We are pleased to announce Beau Hopkins as our new Director of Performing Arts.

Mr Hopkins studied modern languages at Oxford University, before obtaining an MA and later a PhD in Poetry and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. For the last few years, he has worked as a professional playwright, director and artistic director, developing innovative and daring theatre projects across the UK. In 2022, he founded his own theatre company based in Great Yarmouth, Contemporary Ritual Theatre, which has spent the last 18 months touring SALT, which he wrote and directed, giving 60 performances at over 20 venues across the UK, from the Isle of Wight to the Shetland Islands. In 2026, the play came to the Riverside Studios in London, where it received an Assessors’ Choice Award from the Off West End Awards body.

Speaking about his new appointment, Mr Hopkins commented,

“I am extremely excited to bring my passion and experience to the role of Director of Performing Arts, and cannot wait to begin nurturing our pupils’ creativity, developing their skills and confidence, and fostering their passion for performing arts.

My aim is to develop Gresham’s into a regional powerhouse for performing arts, centred on the values of daring, inventiveness, rigor, collaboration and excellence. I want to help all our pupils realise what they are capable of, and, for those who wish to pursue their studies and training, to create pathways into careers in the performing arts and creative industries.“

We are very excited to welcome Mr Hopkins on board and to see the Drama Department enhance further under his leadership.

Thursday afternoon saw the return of our much-anticipated start of term international tea party, with the location this year upgraded to the Headmaster’s office. Members of our international community, from all year groups and houses and a range of nationalities, came together over tea, cake and other sweet treats to socialise, compare notes on the first few days of term, and forge the foundations of friendship and an ongoing support network.

The rich cultural community at Gresham’s includes pupils of over 25 different nationalities and, for some, acclimatising to a new school, country and culture away from family can be a lot to process, especially at the start of term when everything is unknown. Both new and returning pupils attended the busy gathering, those with previous experience of Gresham’s kindly sharing their expertise and offering invaluable guidance to our new cohort to put them at their ease. Returning pupils, along with staff, did a sterling job of welcoming our new pupils, and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces and hear Mr Robb’s office full of conversation and laughter. The general consensus among the group on day five of term was that everyone is busy and tired, but happy!

Pupils have been set some mini challenges, designed to get them exploring the school campus and interacting with others. Smaller scale regular social events for our international community are also scheduled throughout the year, allowing pupils time and space to relax, connect with their peers and share experiences. There will therefore be plenty more opportunities for getting together over tea and biscuits, just not always in the Headmaster’s office.

Gresham’s is celebrating another year of successful exam results, with its highest-ever GCSE pass rate and 98% of Sixth Form pupils securing places at either their firm or insurance university choice.

These results highlight Gresham’s as a school that combines academic excellence with creativity, innovation and a forward-looking approach to education.

Record-breaking GCSE results

This year, an outstanding 97% of all GCSE entries were graded 9-4, significantly above the national pass rate of 67%. At the highest grades, 49% of all entries were awarded grades 7-9, more than double the national figure of 22%. An impressive 31.2% of results were graded at A*/9/8, and more strikingly, pupils achieved those top grades in every single GCSE subject on offer at Gresham’s.

Across the year group, 56 pupils achieved at least one coveted Grade 9, and eleven pupils accomplished a remarkable clean sweep of grades 9-7 across all their GCSE subjects.

In an exciting story of individual pupil success, leading UK awarding body, Cambridge OCR, acknowledged one Year 11 as one of the top performers in GCSE Art and Design: Three-Dimensional Design, making them one of the top-performing pupils in the country. These outstanding stats and achievements are representative of an exceptionally high standard of work and mark the distinguished level of accomplishment across the cohort.

Among the UK’s Top 20 for the IB Diploma

Gresham’s is the only school in Norfolk to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, and following their 2026 results, continues to be in the Top 20 schools in the UK for highest IB average point score. With an average of 35.2 in 2026, 60% of examinations were awarded a Level 6 or 7 (equivalent to an A or A* at A level) and 63% achieved 35 points or above (equivalent to A*A*A at A level). 

A level and BTEC builds on a strong record

At A level, 42% of all grades were awarded at A* or A, compared with a national average of 28.5%, while an impressive 89% of grades were awarded at A* to C. The school continues to be a leader in art-based subjects, with 100% of pupils achieving an A* or A in 3D Design, Art and Graphics.

These results come shortly after Gresham’s was awarded a significant strength for its creative arts curriculum by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Achieving a significant strength is a rare outcome under the current inspection framework and reflects the consistently high standards and quality of provision it delivers.

This year, pupils studying BTEC qualifications achieved the best results since the BTEC National Diploma was introduced at Gresham’s. The programme has continued to grow, with subjects now spanning Agriculture, Performing Arts, Digital Music Production and Sport. An impressive 65% of pupils achieved Distinction-level results, marking a particularly strong year for Gresham’s BTEC provision.

Bright futures and exciting destinations

With such outstanding outcomes from 2026 leavers, it’s no surprise that universities have once again been quick to welcome Gresham’s pupils, with 98% securing places at either their firm or insurance choice.

Members of the Class of 2026 will now embark on the next stage of their journeys at universities across the UK and around the world, including Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, King’s College London, Leeds, Loughborough, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford Brookes, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Southampton, St Andrews, UCL, UEA, Warwick, York and Munich.

Alongside university destinations, pupils have secured places at prestigious specialist institutions including the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Scottish Conservatoire, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Harper Adams University, and two will head to Norland University, the world’s first university dedicated to early childhood; while others have chosen to pursue degree apprenticeships and professional career pathways.

The Rifle Club has recently returned from a very hot and windy two weeks at Bisley, where they competed in the NRA Youth Imperial Meeting and the 157th NRA TR Imperial Meeting.  

There were some notable individual performances during the Youth Imperial Meeting. Still, the standout performances over the four days came from Edward B and Poppy D, who together placed 5th in the Youth Pairs and were winners of the U16 Pairs. As a team, Gresham’s were performing well during the week, but it wasn’t until the last day, and the Ashburton Shield, that the team all shot superbly well and showed what they are truly capable of.  All eight members of the VIII shot brilliantly, particularly Bertie B, Evie M, Alastair S and Jonathan z B, who all scored 99 or 100 (out of 105) in the match. The team’s fourth-place finish was a notable achievement. The result highlighted a strong performance against well-established opposition.

The Youth Imperial Meeting was followed by the TR Imperial Meeting, which started with the Under-19 International Match. As a result of shooting well throughout the Youth Imperial Meeting, Evie M was selected as a member of the eight strong English U19 Team to compete in the match. This is a match against all of the other Home Nations and is notoriously difficult to be selected for. Evie had a great shoot during the match and finished with 100.9 (out of 105.21). Unfortunately, the England team was defeated by just 2 points, finishing in second place to Scotland.

Conditions had not been particularly easy throughout the Youth Imperial, but they became noticeably more difficult for the following week. It was a particularly tricky year, and competitors of all abilities struggled with both the heat and the wind. 

Evie’s fantastic achievement at the start of the week was followed by several other exceptional performances during the TR Imperial Meeting, with Alastair S, Evie and Jonathan z B, all breaking 700 in the Grand Aggregate. Both Alastair and Jonathan also qualified for the second stage of the Kings Prize, and Jonathan qualified for the second stage of the St. Georges Vase. In individual competitions, Jonathan finished 3^rd in the Chairman’s Prize Final and 3^rd in the Stickledown competition. Bertie B came 2^nd in the Howard Wilkinson, one of the final competitions of the week. 

Alastair’s fortnight of great shooting was topped off with his selection to one of the British Schools teams for the British Schools v Under-19s v Under-21s v Under-25s match. The GB Under-19 team finished one V-Bull ahead of Alastair’s British Schools team. Alastair’s highest score for the British Schools team was 145.15. The GB Under-25 team finished in 3^rd place, just one point behind the Under-19s.

The greatest achievement of the two weeks was Jonathan z B being selected to represent the full German National Team. Firstly, he shot for them in the ‘Overseas’ match and did very well for the team – so much so that he was selected, later in the week, to represent Germany in the ‘Mackinnon’ match. The Mackinnon Match is the primary long-range international match (900 & 1000 yds.) held during the Imperial Meeting. The best 12 shots from all of the represented nations compete against each other on the final Saturday. Jonathan not only earned his full National Cap, but he also top scored for the entire German team and was the 13^th top shot in the entire match (132 world-class firers in total). Congratulations to Jonathan on his fantastic achievements. 

Overall, it was a hugely enjoyable and successful two weeks. A big well done to all members of the team. 

A busy and successful year of debating concluded with two outstanding final events at the end of the Summer Term.

A very strong Year 9 performance from all the houses produced a fantastic final between proposition Tallis – Cameron M, Will R and Oscar B-H – and opposition Edinburgh – Jemima P, Kitty R and Tilly C – contesting the motion: As the USA commemorates 250 years of independence in 2026, this House finds more to regret than to celebrate. The adjudicators split two votes to one in favour of Tallis who lifted the Carolyn Thomas Trophy for the fourth time since 2017.

Pullo W concluded the term by organising a second highly successful Lord Denning Competition which saw pupils from across Year 9-12 placing a number of controversial Americans – Robert E Lee, Henry Kissinger and Harry S Truman – on trial. Judges Reverend Branford and Mr Kinder were impressed with the comprehensive research and well-crafted arguments constructed by the prosecution and defence in all three cases.   

The Music Revue Concert, held in the Auden Theatre at the end of the Summer Term, celebrated the musical highlights of the academic year and showcased the exceptional talent of our musicians.

The programme featured a diverse repertoire, including Big Band favourites, Beethoven from the Holkham Concert, the Woodlands Instrumental from House Music, the String Ensemble from Jingle All the Way, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Schola Cantorum, the Soave Trio from Così fan tutte, Kids in America from the Pop Concert, and Stella by Starlight performed by the Jazz Trio.

The concert concluded fittingly with the Act One finale from Les Misérables, One More Day.

A well-deserved standing ovation brought the academic year to a memorable close for these outstanding musicians.

Gresham’s is delighted to announce excellent results in the 2026 IB Diploma Programme.  

60% of examinations were awarded a Level 6 or 7, equivalent to an A or A* at A level. 63% achieved 35 points or above – the equivalent of A*A*A at A level. 

We are incredibly proud of all our IB pupils and would like to congratulate them on their impressive successes. Alongside their IB studies, this cohort have made outstanding contributions to music, drama, sport, debating and other co-curricular activities during their time at Gresham’s.   

We wish our IB pupils every success and congratulate them on meeting the entry requirements of a wide range of destinations including Warwick, St. Andrews, Durham, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and top universities in Germany and the Netherlands.