The Drama design team have been working hard on the Phantom of the Opera set

Last week, a group of amazing pupils, (AKA the wonderful Drama department design team), spent an evening in the Auden Theatre painting the set ready for Phantom of the Opera. 

Staff vs Prefects hockey match

Last week, the staff took on the prefects in the annual fancy dress charity hockey match. There were some fantastic outfits on display as can be seen in the photos! The game was played in great spirits and the scores were tied at 2-2 at the final whistle. A penalty flick shoot out ensued and still the scores were tied at 3-3 in the shoot out after some heroics in goal by Mrs Alexander for the staff. The shoot out went into sudden death with the large crowd of pupils behind the goal cheering on the prefects to good effect, but it was the staff that scored the winning penalty and with it were crowned champions for 2023. A great evening was had by all with funds raised being donated to Holt Youth Project and Breast Cancer Awareness.

The English department participated in Auden celebrations

To celebrate Auden’s birthday the English department were pleased to host two events celebrating the life and works of OG W.H Auden. On the 7^th February ‘Tell Me The Truth About Love” came to Fishmongers’ Hall. Charting the relationship between W.H Auden and Benjamin Britten, the performance wove together biographical details with extracts from letters and diaries. Beautifully scripted and read by John Smart, Paul Hands and Steve Benson, the story of their relationship was complimented by beautiful performances of Britten sung by soprano Jayne Jones, accompanied by Angela Dugdale and Wyatt Earp. The group perfectly conveyed the story of a relationship that seemed at first to bring out the best of each man’s genius, but finally ended in misunderstanding and regret. On the 8^th February the Auden Society aptly gathered in the Auden Theatre, the focus this term was on Auden himself. Our Year 12 pupils led the charge and took a chronological approach to their presentations, creating variety and interest for those listening. Larkin gave an excellent introduction to the group on Auden’s younger years, focusing on his time at Gresham’s and using extracts from his Juvenilia collection. Phoebe, our Auden President, followed with a look at Auden’s time in Berlin and how he exemplified the rebellious streak of Germanophilia that took hold in England in the 1920’s. Miranda concisely developed on Phoebe and Larkin’s presentations by linking in much of the knowledge she had learnt from the performance in Fishmongers’ Hall on the previous night. The five poetic philosophies of belief, doubt, certainty, enchantment and truth that Auden mused over were carefully explained by Beowulf, with Tamsin ending the evening by giving a beautiful reading of ‘Funeral Blues’ and ‘Autumn Song’.

The History Book Club met to discuss ‘Making Sense of the Troubles’

In early February, the Year 13 pioneers of the History Book Club met to discuss the third book they have read so far, ‘Making Sense of the Troubles’ by David McKittrick and David McVea. Phoebe, Georgie and George met to discuss the book’s even-handed treatment of the Northern Ireland Conflict. They discussed the static nature of society in Northern Ireland after 1921, the influence of personalities like Terence O’Neill, Brian Faulkner and Ian Paisley, and the reasons for the descent into violence and the failure of the Stormont Assembly. They also shared some of the very moving personal testimonies of the Troubles and discussed what had led to the peace process and what the Northern Ireland Protocol might mean for the future of peace post-Brexit. The History Book Club is now expanding as Year 12 members join and our next book review is ‘Coffee with Hitler’ by Charles Spicer who will visit Gresham’s to talk about his book on Monday 27^th February.  

Lent Term 1 football review

The new term resulted in a new squad for the football team, as some pupils joined the group from other sports, whilst some left to play hockey this term. There was an air of excitement as the term started though, with a move to the new field for both first and second teams and over 40 boys choosing to play football as their games options. Even more exciting was the establishment this term of our girls team, with 22 girls choosing football as an option, training under the expert eye of Ms Nche and a team of coaches from Norwich City CSF.

Bad weather left little time to prepare for the first fixture of the year, which was a friendly match between a Gresham’s OG XI and the first team. The OG side was made up of former students who had left in the last two years and it was an excellent occasion with the firsts winning out 6-2.

This set us up nicely for the first competitive match of the season against The Leys. Again, the weather played a part making conditions tricky for both sides and The Leys were awarded a penalty 10 minutes into the first half, which was excellently saved by Jakub N. Mid way through the half, Lucas T finished off an excellent move to put Gresham’s in front, but The Leys pulled back just before half time. Shortly after, the lead was restored by Albert W and we led 2-1 at the break. A close second half followed, with both sides having chances but Gresham’s ended up winning 4-1, with further goals from Ru M and Felix D-M.

Following a weather postponement against Culford, a home game for the firsts against a very strong St Felix school side followed. This was a competitive game with St Felix taking the lead in the first half and doubling it shortly after the half time break. A tweak in tactics followed and Gresham’s came into the match more, with Jude P scoring to reduce the deficit and Albert W equalising midway into the second period. Each side had chances, but an excellent move was finished by Jude P for his second of the game to give Gresham’s the lead. A dogged defensive display followed, with Gresham’s holding on at the end but the final whistle blew and the side had shown great resilience to win 3-2, especially having been 2-0 down.

The following weekend saw both Gresham’s first and second team in action, as Wymondham College visited with two very competitive teams.

The first team played a determined game, packing the midfield and stifling any creativity from the opposition. Both sides had chances but the half time score was 0-0. In the second half, Gresham’s shocked Wymondham to take the lead, with an excellent delivery from George B headed in at close range by Ru M. This really motivated the side and we pressed for another goal, which arrived mid-way through the second half. Jude P was fouled several yards outside the penalty area, and whilst the defence and goalkeeper expected a cross into the box from the free kick, George B scored a quite magnificent goal directly from a shot that would not have looked out of place on match of the day! Leading 2-0, Gresham’s had to withstand a lot of late pressure and Wymondham pulled one back to make it a nervous last 15 minutes, but we held on for an excellent 2-1 win.

The second team had a hard match against a Wymondham College seconds on the same Saturday afternoon. Wymondham dominated the first half eventually breaking the deadlock with a harsh penalty award. Two minutes later another penalty and Gresham’s went down 2-0. Gresham’s were under pressure and continued to leak goals. However, a fight back in the second half saw a very well taken goal by Ben R and a rocket header by Emerson G to finish with a scoreline of 7-2 to Wymondham. A good performance for the team bearing in mind the first time they have played together and player of the Match was Milan H for a string of superb saves.

The final round of fixtures of the half term saw three Gresham’s football teams playing at the same time (for the first time in recent history) with a block fixture at home against Langley.

The first team found themselves 1-0 down after just 2 minutes, when Langley scored from a corner after confusion in the penalty area. Gresham’s were sluggish for 10 minutes against a confident and composed Langley side, but quickly played their way back into the match and after 30 minutes were rewarded for their efforts, as Jude P latched onto a through ball to shrug off the defender and score. Just before half time, Lucas T found space on the right hand side to score with a delightful chipped shot. Gresham’s led 2-1 at half time and controlled the midfield, being first to every loose ball and attacking in numbers when winning back possession and mid-way into the half scored again, with Jude P getting his second goal of the game. Langley scored with 10 minutes to go to reduce the deficit to 3-2 but Gresham’s held on for a superb win.

The second team had a more difficult afternoon with their second fixture of the term against a strong Langley team. The boys did well to match their opponents until half time and were very much in the game until early in the second half. Ben R scored again as did Boaz v d M. The team tired in the second half and with some errors creeping in lost 6-2 in a competitive game.

This fixture also saw the debut of the Gresham’s girls football team and there was much excitement as the day arrived. Wearing their new first team kits, the girls (playing competitively for the first time) did an excellent job against a more experienced Langley side and took the lead, when Maya P had a shot which was unfortunately deflected into the Langley net by one of their own defenders. Langley’s experience showed and they soon were winning 3-1, however Gresham’s pulled one back before half time with a composed finish by Daisy W. The second half resumed with Langley in the ascendancy and they raced into a 5-2 lead, however the Gresham’s girls kept battling, creating several chances and playing some good football, which was rewarded with a goal just before the full time whistle. A penalty was given, which Jaz C put away for the final score of 6-3 to Langley. This was a fantastic debut and a positive display, with strong performances all round but Michelle W was named player of the match for her amazing energy and commitment throughout the entire game. The girls can now look forward to fixtures against Oundle and Uppingham (away) and Norwich School (home and away) in what will be a busy Lent 2 half term.

This was a positive start to the half term. The first team are unbeaten since early November and have now won 8 matches in a row (a total of 11 wins out of 15 since September) scoring 53 goals in the process! The second team have had some competitive games and the girls side has made their competitive debut. The final half term looks to be an exciting one for all three teams and football at Gresham’s is looking in a strong position for the future ahead.

Entries are in for the Ten Minute Play Competition

Who will win? Entries are in for this year’s Playwrighting Competition. One again, several playwrights are brave enough to take the Director’s Chair to move their ideas from the page to the stage. These performances will take place on Friday 28^th April in the Auden where the winning plays and productions will be announced. Judging from the range of styles and imaginative writing, it will be a truly dramatic event!

Pupils have heard from a huge variety of speakers during Academic Enrichment

Julian Barnwell Academic Enrichment Talk

We welcomed Julian Barnwell for the academic enrichment talk to our Sixth Form pupils to illustrate the discovery with his brother Lincoln Barnwell in 2007 of the Royal warship, The Gloucester, which sank off the Norfolk coast in 1682.  It was fascinating insight to the history of the time; the North Sea Survey; the archaeological find and to hear about the upcoming exhibition at the Castle Museum.

Creative Industry talks

Pupils from Gresham’s and visiting schools were treated to inspirational talks from leading lights in the creative industry.

Debra Hayward, British Film Producer with Monumental Pictures, talked about her career, her role and the huge number of possible careers paths in the Film & TV Industry.

Debbie-lee Pinching, RADA trained stage manager and theatre producer, gave a fascinating insight into her role in theatre and the huge variety of work and roles in the sector.

Paul Wilkins, a freelance creative consultant, gave a fascinating insight into styling, art direction and visual campaigns. Paul talked about his training and how he got into the industry.

A superb field of speakers, advice and encouragement to our pupil audience.

STEAM WEEK PUPIL WINNERS

Chloe-Leila G was joint winner at the STEAM Fair of the Lotus expansion time trail with a time of 2 minutes and 27 seconds. Chloe-Leila received her Lotus goodie bag for her win from the Headmaster in chapel.

F1 McLaren did a virtual Maths Challenge in STEAM Week which was organised through OG Kunz Chow, (W 2009 – 13) Aerodynamicist F1 McLaren. Three Sixth Form pupils got a superb result and were winners with the correct graph reading answer and won a F1 McLaren polo shirt presented by the Headmaster in chapel.

The Music Department have been busy in the lead up to half term

Music and Munch

February’s Music and Munch featured, as always, an eclectic mix of instrumental and vocal performances, combining popular music, classical hits, ragtime and musical theatre. A standout performance from Pullo W, who fully encapsulated his character Bill Sikes, complete with cockney accent, opened the concert. This was followed by equally amazing renditions of ‘What baking can do’ from Ruby S and ‘Both sides now’ from Naomi H-S. For the instrumental portion of the concert, there were two assured piano performances from Milan H and Rose T, a funky saxophone piece from Edie C, and to complete the set, a lovely violin duet from Evie M and Chloe-Leila G which demonstrated great musicality and listening. The next Music and Munch will be on Friday 3rd March at 1.15pm in Tig’s – all are welcome.

Choral Concert 

There was a fantastic Choral Concert at the beginning of February. Schola Cantorum sang pieces to celebrate the Presentation of Christ in the Temple within an atmospherically lit Chapel. Highlights of the concert were Julius R’s two solo performances of movements from the Bach cantata ‘Ich habe genug’. A special mention must also go to Johnny D (soloist) and Jimmy T (organist) for their solo performances in Nunc Dimittis by Howells. Well done to all of our musicians who were involved. 

Instrumental Concert

The Instrumental Concert was the instrumentalists’ opportunity to showcase what they have been rehearsing this term. There were performances from Concert Band, String Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Brass Ensemble, with all the musicians coming together at the end for a final Orchestra performance. The programme was varied, ranging from popular music arrangements to classical music. 

What a wonderful two showcases of all our musicians. Thank you to everyone who supported these events and well done to all our musicians. 

EPTA Piano Competition

On Saturday 4th February, the Music Department hosted the Norfolk region round of the annual EPTA Piano competition. EPTA, or the  European Piano Teachers’ Association, was founded in 1978 and today has associations in almost every European Country. The aim of the organisation is to promote best practice and to raise the standard of piano teaching. The competition ran from 9.30am until after 6pm, with a range of classes from Elementary to Advanced to cater for students of all levels from around Norfolk, eagerly supported by parents and friends who came to watch. Under the adjudication of Jill Morton, students from each class were put through to the next round which takes place in Covent Garden in London on Sunday 5th March. Prep School pupils Santiago O, Year 5 and Nathanial G-B, Year 6 came out top in their class whilst at the Senior School, Rose T in Year 11 was put through in her Advanced Class. Well done to these pupils and for Hansen W, Year 5 and Milan H, Year 11 and Hannah B, Year 13 for taking part and playing so well and all receiving such good feedback.  Good luck to our three winners in the next round!