All in the spirit of World Book day, Gresham’s hosted its annual ‘The Great Gresham’s Literary Bake Off’, which saw creative bakers and avid readers unite to produce some wonderfully whacky and delectable literary treats. The judges were impressed by all entrants: their level of teamwork, their commitment to their designs and the celebration of their chosen text from the literary world. Each of the competitors thoroughly conquered the challenge of ‘ready…steady…BAKE!’

And the winners were:

1^st Place for ‘Creativity’:

Polina Z and Audrey B, Year 11, for their ‘Alice and Wonderland’ inspired cake.

1^st Place for ‘Link to the Literary brief’:

Grace S, Year 10, for her ‘Lord of the Rings’ inspired cookies, with actual ‘Elvish language’ scripture engraved on them!

Special mention

Harry L and James M, Year 9, for their ‘James Bond’s 007 gun’ inspired cake.

Thank you again to all those keen bakers and literary enthusiasts who took part, your tasty treats were enjoyed by many of the Gresham’s pupils and staff alike!

Furthermore, local poet, performer and author Lewis Buxton visited the school and asked: ‘Poetry is….?’. On Wednesday 6th March, and as part of World Book Day celebrations, pupils were given a dynamically inspiring Chapel Talk and participated in workshops lead by local performance poet and writer, Lewis Buxton. Through these sessions, Lewis promoted the power of the spoken and written word, and shared what poetry meant to him as a form of self-expression, individualism and making sense of the world around him. Pupils were inspired by stimuli such as ‘What is Poetry…?’ and ‘Love is…?’, thoroughly enjoying his humour, anecdotes, and passion for the literary world. Our favourite question of the day, “How long does it take you to write a poem?”…his answer: “Anything between 31 seconds to 31 years.”

Thursday 7^th March 2024 marked the return of ‘DEAR’ (Drop Everything And Read) sessions at Gresham’s. The instructions were simple; grab a good book, READ and be ready to discuss! In the words of Margaret Fuller: “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”.

Also as part of World Book Day celebrations, tutor groups competed in our annual cryptic quiz, this year solving book title riddles and guessing the staff ‘shelfies’ and disguised readers. There were some excellent entries – and some staff had pupils well and truly stumped as to their identity! –  with Miss Gathercole’s Oakeley tutor group showcasing their literary credentials by emerging victorious overall. Mr Kinder’s Queens’ tutor group and Mrs O’Donnell’s Tallis tutor group were narrowly beaten into joint second.