was national representation, on day one, for both Hannah B and Harry P as they were both selected to shoot for England in the Cadet National Match. Despite both shooting very well for the England team, it was the Channel Islands that took the victory at the end of the match with England in second place.
During the Imperial Meeting, there are two Schools team matches that run concurrently with the Grand Aggregate. The Gresham’s Rifle Club team of Georgina B, Hannah B, Georgie C, Harry P and Oliver R were able to finish 3rd in the Garry Jones Trophy. The team, comprising of the same members with the exception of Alexandre S, who was replaced by Oliver R, shot for the Anstey Trophy. They had to settle for a 5th place finish in this competition.
The Gresham’s representation in the 2nd Stages of the St. Georges and His Majesty the Kings Prize were somewhat limited this year. Hannah B made the 2nd Stage of the St. Georges, along with Margarethe G, in only her first year of shooting full-bore. The other big individual competition during the week is the Grand Aggregate and, out of the 700+ competitors (from around the world) taking part, Hannah B managed to shoot consistently well throughout the week to finish 116th. Out of the 150 Cadets competing in the Grand Aggregate, Hannah finished 2nd.
There are a few additional shoots that can be entered towards the end of the week and one of these is the Howard Wilkinson (300 + 600yds) which this year was won by Georgina B, with a fantastic score of 99.14 out of 100.
Finally, we would like to wish Harry P all the very best on his tour to Canada with the British Cadet Rifle Team (the Athelings) and Georgina B with her tour to the Channel Islands with the UK Cadet Rifle Team. Thanks must go to all members of staff that have assisted, in whatever way, with the running of the Rifle Club over the past year. May 2023-24 be an equally successful year in the small-bore range and an even better year on the full-bore range.
Members of the Sheringham History Group visited Gresham’s on Tuesday 11th July for a historical tour led by Simon Kinder, Head of History. Simon explored the history of the school from its foundation in 1555 under Sir John Gresham, to the move to the Cromer Road site in 1903 and recent developments such as the opening of the Dyson STEAM Building. The group were introduced to the portrait of Sir John Gresham, Big School Hall and the School Chapel and listened to a wide range of stories about the amazing history of the school.