Our pupils have been working with staff and employers to understand post 18 options

Lotus Cars Academy visit

We welcomed Sarah Drake and Jamie Barnes from the Lotus Cars Learning Academy to The Dyson Building and the Makerspace. They met our team of pupils who are working on two F24 electric cars and saw the progress they have been making under the supervision of Teacher of Computer Science, Lisa Stringer.

UCAS & Careers presentation

On Friday the 22^nd of April, Year 12 parents were welcomed to Big School Hall to learn about the various post 18 options available to our pupils.

This was a great opportunity for parents to find out more about the university application process, degree apprenticeships, studying overseas, gap years, work experience and the variety of opportunities out there.

This will be followed up by the Year 12 conference on Friday 10^th June from 4-6.30pm which is also open to parents.  Please look out for extra information coming your way soon.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the following members of staff:

UCAS /University -Mrs Mousley [email protected] 

Careers/Morrisby assessment/apprenticeships/work experience – Mrs Osborne [email protected]

Careers support from Old Greshamians

It works so well with the OG Club and Gresham’s Careers working collaboratively to embrace the superb support from OGs in helping current Gresham’s pupils with, advice, knowledge and encouragement for their future pathways.

Thank you to Old Greshamian Jason Berry (k & H 1989 – 91) for giving his time to be interviewed by two current Year 12 pupils as part of their academic leadership programme.

So much superb help and knowledge given to current pupils from #oldgreshamians Thank you to Dr Sophia Haywood and Victoria Vanhoutte for their respective work experience help in medicine and laboratory research. Your time and expertise is so appreciated.

Theory of Knowledge Exhibition 2022

We hosted our annual Theory of Knowledge exhibition on the afternoon of Friday 6^th May. This is an integral part of the IB Diploma programme and requires pupils to explore a question about knowledge, considering such issues as evidence, ownership, certainty or development, with reference to three real world objects of their own choice. There was a diverse range of items on show including a piano, various books, artworks and items of jewellery. The pupils delivered an excellent exhibition, confidently explaining their ideas to their peers and a range of school staff.

Gresham’s Enterprise have raised £1,000 for Olpalagilagi School in Kenya

Over the past four years, Gresham’s Enterprise has made bucket hats, cuff links, fountain pens, pins and bags to raise money for Olpalagilagi School in Kenya. They have now achieved a fantastic profit of £1,000. Well done to the current members; Jakob, Oliver, Aidan, Willem, Boaz, Max, Nikita, Matthew, Alex D, Alex M and Solveig for their tireless enthusiasm week in, week out. The team’s thanks goes to everyone who bought their merchandise! 

Our charity knitting group have created baby hats for neonatal care

This year’s charity project was put forward by Year 13 pupil Perdy S and her grandmother! Knowing that The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow had put out a plea for baby hats for the babies in neonatal care, Perdy’s granny supplied the knitting group with a pattern and they all set to work, producing 25 tiny hats for premature babies. You can see Perdy and Skyla with the fruits of their labours in the photo above, and they were thrilled to receive a letter of thanks from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in recognition of their hard work.

Well done to everyone involved!

Ruby has made the Top 10 in the Song Academy Young Songwriter competition

Congratulations to Year 11 pupil Ruby, who has made it in to the Top 10 in the Song Academy’s Young Songwriter 2022 competition. Founded 13 years ago, Song Academy is a leading platform for young songwriters, dedicated to the future of music and the wellbeing of young people aged 8 – 18. The 2022 competition saw an impressive 852 entries from around the world. These were whittled down to 30 finalists across 4 categories of which Ruby was one with her song ‘New Year’s Eve’. A nail biting wait for further short listing on 6th May included Ruby in the Top 10 and now we wait to see if she makes the Top 3 in her category on 13th June. For Ruby, who has entered the competition in previous years, this is a truly fantastic achievement and if her journey stops here, she is a winner in our books!

Ruby was asked what the inspiration for her song was and her answer probably resonates with many of us:

“I was sick of this expectation to be happy on New Year’s Eve, and the coinciding idea that you should just forget all the bad things that have happened and move on. I wanted a chance to sit with my feelings, to acknowledge both them and the realisation that you can’t always be okay just because society tells you to be. You can take a second to grieve the things you didn’t have the chance to do, before leaping to plaster a smile on your face for the sake of the future.”

Year 12 pupil Jake has built a drone in the Dyson Building Makerspace

Year 12 pupil Jake O has been busy in the Dyson Building Makerspace during GAPs (Gresham’s Activity Programme) time. He started by 3D printing his own mini drone using a starter kit. From the skills he developed in this initial phase, he went ‘rogue’ and made his own ‘First Person View’ (FPV) racing drone for a fraction of the price of a similar drone off the shelf. The other benefit was that this process was much more fun! He sourced all the materials that were then soldered, built, and programmed within the Makerspace. He 3D printed components to secure a GoPro and feet for a softer landing.

The final Auden Society meeting was an informative event

The final Auden Society meeting of the year, organised by the current upper-sixth pupils, was a well-attended and informative event. Fifth formers interested in aspects of A level or IB Diploma study were invited to spend time with our current pupils and learn about the most important facts and figures, as well as the experiences of those more well-versed in the respective courses.  

Looking back, it has been a fantastic year for the Auden Society. Participation has been excellent, and they have had benefitted from interesting and diverse talks from pupils and staff involved in the English department and outside too. Leila Y will soon be passing on the baton of Auden President and we welcome those interested in the role to express their interest to their English teacher/s.   

Pride Week 2022

During the week commencing 2nd May, we celebrated Pride Week. Soc(I)ety, the Gay-Straight Alliance at Gresham’s, organised for a variety of events to take place throughout the week. The Pride flag was flying on top of Chapel and the CFB was decorated in a Pride theme, whilst the catering team made some Pride-themed food. On Wednesday, we celebrated Be Yourself Day, which saw pupils enjoying a Home Clothes Day and Soc(I)ety raised money for the Trevor Project, a charity which is focused on suicide prevention and mental health awareness among LGBTQ+ youth. Soc(I)ety also gave a chapel presentation, speaking about significant historical and contemporary figures in the LGBTQ+ community.

Furthermore, Chapel was open until 10pm during the week, as a place to go if pupils needed a few moments to relax, unwind and reflect. Soc(I)ety worked with Mr Towson to create a stunning light display inside the building, which was combined with soothing Gregorian Chant to produce a calm oasis at the centre of our school.

The Histoy Book Club discussed their second book of the year

Lower Sixth Form historians who are members of the new History Book Club met on the evening of Wednesday 4th May to discuss the second book of the year, ‘Empireland’ by Sathnam Sanghera. The pupils discussed their favourite parts of the book and conversations ranged over issues such as the legacy of empire, what history should be taught in schools, how Britain’s imperial past should be interpreted and addressed in museums in Britain, and the role of history in the current ‘culture wars’. The pupils really enjoyed the book and especially its very personal perspective on how the legacy of the British Empire is experienced on an everyday basis.