After the Easter holiday, the School Shop will be operating from a new location upstairs in the Cairns Centre, which is accessed via the Sports Entrance at the Senior School, located on the left-hand side of the road. The new arrangement will allow the School Shop and FOGS Second Hand Uniform to be collocated in the same building, making access to either or both options much easier for parents.

The new shop floor should be more welcoming, comfortable and easier to navigate, which, combined with streamlining of stock management, should make the shopping experience far better for parents and pupils. A new online portal will be available at some point during the first half of the Summer Term, providing parents the option of buying online and collecting (or arranging for their children to collect) from the shop or House at school. 

More details about this will be sent out next Term after the final checks have been carried out with the new system, but we hope this will be a welcome addition to uniform purchasing options. Arrangements for the traditionally busy ‘back-to-school’ period, late in the Summer Term and Summer Holiday period, will also be sent out during the Summer Term, but we certainly wish to encourage as many parents as possible to get ahead of the crowd, avoid the bottlenecks which occur at the end of the summer holiday, and try to complete these purchases for autumn early. 

Miranda, Sarah and Tracy will be keen to see you in their new location, so do pop in when you can to meet them after the Easter break and let them guide you through any uniform or kit purchases you need to make or plan.

The company consisting of principals, ensemble, a corps du ballet, student orchestra and crew took triumphantly to the stage to bring the Lent term to a dramatic end with four performances of Phantom of the Opera. This melodramatic musical saw audiences taking to their feet to applaud the amazing talent, dedication and student professionalism that put Andrew Lloyd Webber’s extraordinary musical on the Auden stage. Dressed with a proscenium arch, gauzes and stage boxes the audience were taken from Holt to Paris for a spectacular night at the opera.

The 1^st VII netball team challenged the 1^st XV rugby team to what has become an annual netball match last week. The boys arrived full of bravado to impress the packed balcony in the sports hall but the girls have worked hard  on their skills and technique this season. This paid off and the girls stole the game with a final score of 6-21. Well done to Players of the Match Mojuba and Trent.

Pupils recently took to the obstacle course in the woods with our woodland education manager. Mr Braithwaite guided them around the course, the regain and rope climb at first glance seem a relatively easy challenge, but pupils found that they needed to dig deep in their reserves of perseverance and resolve, but this didn’t affect their good humour in trying to complete the tasks.

Just before the end of term, the Senior School celebrated their Annual Chapel Easter Egg hunt. This fun event took place in the woods with pupils searching for a share in 800 chocolate eggs. All pupils had a chance to take part and they had a brilliant time running to find them!

Bronze:

Pupils have been busy working towards completion of their bronze DofE award this term, most just needing assessor reports for the final two sections. The past two weekends have seen seventy-two Year 10 pupils completing their assessment expedition over two days in the surrounding North Norfolk countryside. Each weekend there were six groups of boys/girls covering six different routes finishing at Kelling Heath camp site.

Silver:

Year 11 pupils have spent the Lent term completing preparation and planning for their assessment expedition which will take place in the Yorkshire Dales next term. All pupils should have completed the volunteering, physical and skills section by the end of the Lent term.

Gold:

Year 12 pupils are packed and ready to go to the Peak District at the end of term to complete their gold practice expedition. Five groups (29 pupils), will be based in the Hope and Edale valley.

Year 13 pupils have worked very hard to complete all sections of their award which they have been working towards for the last eighteen months. At this stage as a group, they are ahead of schedule and many already have had their gold award approved by the DofE.

The annual Service of Confirmation was held at the School Chapel on Sunday 19th March. The Service was officiated by the Rt Reverend Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich. 

This special and moving occasion involved thirty pupils and family members. Alec A, Alexander B, Amelia M-L, Andre W, Arthur C, Cameron H, Charles C B, Dian S, Gabriella W, Helen S, Henrietta Croot, Isabella C B, Isaac B, John S, James C, Kathryn S, Laura H, Laurie W, Maddie W, Max C, Miriam G, Monty O , Ralph N, Rosie R, Sophia W, Sophie L, Teddy C, William N, William S, Zara U-B all took part. As part of the Confirmation Service the Bishop of Norwich gave each of the candidates a hazel tree to plant to remind them of the vow they have taken to care for creation. 

This annual service is a wonderful Gresham’s tradition which has seen a real revival in recent years. We have seen a large increase in the number of Baptisms and Confirmations taking place in our Chapel with 95 people taking part in these special moments in the last twenty months alone. We believe this is largest number in over 50 years to take place in such a short space of time.

Ten members of the Rifle Club have recently been representing England Schools in the annual British Schools International match. Each of the Home Nations (including the Channel Islands) select two teams of 12 firers to compete in this match, but with England having considerably more people to select from, than the other Nations, they also select a ‘C’ and a ‘D’ team to shoot for honours in the match. This year, a quarter of the England ‘A’ team are from Gresham’s School, with Georgina B, Hannah B, Georgie C and Belle W all being selected. George B was selected for the England ‘B’ team, Harry P and Jonny W for the ‘C’ team and Xenia P, Oliver R and Alexandre S for the ‘D’ team. Gresham’s has more individuals shooting for England, in this match, than any other school and we wish them all the very best for when the results are announced.

Gresham’s pupils celebrated Women’s History Month in a variety of ways: by learning about the history of International Women’s Day (Clara Zetkin, communist activist and advocate for women’s rights, founded International Women’s Day in 1910); by photographing themselves “Embracing Equity”, having learned about the difference between equality and equity; by watching films in house which celebrated women’s achievements or told stories of the lives of women, fictional or real (Queens’ girls’ choice was “Little Women”). 

On 8^th March, pupils were invited to wear something purple, the colour most associated with International Women’s Day, to show their support for women around the world, and at lunchtime, celebrated with purple cakes. Assemblies included Anton L sharing the story of his extraordinary multi-lingual grandmother, and Cerys D, Teagan G and Will B telling us about why Women’s History Month is so important. Their message was: “Forging gender equity isn’t limited to women…allies are incredibly important for the social, economic, cultural and political advancement of women.

Rev Jack encapsulated our thoughts and hopes with this prayer, which he read in chapel on International Women’s Day:

“On this International Women’s Day,
as we celebrate and give thanks for the achievements of women,
we remember the women who have played a part in our lives.
Those who have nurtured us, taught us, inspired us, loved us.

On this International Women’s Day, as we acknowledge the challenges women still face, we pray that all women may know equality of healthcare, of education, of wealth, of prospects.

We pray that all women may know themselves to be respected, safe, included, empowered.

Amen”