Year 9 pupil selected for Derbyshire Emerging Players Programme

Year 9 pupil and rising cricket star, Finley S, has been selected to train with Derbyshire Emerging Players Programme for 2025-26.

In the 2025 season, Finley impressed the Derbyshire selectors with spectacular all-round performances, with 565 runs at an average of 33.24 and two hundreds and one fifty to his name, including a magnificent 150 not out.

His bowling has also been standout, with 22 wickets and a best of 4/42. Our congratulations go to Finley, who should be very proud of this immense achievement.

Gresham’s celebrates a trio of national award Nominations

Gresham’s Senior School has enjoyed an exciting start to the academic year, earning national recognition across three prestigious education awards.

We are delighted to announce that Gresham’s has been shortlisted for Best Public School by Tatler Schools Guide 2026. This places us alongside some of the country’s most respected schools, including Eton College, Brighton College, Canford and Caterham.

Tatler’s Education Editor, Tori Cadogan, and her team visited schools across the UK, engaging with pupils, parents, and staff to uncover what makes each school special. Their rigorous process includes thousands of questionnaire responses and in-depth research, culminating in the selection of just 250 schools for the 2026 guide, from hundreds across the country. With nearly 14,000 votes cast this year, being shortlisted for Best Public School is an extraordinary honour. The winner will be announced at a special ceremony later this month.

In a separate celebration, Gresham’s has been named Winner of the Performing and Creative Arts category in the Talk Education Innovation in Education Awards. The judges praised the school’s commitment to creativity and inclusivity across the arts:

“We are really impressed by the strength and output of your performing and creative arts departments – from the full-scale, professional-standard drama productions to the fully-inclusive house music competitions, as well as the creative opportunities spanning everything from directing to songwriting. We are thrilled to be able to help you celebrate this.”

Finally, Gresham’s has been selected as a Finalist for Regional Independent School of the Year: Central in the Independent School of the Year Awards. The Independent School Awards aim to highlight excellence, innovation, and impact across a diverse range of independent schools. The judging panel is typically made up of highly experienced educators, heads of schools, sector leaders, and education journalists. Achieving finalist status in the central category highlights the standout location of Gresham’s School, and its position to put forward a broad offering of activities and opportunities to enhance the overall pupil experience.

Enrichment talk: the humanitarian impact of the Ukraine–Russia war

Year 13 pupils were privileged to hear from Ukrainian lawyer Maria Pryzyhlei, who delivered a powerful enrichment talk on the humanitarian consequences of the Ukraine–Russia conflict.

Drawing on her expertise and lived perspective, Maria spoke with knowledge, passion, and honesty about the reality of daily life for ordinary people caught in the war. She illustrated the scale of the crisis through a compelling presentation, showing:

• The advancement of Russian forces into Ukraine
• The size of Ukraine, and how it compares to regions across Europe and the UK
• The profound human impact — from displacement and loss to the resilience of communities.

The session challenged pupils to engage and think about the impact of invasion and war with issues of everyday life, education, social interaction and food supplies being disrupted. Our pupils showed great empathy and understanding to those affected.

This talk is part of our ongoing Sixth Form Enrichment Programme, designed to bring global issues into the classroom, broaden perspectives, and deepen the academic and human context of our pupils’ learning.

IB pupils investigate plastic waste in Collaborative Sciences Project

Last week, pupils in Year 12 studying for the IB completed their Collaborative Sciences Project. This project involved researching a theme that had a local, national and international context, as well as designing and carrying out an experiment related to that theme. After 10 hours of planning, research and preparation, each group then delivered a presentation to their peers and other academic staff.

This year, the theme was plastics. We had experiments that investigated a range of factors, including how far different plastics travelled in moving water, how UV light affected plastic breakdown, whether different solvents could help with plastic degradation and whether recycled/biodegradable plastics were significantly weaker than others. They also made bio-friendly plastic from corn starch.

The ideas were varied and the research detailed. Not only was this excellently done by all involved, but the projects gave everyone a sense of conviction about how we can solve the scale of the problems caused by plastic waste. As one group asked in their presentation: “To what extent does knowledge about the harms of plastic create an obligation to act?”

Pupils deliver complex presentation on the history of the Middle Eastern conflict

The 2025–26 Academic Enrichment Lecture Series began yesterday with a compelling presentation delivered by Mr Kinder, Head of History, alongside Head Boy Tamin R and fellow Sixth Form pupil, Seb W.

Their lecture, titled The History of the Middle Eastern Conflict, was a masterclass in historical knowledge, preparation, and clarity of thought. It was particularly impressive to see two of our current pupils present with such confidence and depth, exemplifying both their hard work and their ability to engage with complex subject matter.