Power cut creates magical torchlight moment at Binham Priory performance
News > Power cut creates magical torchlight moment at Binham Priory performance
This year’s performance took place in the ruined Benedictine Priory of St Mary’s Binham, where the Schola Cantorum Chamber Choir, Senior School musicians, and professional orchestral players performed a top-tier classical programme. The repertoire included Fauré’s Requiem and selected arias from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
As Storm Claudia raged outside, knocking out the village’s power, the performers found themselves in complete darkness. But the Gresham’s spirit of resilience shone through, and the concert went on by torchlight. The show must go on – and it did, impressively. Well done to all!
The Michael Goff Lecture Theatre officially opens
News > The Michael Goff Lecture Theatre officially opens
Today, current and former Governors joined staff and the Goff Family to celebrate the opening of the Michael Goff Lecture Theatre in the Reith Block.
Michael’s association with Gresham’s stretches back to his time as a boarder in Farfield House and he has been a pupil, parent, OG Club chair, Governor and Foundation Committee member as well as serving as Chair of Governors from 2018-2024.
The lecture theatre provides a fantastic facility for pupils and forms part of the newly refurbished Reith building.
An important ‘Movember’ message from OG, Joe Nash
News > An important ‘Movember’ message from OG, Joe Nash
Yesterday, our community continued its Movember initiative with an inspiring Chapel talk from OG Joe Nash, who courageously opened up about his own mental health journey.
Joe has been a remarkable advocate for men’s health. Last year, he became Movember’s highest fundraiser out of 23,000 students and was nominated in the organisation’s international awards for “Changing the Face of Men’s Health.” During that time, he ran 5k every day throughout November, sharing his reflections, along with contributions from around 30 others, on his dedicated Instagram page
Joe’s message resonated with pupils, as he encouraged everyone to seek support when they need it and to strive to be someone others can confide in. He also urged listeners to live life fully and authentically, without the fear of judgment and to always choose kindness, reminding his listeners that all that unkind words can have a profound negative impact.
We are grateful to Joe for returning to share his story and for helping to strengthen the culture of openness, empathy and support within our school community.
Acclaimed film producer Debra Hayward inspires Year 13 pupils
News > Acclaimed film producer Debra Hayward inspires Year 13 pupils
Our Year 13 pupils were thrilled to welcome British film producer Debra Hayward, whose latest film The Woman in Cabin 10 has recently launched on Netflix. Debra’s impressive filmography also includes Back to Black, Les Misérables, About a Boy, Atonement, Mary Queen of Scots and more. Debra shared a fascinating insight into the journey of taking a story from page to screen.
Pupils learned about the vast range of career opportunities within the film industry — from lighting, sound, engineering, props, costume and makeup to visual effects, editing, graphic design and post-production — emphasising the collaborative creativity behind every production.
This was a truly inspiring session that opened pupils’ eyes to the many pathways into the film and creative media sector.
Four pupils awarded Gold certificates in UKMT Senior Maths Challenge
News > Four pupils awarded Gold certificates in UKMT Senior Maths Challenge
Recently, 65 Gresham’s pupils from took part in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge, open to Sixth Formers.
The challenge is in the form of a paper including 25 puzzle-style questions. The problems on the Senior Maths Challenge are designed to make pupils think and provides stimulating problems for both beginners and experienced problem solvers.
Alisher G, Benny S, Chris C and Pablo B-G impressively won Gold certificates and are invited to take part in the next round. Well done to all four pupils, and we wish them the best of luck in the next round.
If you would like to test yourself, here is a question from the Challenge, of medium difficulty:
Year 9 journey through the Gresham’s Archives
News > Year 9 journey through the Gresham’s Archives
Year 9 classes marked Remembrance Week by visiting the School Chapel to investigate its status as a war memorial and also researched the impact of the First World War by exploring some of the many fascinating documents from the School Archives.
Pupils explored the 1903 school prospectus, Gresham’s magazines of 1914-18, the Vellum Roll of the First World War Fallen of the junior boys, the diaries of junior housemaster, Dallas Wynne Willson, and a couple of contemporary photograph albums.
This provided a unique opportunity to handle original documents and to draw inferences about the School’s relationship with the First World War.
After addressing parents, pupils and staff in his guest talk on Super Champions, Gresham’s was privileged to welcome Oliver Logan for an extended visit. Oliver, an Elite Performance Coach, currently working with the Olympic GB Aquatics team, joined us for two inspirational days of workshops and coaching.
Oliver demonstrated how STEAM subjects—Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science and theoretical PE—are vital to elite sport. Pupils explored how data analysis, biomechanics, technology and scientific measurement drive performance improvements in competitive swimming, gaining insight into how coaches use evidence-based methods to refine technique and achieve marginal gains.
Alongside classroom sessions, Oliver delivered two pool-side coaching sessions focusing on the precision of turn technique, allowing junior and senior swimmers to apply STEAM principles directly to their performance.
His visit highlighted the powerful connection between academic learning and high-performance sport, inspiring pupils to see STEAM as a pathway to real-world innovation and sporting excellence.
Outstanding efforts in History Trench Competition
News > Outstanding efforts in History Trench Competition
Year 9 pupils are to be congratulated on many outstanding entries in the History Trench Competition this year. A significant number of pupils put hours into their creations, and the cakes were particularly good – both in design and taste.
As Head of STEAM, Mr Saker judged the entries on Saturday and ranked the entries as follows:
Joint Third: Lloyd G for a poignant and powerfully designed box trench, and Benji J, Freddie M, Wilf B and Tommy S for constructing a life-size trench with accompanying photographs and film.
Joint Second: Hannah C for a beautifully compact and well-modelled shoebox trench, and Will R for an excellent model trench system.
The Winner: Freya D for a beautifully modelled trench system.
Well done to everyone who entered.
Ian Nash engages Year 13 pupils with engineering careers talk
News > Ian Nash engages Year 13 pupils with engineering careers talk
During STEAM Week, we welcomed former Royal Navy Engineer Ian Nash, now Technical Director of Leo Maritime Ltd, to speak to our Year 13 pupils on the vast scope and opportunities within the field of engineering. Ian delivered a compelling and highly engaging talk, providing valuable insight into his journey from the Royal Navy into senior leadership within the engineering sector.
Ian emphasised the inclusive nature of engineering, reinforcing that it is a profession open to all pupils who are driven by curiosity, problem-solving and perseverance. He provided powerful encouragement to our female pupils, highlighting the increasing presence and success of women in engineering roles.
The session offered inspiring, real-world perspective on the extensive career pathways available — both within the Royal Navy and across the wider engineering sector — leaving our pupils with a renewed sense of possibility and purpose. A truly motivating and insightful talk, reinforcing that engineering is not just a career path, but a landscape of innovation open to anyone with the passion and drive to pursue it.
Monday evening witnessed a feast of fantastic debating. In the early part of the evening, two teams participated in the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition online first round heat, taking part in four matches. Grace C addressed the topic of always forgive your enemies, whilst Izzy D’A spoke about whether we need, or should avoid, boredom. Jemima P and Tilly C took on the role of Chair and Lewis H and Kitty R that of Questioner. Gresham’s A – Grace, Lewis and Jemima – progress to round 2, though both teams were excellent, especially as they were all novices in this competition.
This was followed by an outstanding Sixth Form Inter-House Debating Final contesting the motion, This House Would ban dating and relationship-based reality TV. Arkell (Toby R, Cerys D and Toby M) proposed with Farfield in opposition (Bill M, Pablo B-G and James C). There was nothing between the two evenly matched teams, but Farfield just edged it on their response as a team to questions from the floor. This is Arkell’s best performance in the competition so far, but it is Farfield who lift the Marsham Debating Cup for the first time since 2009.
On Thursday evening, another Sixth Form team journeyed to Norwich High School for Girls where they participated in the first round of the ESU Mace Debating competition. The team – Sophie G, Cerys D and Pablo B-G – opposed the motion This House Would impose a tourism tax in major cities facing overtourism.Pullo W also served as timekeeper for the event and Sophia L travelled as a reserve. Although the team performed very well, they were on this occasion beaten by even better teams, though all five thoroughly enjoyed an excellent event.
