On Wednesday, 13th March, a group of pupils studying French in Years 12 and 13 went to the UEA Sacré Theatre production of Eugène Ionesco’s masterpiece Rhinocéros.

The play describes how a peaceful town is shaken as its citizens turn into rhinoceroses, swept up by a strange collective frenzy. Only the very ordinary character of Bérenger is determined to resist, no matter what. Ionesco uses the transformation of the villagers into rhinoceroses as a metaphor for how easily people can be swept up by collective pressures and abandon independent thought. Written after World War II, the play reflects on how many people in France collaborated during the Occupation, which allowed Nazism to spread. Through absurd humour, Ionesco warns of how easily people follow the herd, and why resisting pressure is essential. In an era of the power of the internet, social media and fake news, its central theme still resonates.

Despite the serious themes, the visual theatre made it very accessible to the pupils who also appreciated the absurd comic moments, and the powerful message of the play was understood. The stand-out moment was the immensely talented Erwann Limon transforming into a rhinoceros in front of the audience’s eyes.

Sacré Theatre at the UEA is the UK’s longest-running permanent French language theatre company, and they are a permanent fixture in our calendar – we are so lucky to have them on our doorstep!

It is always an immensely enjoyable afternoon, and this year was no exception. It has provoked thought and debate amongst the group, and links directly with the A2 French syllabus theme of Occupation and Resistance. We look forward to next year’s offering. 

We recently hosted our annual business breakfast for Year 12 pupils. The event brought together a wide range of local businesses to help our pupils develop their networking and communication skills, while exploring future career opportunities.

The morning also opened doors to work experience placements, summer jobs and valuable insights into different sectors, helping pupils to start to consider their post school pathways.

It was a powerful reminder of how strong connections between schools and the local business community can support young people in discovering opportunities and developing the skills they need to succeed.

Thanks go to the local businesses who gave their time and made the event the success that it was.

2026 is the National Year of Reading. This year, World Book Day at the Senior School has tied in with a reading push across the school. Tutor groups took part in our annual contest: a fiendish literary quiz that always involves stiff competition! This year’s quiz featured book-themed connection walls with a Gresham’s twist, and rounds on manga and multilingual Mr Men. The quiz is designed to be challenging, and the contest remains open until the end of term to allow time for team deliberations, with the victorious tutor group being announced after the Easter holidays.

Book hook teaser chapters, intended to share new and different titles with pupils, were read out in lessons, and recommendations from pupils and staff were shared in the Library and classrooms. We launched a new pupil book club at the start of the week, too, to meet regularly to discuss all things reading-related, and to take part in bookish activities, from bookmark making to creative writing, and everything in between.

The Reading Bingo Challenge launched in January, giving pupils the chance to win prizes by completing targets on their bingo cards. The competition runs until the May Half Term break and has already sparked plenty of enthusiastic and competitive reading, particularly among some of the boys.

Last Tuesday, seventeen A level History pupils were treated to an outstanding day of scholarship. They listened to seven stimulating online lectures about key controversies of the Wars of the Roses conflict, organised by the Richard III Society.

The talks included Professor John Watts on late medieval kingship, Dr Joanna Laynesmith on Margaret of Anjou, Matthew Lewis on Warwick the Kingmaker, Dr David Grummitt on Richard III, Lauren Johnson on Lady Margaret Beaufort, Dr Sean Cunningham on the Yorkist Rebellions against Henry VII and Dr Hannes Kleineke and Dr James Ross who debated why Edward IV was able to recover the throne in 1471.

The official start of the Lunar New Year took place over the Half Term break, so we saved our school celebrations for the week we returned.

Year 12 pupil Sophia L and Year 10 pupil Tiger M delivered an original and informative Chapel talk with a personal touch, explaining their own experiences of celebrating New Year and how celebrations vary across different parts of Asia. They focused on the relevance of the range of special foods shared with friends and family and explained the significance of language and wordplay to the festivities.

This year is the Year of the Horse, or Fire Horse, and the opportunity was taken to involve pupils across the school in a linked activity: making origami horses. Many found it trickier than they might have expected, but some wonderful herds were created.

Information was shared with pupils about which zodiac animal was aligned with their year of birth to see if they share its attributes – this year’s horse represents freedom, adventure, independence and energy. Our catering team also arranged a delicious Chinese inspired lunch.

We ended the week with a New Year themed gathering for international pupils at break time on Saturday. Attendees enjoyed snacks, fruit and hot drinks while relaxing and checking in with friends, to a background of international music.  

Since March began, the School has marked Women’s History Month (WHM) and International Women’s Day (IWD) in style, with celebrations and events continuing throughout the month.

Year 13 pupils were fortunate to hear from school governor, Sarah Fletcher, whose distinguished career in education has included serving as headmistress at three schools, most recently at St Paul’s Girls’ School. She began by reflecting on the origins of International Women’s Day, recalling how, at the 1910 Copenhagen Conference of the Second International, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an annual International Women’s Day to champion women’s suffrage and labour rights around the world.

Drawing on her own professional journey, Sarah spoke candidly about occasions when she experienced unequal treatment, and the lasting impact such experiences can have. She also charted significant milestones in women’s history, including partial suffrage for women over 30 in 1918, and the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which made it illegal to discriminate against women in employment, education and training.

Keen to ensure her talk was inclusive, Sarah emphasised that gender equality benefits everyone. She highlighted statistics on domestic abuse affecting both women and men, and addressed the challenges that toxic masculinity poses across society. Her central message was clear: we must change the conversation and work collectively to ensure that discriminatory attitudes and treatment towards women become a thing of the past. In that spirit, she suggested that March might be embraced not only as Women’s History Month, but as ‘Equality Month’ — a call to action and engagement for us all.

Yesterday morning, we were delighted to welcome acclaimed British film producer Debra Hayward to speak in Chapel as we marked International Women’s Day ahead of 8 March.

Debra’s message centred on this year’s theme: ‘Give to Gain’. She reminded pupils that progress towards equality has always come from people willing to give courage, determination and support to others. From those who marched for women’s voting rights to modern figures such as Malala Yousafzai, change has been driven by individuals who stood up not just for themselves, but for future generations.

Debra emphasised to pupils that while great progress has been made, equality still requires action from everyone. International Women’s Day, she said, is not only about celebrating women’s achievements, but about building a world where every young person – girls and boys alike – has the freedom to fulfil their potential.

Her final message to pupils was simple but powerful: when we support and empower one another, we truly ‘give to gain’.