On Wednesday afternoon, our Year 12 and 13 A level historians studying the Wars of the Roses were fortunate enough to be addressed by Andy Johnson, a former Gresham’s parent, who has recently published a book entitled ‘York versus Lancaster: The Battles and History of the Wars of the Roses’.

Mr Johnson explored the origins of the conflict and explained how recent scholarship is challenging the traditional explanations of battles such as St Albans I, Wakefield and Towton. His Q & A session followed, exploring all aspects of the conflict through to the 1460s.

We were delighted to welcome OG, Kaff Booty, to speak to our Year 13 pupils as part of their Academic Enrichment series. Kaff delivered an engaging and highly informative session on the subject of tax.

Kaff provided pupils with a clear and accessible overview of the history of taxation, exploring why tax exists and the vital role it plays in funding public services. The talk helped demystify a topic that can often feel complex or intimidating, breaking it down into real-world examples that were directly relevant to pupils as they prepare for life beyond school.

Overall, the talk was both insightful and highly beneficial, equipping our Year 13 pupils with a stronger understanding of the tax system and greater confidence in managing their future finances.

We were delighted to welcome Old Greshamian Beth Dunk to deliver an inspiring Chapel talk on her journey into Pharmacy. Beth demonstrated that STEAM is far broader than engineering, highlighting the dynamic and evolving pathways available across pharmacy.

She shared her personal story of resilience after missing out on her first degree path, explaining how resilience and perseverance enabled her to re-sit, redirect and ultimately achieve First-Class Honours. Her message was clear and motivating: a setback is not the end—keep going, stay open to new possibilities, and success will follow.

Last week, our Year 13 BTEC Business class were warmly welcomed by Sponge in Holt for an inside look at the company’s Marketing and Production functions.

The visit was led by Mark Joll (OG 1982–1991 (T)) and Marketing Director Natalie Douglas. Ahead of the trip, pupils researched the business and its recent successes, including Sponge’s gold medal at Britain’s Best Cake 2025 for its vegan chocolate caramel fudge cake.

After sharing a brief history, Mark and Natalie outlined Sponge’s business and marketing aims before taking pupils on a tour of the bakery. A group discussion followed, focusing on recent marketing developments, particularly the move toward greater product personalisation for gifting. The standout innovation was a new QR-code feature that lets gift senders upload personalised video messages, an idea pupils hope to reference in their external exam in January. The visit came at a great time, as it provided real-world insight for this upcoming assessment that requires pupils to create a full marketing plan based on a case study released just 24 hours before the exam.

Pupils were fascinated by the state-of-the-art production facilities, watching cakes and brownies move from mixing to packing and postal dispatch. They were struck by the rigorous separation of gluten-free production to maintain Coeliac UK accreditation.

It was hard not to build up an appetite during the tour, with so many delicious sights and smells. All were particularly delighted with the Legends Brownie Box they each received, printed off in a customised Gresham’s box, thanking them for the visit!

We are extremely grateful to Sponge and their team for such a warm welcome, and especially to Mark and Natalie for providing a truly valuable and inspiring visit.

On Tuesday evening, the History Society was treated to a stimulating lecture on the topic of ‘The Black Prince and the Terrors of Chivalry’ delivered by Professor David Green of Harlaxton College, University of Evansville.

David was a pupil in Tallis between 1983 and 1988 and was making a return to his old school for the first time in several decades. His lecture explored the origins, significance and demise of chivalry with the help of primary sources and written manuscripts from the medieval period.

A packed house of A level and IB historians witnessed a very special evening and asked several pertinent questions about chivalry. Thank you Professor Green for journeying out to Norfolk and hope he will visit again soon. 

Today, current and former Governors joined staff and the Goff Family to celebrate the opening of the Michael Goff Lecture Theatre in the Reith Block.

Michael’s association with Gresham’s stretches back to his time as a boarder in Farfield House and he has been a pupil, parent, OG Club chair, Governor and Foundation Committee member as well as serving as Chair of Governors from 2018-2024.

The lecture theatre provides a fantastic facility for pupils and forms part of the newly refurbished Reith building. 

Yesterday, our community continued its Movember initiative with an inspiring Chapel talk from OG Joe Nash, who courageously opened up about his own mental health journey.

Joe has been a remarkable advocate for men’s health. Last year, he became Movember’s highest fundraiser out of 23,000 students and was nominated in the organisation’s international awards for “Changing the Face of Men’s Health.” During that time, he ran 5k every day throughout November, sharing his reflections, along with contributions from around 30 others, on his dedicated Instagram page

Joe’s message resonated with pupils, as he encouraged everyone to seek support when they need it and to strive to be someone others can confide in. He also urged listeners to live life fully and authentically, without the fear of judgment and to always choose kindness, reminding his listeners that all that unkind words can have a profound negative impact.

We are grateful to Joe for returning to share his story and for helping to strengthen the culture of openness, empathy and support within our school community.