At the end of May, a mixed group of Year 12 pupils spent two weeks in Kenya, staying at Cottar’s 1920s Camp. Working with pupils at Olpalagilagi Primary School in the local Maasai community, the pupils learned about Maasai culture, conservation, and perhaps most importantly, discovered a thing or two about themselves.

Since returning, they have received the exciting news that funds raised by Queens’ House will support 17-year-old Stacy Soyian Kibelekenya, who hopes to study Business and become a teacher. Without this scholarship, further education would likely be out of reach. The girls’ efforts will make a life-changing difference to Stacy’s future and, in turn, the lives of others she may one day inspire.

Year 9 pupils put their language skills to the test in the Modern Languages French and Spanish Translation Bee, with class winners progressing to the grand final.

The challenge required pupils to translate as many sentences as possible orally into French or Spanish within one minute. Competitors used three different time frames and a bank of 67 words, testing both their vocabulary and grammatical accuracy under timed conditions.

Congratulations to everyone who took part for braving the nerves and pressure. A special well done to our winners:

Spanish

• 1st: Jemima P
• 2nd: Lloyd G

French

• 1st: Lloyd G
• 2nd: Sophie F
• 3rd: Benji J

Year 9 pupils recently enjoyed an inspiring and action-packed visit from One Day Film School, taking part in the 10-Shot Challenge Day.

The brief challenged pupils to work collaboratively in production teams to script, shoot and edit a complete 10-shot silent film. With no spoken dialogue allowed, each team had to translate a classic narrative into a clear and compelling visual story, relying on performance, camera work, editing and music to bring their ideas to life.

Throughout the day, pupils developed their creativity, communication and problem-solving skills, learning how much can be achieved through careful planning and strong teamwork. From storyboarding and directing to acting, filming and editing, every pupil played a part in the filmmaking process.

The day culminated in the 2026 Gresham’s Oscars, celebrating the imagination, technical skill and performances shown across the year group. The award for Best Motion Picture went to It All Works Out, while Otis was recognised for Best Performance in The Choice. Death of the Groom received Best Technical Achievement.

The One Day Film School experience gave pupils a memorable opportunity to explore storytelling in a completely new way, showing how powerful film can be even without words. It was a fantastic celebration of creativity, collaboration and young talent among our pupils.

It All Works Out is eligible for the 2026 10 Shot Film Awards which recognise filmmaking excellence in 150+ leading UK & international schools. The judging panel includes Robin Kinsey, VP Marketing, Walt Disney Studios, Suzanne Smith, Casting Director (Band of Brothers, Silo), Ilan Eshkeri – Composer (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake) and Marc Mailley, Stunt Coordinator (Skyfall, Harry Potter). 

Last Friday, the sun was shining and there was a buzz of excitement in the air as just under 1,000 people gathered in our Theatre in the Woods for the annual Gresham’s Pop Concert — an evening of unadulterated rock and pop performed by our talented pupils.

What a night it was! The concert opened with Thriller by Albert L, followed by a string of performances that delighted our eager audience over and over again. From Olivia Dean and Kim Wilde to Queen, Oasis and Shaggy, the first set ended with Arctic Monkeys’ I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor sung by Harry W, with Charlie P, Dylan R and Arlo G on guitar, George RL on kit and Charlie P on bass. Pupils in the audience could not resist heading into the mosh pit, fists pumping the air with adulation as those on stage gave it their all.

The second set opened with a bang, as Edie C sang Raye’s Where Is My Husband. Ilana B and Zinnia-Claire B varied the pace with ballads by Sade and Billie Eilish. Seb C and Dougie L took us back to the 80s to The Cure’s Friday I’m in Love, whilst Ruby P pleaded with us with a spectacular rendition of Don’t Stop Believin’. 

It was perhaps the final rock set that clinched the night, with Charlie P as lead vocalist, Kai S on bass, Dylan R, Harry and George J on guitar and Timo F on kit. 

From backing vocalists and lead singers to instrumentalists and bands, huge thanks go to all performers who made the evening a success. A special mention goes to pianist, Benny S, who performed in over 20 songs, leading the bands with professionalism and authority throughout the night.

Photos by Mr McMurray and A level Photography pupils, Austin L and Georgina S-P.

We were delighted to welcome Penny Hubbard, Schoolreaders Norfolk Ambassador, back to Chapel to share the final update on the Schoolreaders Race for Reading Challenge.

The challenge encouraged pupils to move 40 miles and raise £40 over the 40 days of Lent, supporting Schoolreaders’ vital work providing one-to-one reading support for primary school children. Penny, who volunteers weekly at Hunstanton Primary School, spoke to pupils about the impact of their efforts and thanked everyone who took part.

Together, the Gresham’s community raised an incredible £2,754.50, including Gift Aid, which will help provide one-to-one reading support for 68 primary school children in Norfolk next academic year.

Queens’ House were the overall winners, raising £650, plus Gift Aid, and recording the highest total mileage, with over 255 miles completed. Arkell House finished second for fundraising, raising £370, plus Gift Aid.

Special congratulations go to Emily K, top fundraiser with £270 raised, Katie Jl, second top fundraiser with £200 raised, and Anni S, who recorded the most miles with an impressive 108.5 miles.

A huge thank you goes to pupil ambassadors Lewis B-R and Katie J, whose hard work and enthusiasm helped make the challenge such a success. Thanks also to Kyla C and Pullo W for their committee input.

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators was launched in 2020 by the Translation Exchange at The Queen’s College, Oxford. The competition is inspired by the work of the translator, Anthea Bell OBE (1936–2018), one of the finest and most influential literary translators of the 20th and 21st centuries, best known for her witty translations of the Asterix comic books. Not only did she translate works from French but also from German and Danish, tackling major works of European literature, including Kafka and Sebald.

The competition was founded to promote language learning across the UK, to inspire creativity in the classroom and to motivate more pupils to study modern foreign languages throughout their schooling and beyond.

It runs across four levels in six languages, French, German, Russian, Mandarin, Spanish and Italian. There are close to 25,000 entries every year and this year, pupils of French and Spanish were highly commended for their translations. Albert P in Year 10 translated an extract from Marguerite Audoux’s 1911 novel Marie-Claire and Clementine F and Evie J translated an extract from the Chilean author, José Ignacio Valenzuela’s, Mi Tío Pachunga. With close to 25,000 entries per year, this is a superb achievement for our pupils.