Pupils performed at Music and Munch, our monthly recital series

Music and Munch is our wonderful informal recital series, held in Tig’s café monthly. During March, there was a varied musical programme, with some exemplary performances from our pupils. Ilana B opened the concert assuredly with a stunning rendition of the Les Misérables hit ‘On My Own’. William J followed this with a modern piano piece, ‘Snow, Moon and Flowers’ by Sculthorpe. Next up was Percussion Ensemble, featuring Ella J, Henry J, Alissa M, Levin R and Sidney S, performing mesmerising ‘Dagbon Patterns’. Two singers followed – Alma R debuted singing in her native language of French to the Starmania song ‘Monopolis’, and Naomi H sang ‘O Danny Boy’ beautifully. Finally, Summer H and Freddie S gave an upbeat performance of ‘La vie en rose’, bringing our concert to a close. It was a fantastic Music and Munch that gave a great cross-section of the varied musical opportunities across the school.

The next Music and Munch will be on Friday 28th April at 1.15pm. All are welcome – no tickets required, and a light lunch is available for £3.50.

Oakeley House have been fundraising for Breast Cancer Now

Oakeley House charity week started off brilliantly with a cake sale on the 6th February to raise money for Breast Cancer Now charity. It was incredible to see everyone in house get involved by baking cakes, brownies and cookies over their weekend to sell around school. Everyone in house was very enthusiastic and the effort put into the baking was shown through the fabulous turn out that they had! The house prefects and Sixth Form were very helpful as they sold cakes in break times and it was great to see other houses getting involved by buying lots, as well as teachers buying trays of cakes for their classes. Oakeley were all really pleased with how the day went and were very grateful to everyone who contributed to such a great cause!

Oakeley held their annual Valentine’s Ball for all Sixth Form pupils on the Thursday of the same week. The ball included entertainment for the guests, including line dancing, a Mr & Mrs quiz, a temporary tattoo parlour and a delicious meal. It was decorated in an Alice and Wonderland theme with bottles filled with fairy lights that the girls had made themselves. The ball was in Big School Hall, which had been decorated with fairy lights, playing cards, roses and lots of flowers. The night ended with more dancing and a DJ, and all the girls contributed to not only putting up the decorations but also making them. Thank you to everyone who made it a night to remember, the girls should be very proud of themselves! With the Bake Sale, Valentine’s Ball and Home Clothes Day combined, Oakeley raised a total of £2089.44 for Breast Cancer Now!

Year 12 Biology pupils gave presentations on a plant and animal disease

For some, public speaking is considered a challenging skill. However, our Year 12 Biology pupils gave excellent presentations on a plant and animal disease as part of their A level course. They delivered with confidence and impressed with their in depth knowledge of their disease which went above our syllabus. 

RAF NCOs organised scenarios to practice first-aid knowledge

On Friday 3^rd March, the RAF NCOs organised a series of first-aid scenarios to practise the knowledge and skills necessary for dealing with emergency and non-emergency situations. In addition to the practicals, there was a British Red Cross quiz to test theory. First-Aid is an integral part of the RAF cadet training syllabus and Year 10s have basic first-aid sessions led by trained professionals as part of the programme. Early next term the RAF contingent will send a team to the Wingfield competition for Norfolk and Suffolk Air Cadets, and they will be examined on a series of skills, one of which will be first-aid. We wish the competitors the best of luck and hope that this afternoon will have proved excellent training for the competition.        

World Book Day 2023

The English Department held the Literary Bake Off Competition for World Book Day – well done to Bea C L and Emilie G for their wonderful ‘Matilda’ inspired cake. As the book tree in the corridor grew with contributions from the pupils, the classrooms buzzed with chatter about books and book recommendations!

Pupils at the Senior School impressed their tutors when participating in a fun World Book Day quiz, testing their knowledge of children’s and classic books, Netflix re-workings and pixelated book covers. Our ‘Masked Reader’ activity, which launched on World Book Day, continues, with pupils guessing which members of staff are reading in disguise. Hamster, Tiger, Smiley and Dog have made an appearance so far, with more staff characters to come!

Well done to pupils who took part in the English Speaking Union Mace Debating Regional Finals 

Many congratulations to Miranda, Georgie and Tillie in doing so well in the English Speaking Union Mace Debating Regional Final at Bishop’s Stortford, where they faced the five other strongest debating teams in the East Anglian region. The Gresham’s team proposed the motion ‘This House would introduce a 100% inheritance tax’ and performed really well, only narrowly missing out on qualification for the national finals of the ESU competition. Tillie was singled out in feedback for the quality of her summary speech.

Charles Spicer delivered a talk on his debut historical account to Sixth Form pupils

Charles Spicer, Author, company director and charity trustee delivered an absorbing enrichment talk to Sixth Form pupils on his debut historical account, ‘Coffee with Hitler’, which reveals the bold attempt of a handful of British intelligence agents to infiltrate and civilise the Nazi hierarchy. It is an outstanding narrative of a complex tale.

Our debating team have made it to the National Finals of the Oxford Schools Debating Competition

Gresham’s fielded four teams in the online regional heat of the Oxford Schools Debating Competition on Friday afternoon and evening. 8 debaters (Tillie, Miranda, Georgie, Kitty, Mojo, Arthur, Pablo and William) took part in two back-to-back debates in the British Parliamentary Style, in an event that lasted four and a half hours. The teams had just fifteen minutes to prepare their case on motions related to digital start ups and the abolition of private schools. This is intense and difficult debating and all four teams acquitted themselves very well. Many congratulations to the Gresham’s A team of Miranda and Tillie who were selected as one of the best eight teams in the competition and now progress to the national finals day at the Oxford Union on Saturday 11^th March.