A group of Sixth Form Drama pupils took part in a hilarious performance of Jonah and the Whale during our Senior School Chapel service on Saturday. The smiling congregation was gripped by the wonderful story telling and fantastic props which brought this Biblical tale to life.
On Sunday 27th March, the school hosted the inaugural U10 & U12 club festival. Over 200 players from across Norfolk attended, scoring over 130 goals throughout the day.
In the morning, the U12 boys and girls competed in a 7-a-side tournament. The games were all very close with lots of good hockey skills on display. In the afternoon, the U10 boys and girls competition started in the sunshine. Both were playing a 5 v 5 format of the game and again, it was great to see some good hockey played and lots of smiles in the sun.
The event was run by Gresham’s staff and pupils from Years 8 to 12. The pupils did a brilliant job of umpiring matches, helping with the management of the tournaments and running teams throughout the day.
Thank you to all the players, coaches, parents and Gresham’s community for making the event such a success.
As the netball term concludes we have seen many greatly contested netball matches throughout the term. We have regularly fielded 4 senior teams and in Years 9 and 10 have seen around 90 players taking to the courts in both training and matches. We have seen A-D teams in both Years 9 and 10 competing in many fixtures.
Our 1st team have competed against many club, pathway, regional and national league players in their opposition and have had some great wins but also a couple of great learning experiences for the team about how to compete against some of the best young players in this region. Our other senior sides have also put out some great performances and on several occasions have been pitched against opposition of a team above within the opposing schools.
With our junior teams we have great depth, with the biggest cohort of players we have seen at the school for an exceptionally long time. Our 14A team has recorded one of the biggest number of goals scored in this age group, scoring 74 goals in 1 of their matches. They have secured an unbeaten season alongside our talented 14B team. The 14B team have had many exceptional performances this term. The 14C and D teams have shown great improvements throughout the term with the D team remaining unbeaten. Often both our C and D teams at 14s and 15s have been pitched against opposition of a higher level. The 15A team have had an exciting term with only one loss against a side full of club players. They have a lot of talent and will look forward to developing into our senior sides next year. With great depth in this year group, our B team have remained unbeaten with many excellent performances throughout the term. Our C and D teams have only lost 3 matches between them, 00 also often playing a level up in their opposition. Our 1st team and Under 15s attended the Brentwood tournament where we competed against many schools that we do not meet in a fixture schedule. Congratulations to our 15s who made it through to the semi-final.
The houses competed for both junior and senior cups. Congratulations to Queens’ winning the junior and Oakeley winning the senior competitions. All the teams played some great netball.
Thank you to all the coaches and congratulations to all the players receiving awards.
In a much-anticipated return of Choral Society concerts, we were delighted to welcome Gresham’s Choral Society and an ensemble of professional orchestral players to the Auden theatre to perform alongside our pupil musicians.
The concert opened with Schola Cantorum performing Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai Mass. Julius R’s rendition of a Bach aria, Ich habe genug, completed the first half. After the interval, our pupils joined forces with the Choral Society to sing Mozart’s Requiem. The pupils did an excellent job of the many solos within the Requiem, and it was wonderful to see four pupils playing in the orchestra as well.
Well done and thank you to all involved in this fantastic evening of music making.
The lower school production Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring pupils from Years 9 and 10, was performed on March 15th – 17th to a packed audience of pupils, staff and parents. This was an exciting project for all involved where the cast and crew worked tremendously hard to bring this well-loved classic to life. The most satisfying element of this show was witnessing the development of the pupils during the process. For some, this was their stage debut whether on the stage as an actor or puppeteer, behind the scenes as a backstage member or costume designer, or in the lighting box as a sound or lighting technician. We all had so much fun during rehearsals and performances and hope that the audience had fun too! Thank you to everyone who came to see the show! We can’t wait for the next one!
Pupils have been given the opportunity to do clay target shooting as an afternoon activity in the second half of this term. 18 pupils of all Senior year groups have visited a local field for introductory sessions, using a range of shotguns, equipment and resources kindly provided by the CCF and under the watchful eye of Mr Clarke. Some enjoyed their first experience of shotgun shooting while others honed their skills with a selection of different challenges. The aim is also to re-establish school clay shooting as a regular activity and prepare teams to compete in competitions, an area where the school has enjoyed much success in past years.
RHS hosted the last round of the East Anglian cross country fixtures this year. The clear weather lifted the teams spirits. Maya P finished first in the girls race after an excellent sprint finish, closely followed by Grace H and Lila S. These top five positions gave the girls team the overall win, supported by good finishes from Johanna, Tanya, Lily and Molly. Maya was also awarded the highest place finisher across the series in the girls competition.
Joe G battled hard in the Inters competition and finished a respectable 4th.
The Seniors boys race was dominated by Ned P leading from start to finish. He has notched up three straight wins this year and was awarded the highest place finisher across the series. Some sore legs after the half marathon and some confusion over the course saw Tom L and Archie K in unfamiliar territory toward the back of the pack.
A great season of competition, well done to all the winners and to everyone who took part.
On Wednesday 9th March, the prefects took on a staff side in a game of hockey, with the aim of raising funds to support the Red Cross humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
The game was an epic battle. The staff took the lead through an excellent counter attacking move ending with Mr Atkinson slotting home after some brilliant work from Mr Thomson. Mrs Alexander was fantastic in goal, making a number of key saves in the first half to keep the staff team ahead. Eventually, the pressure (and ability to run) got the better of the staff, with Bobby R scoring to level the match. The prefects dominated the remaining minutes but the staff side held on to force the match to penalty strokes.
In a nail biting shoot out, it came down to the final flicks for both sides. Joe O slotted the prefects final flick, piling the pressure on to Mr Coventry. Jasmine T-R pulled off an excellent save from Mr C’s flick to win the game for the prefects.
A special thank you to all the pupils and parents who came to support the event which raised £1,000 for the Red Cross. A special thanks must go to the staff, prefects and especially Molly C who did a brilliant job in making the event possible.
It was a great pleasure to welcome the Bishop of Norwich to Gresham’s on Thursday 10th March for a special visit. The Bishop enjoyed lunch with our Senior Chapel Wardens and Charity Committee members and was then given a tour of the school by our Head Girl.
In the afternoon, the Bishop of Norwich – who is a keen beekeeper himself – said a special prayer of dedication for our new Gresham’s Apiary where our pupils are hoping to produce our very own Gresham’s honey later this year! Finally, the Bishop ended his visit with a special ‘Quiz the Bishop’ session as part of our Senior Academic Colloquium program. A large number of pupils came along to ask the Bishop some challenging questions on a diverse range of subjects. The Bishop gracefully reflected on questions concerning miracles, sexual ethics and suffering; as well as the more light hearted subject of Norwich City Football Club’s upcoming fixtures.
On Thursday 10th March, some senior pupils celebrated carnaval, a French tradition where people dress up and parade in the streets, and eat donuts throughout the day. This was an occasion for our pupils to play games and complete quizzes in French, eat donuts and have fun.