Pupils enjoyed a STEAM inter-house competition run by Lotus Cars
News > Pupils enjoyed a STEAM inter-house competition run by Lotus Cars
As part of our STEAM enrichment weeks, Lotus Cars ran a STEAM inter-house competition held in Big School. Pupils had to design a spaghetti bridge before buying resources using ‘Lotus dollars’ and then building a bridge that could hold objects at least 14cm off a table. Lotus had never seen such a closely matched draw in this competition in its history. Oakley, Edinburgh and Farfield were all joint winners and Lotus are preparing prizes for the winning houses. Thank you to all that took part.
Drama pupils enjoyed a visit to Monumental Pictures
News > Drama pupils enjoyed a visit to Monumental Pictures
The Careers & Drama departments collaborated to take sixth form Drama pupils at the kind invitation of British Film Producer, Debra Hayward to visit the production house, Monumental Pictures, at the Broadcast Centre, London. The pupils had received in advance a script of a series, The Marlow Murder Club, which Monumental Pictures had filmed in the summer and was now in final stages of editing. Â
The pupils were treated to a short viewing of the final edit and then talks involving each stage of the production process from Debra Hayward – CEO, Lucy Rawlinson – Head of Development, Fran Everett – Development Exec, Jill Forbes – Head Of Production, Louisa Ezziane – Production Manager, Beth Brown – Asst. to Alison Owen, Ani Scordellis – Asst. to Alison Carpenter, Steve Barron – Director and Robert Thorogood – Writer.
It was a superb visit giving the pupils insight into the enormity and variety of roles and expertise involved in the tv and film production process. The Drama pupils loved it and were an absolute credit to themselves & Gresham’s – enthused, engaged, and full of questions. We would like to thank a very generous donation to the Gresham’s Foundation for enriching arts learning for sponsoring the trip.
Pupils have enjoyed many opportunities from the Music department including performances and a vocal masterclass
News > Pupils have enjoyed many opportunities from the Music department including performances and a vocal masterclass
As part of the Sir John Hurt vocal masterclass series kindly supported by Lady Hurt, on 14th November we welcomed Kitty Whately back to Gresham’s. She is currently taking the English song class at the Royal College of Music so this was a step up for many of the singers. The first half of the day was spent working in detail with the most advanced singers in the school on pieces from German Lieder, French Melodie, English song, Oratorio, musical theatre Pop and Opera. In the latter part of the day some of the newer singers in the school took part in a group session working together with Kitty on their various pieces, exploring the nuances that can be found within a high level of vocal performance.Â
Photos from the Vocal Masterclass
Vocal RecitalÂ
17 of our most able singers took to the stage to sing in the Vocal Recital, showcasing the wide variety of music learnt by our musicians from Year 9 to Year 13, culminating in a rousing collective performance showcasing highlights from the upcoming school musical, ‘Amelie’. Â
Photos from the Vocal Recital
The Auden Society were treated to some inspiring talks
News > The Auden Society were treated to some inspiring talks
Hot on the heels of House Music, on Saturday 14th October 16 pupils and four members of staff met at school at 6am to head for Stansted airport and the Amalfi coast. After a 10 year gap it was with excitement that the school was returning to such a beautiful area of Italy with an abundance of performance opportunities.
Over the next five days the choir performed three concerts in Sorrento, Ravello and Sant’Agnello di Sorrento as well as enjoying a visit to Pompeii. Taking full advantage of the warm autumn weather, leisure time included time on the beach and in the resort pool as well as competitive rounds of Mr Carr’s game ‘Six second scribbles’, which certainly showed up who can draw under pressure and who cannot!
Our days fell into an easy pattern of breakfast and rehearsal; the rehearsal room offering beautiful views across the Sorrento Bay. The first concert on Sunday 15th was in the Chiesa di San Francesco just back from the high cliff top promenade and park in Sorrento. With its ancient cloisters dating back to the 14th Century and the Franciscan monks, this impressive church was the perfect venue for the first concert. The location ensured a large audience of over 100 as tourists and locals alike made their way to the cliff top walk to watch the sun set and admire the view across the bay to Naples and the ever-present and rather arresting site of Vesuvius rising up from the coast. Many who popped their heads in the door on hearing the choir, sat down and stayed to the end, giving our pupils the standing ovation and rapturous applause they so deserved. Leading the way was our group of loyal groupies, parents who couldn’t resist the pull of a few days in Italy to support the choir.
Free time in Sorrento allowed us all to explore the small streets, visit a gelateria and savour that first proper Italian pizza! Mr Jones proved his love of Italian ice cream is as strong as ever!
The second concert was in another beautiful venue outside Sorrento, which was in fact just a parish church, although hard to believe given its lavish interiors. Our choir rose to the occasion with another wonderful programme.
Forecast rain threatened to spoil an easier start to the day on Tuesday 16th, but the clouds soon cleared and before we all headed off to Ravello for concert number 3, there was time to enjoy the pool and the waterslides once again or another swim and snack down at the small beach. Our academic staff will be pleased to hear, there was also evidence of revision!
The coastal drive to Ravello is spectacular and provided more views of Vesuvius and small Italian villages clinging to the sides of steep-sided coves. Ravello itself is a must visit town with the white-washed cathedral or Duomo rising up from a set of steps in the main square. The break between rehearsal and concert gave everyone the chance to look round the shops and soak up the Italian sunshine in the surrounding cafes. Our faithful band of supporters had made the long drive from Sorrento and how lovely to see familiar faces in the Square when we arrived!
Our final day was spent in Pompeii before flying home. Under the expert guidance of Roberta, we were steered round the huge site and shown the highlights of this ancient city and told some the countless stories excavation has uncovered over the years. A delay in departure was made easier by the discovery of a piano and our pupils gave their fourth and final impromptu concert to an appreciative audience in departures.
The tour this year had an extra-special element to it as the programme included pieces composed by our music teacher Mr Carr, The Holt Service Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis and Jimmy T’s, (13 F), The Souls of the Righteous. It was no doubt a special moment for them both to have their compositions performed by friends and pupils abroad.
There are so many memorable moments from the tour this year. All 16 pupils sang beautifully and intuitively, forming an impressive ensemble sound, allowing our soloists to shine. They reduced our audiences to tears and delighted them with more light-hearted pieces. And we wonder whether a 16-year old Benjamin Britten writing Hymn to the Virgin in the School San in 1929, could imagine that this piece would be revered and sung by future Gresham’s pupils on tours abroad.
Drama pupils have enjoyed a trip to Harry Potter Studios and costume design
News > Drama pupils have enjoyed a trip to Harry Potter Studios and costume design
Harry Potter Studios Trip
Year 10 and 11 GCSE Drama pupils went on a fantastic trip to the Harry Potter Studios to take part in a Foley sound workshop and explore the amazing sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter films. The workshop introduced the pupils to the role of a Foley artist and the types of sounds they created in the films. They then got to have a go at creating their our own Foley sounds to accompany a memorable clip from one of the Harry Potter films in their engaging and inspiring workshop. The tour of the studios was magical and many of the pupils spoke of how the Harry Potter films have been a fond memory of their childhood. Seeing the various set locations in person such as Diagon Alley, getting to ride a broomstick to learn more about how CGI works and finding out more about how the costumes and sets were created made this a wonderfully interesting and informative day.
Year 9 Costume Designs
Year 9 Drama pupils made some fantastic costumes in their recent lesson, where they learnt the importance of fit, cut and condition when designing costumes. Each class was given the task of creating a costume using only newspaper. We hope you will agree that they’re fantastic!
Two pupil-led productions took the Auden theatre by storm
News > Two pupil-led productions took the Auden theatre by storm
Two world premieres – written, directed, performed and crewed by pupils – took the Auden by storm over two back-to-back Fridays. Both productions brought the audience to their feet on two unforgettable evenings that celebrated the joy of live theatre. Â
First up was Office Eclipse on 3rd November. This was a farcical, dark comedy written and directed by Spike C with original sound design by Eduvie O. The tightknit ensemble took the audience on a nightmarish descent into comic chaos, witnessed by the near obliteration of the set by the end of the night. Â
Company Spike C, Eduvie O, Harry L, Larkin A, Will B, Angelika J, Beowulf O, Dougie L, Jimmy TÂ
Next up was Not A Cult the musical on Friday 10th November written and directed by Larkin A and Emma C. Based on a Ten-Minute play of the same name the writers were joined by Jimmy T to add lyrics and music. A joyously committed acting company- many of whom had performed the week before in Office Eclipse took to the stage in an extraordinary and bizarre comic horror with live music, a central love story, a villainous cult and a demanding pineapple god causing on stage human into apple transformations.
Company Larkin A, Jimmy T, Will B, Jaz C, Tamsin S, Taylor S, Ruby SÂ
Gresham’s School inspires the next generation of musicians with their continued status as an All Steinway School
News > Gresham’s School inspires the next generation of musicians with their continued status as an All Steinway School
To celebrate Gresham’s continuing our Steinway Status, and the delivery new pianos, we took advantage of the offer of Steinway that the pianos could be put anywhere. We felt that the perfect place would be the Dyson Building, with the pianos perfectly encapsulating these elements. 17 of the new pianos were placed around the central area, inviting pupils from across the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Schools to take part in a once in a generation concert. Â
On 8th November we welcomed parents and guests to the concert, with a rousing opening of ‘Jupiter’ fro Holts ‘The Planets Suite’ played across 5 pianos, Jimmy T, Matilda F, Ferdinand V, Milan H, Emily M, Mr. Carr, Mr Wolfe and Mr Jones, with the 12 remaining pianos played by 30 pupils playing the Hymn ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’. Hummer W and Hansen W from the Prep school performed a Duet ‘Dancing With The Moon’ with beautiful tone and fluency. ‘Every’ composed by Thomas Carr, Music teacher and Head of Instrumental Studies brought 3 pianos and 3 vocalists, Benny S, Jimmy T, Hattie W, Mia W, Naomi H and Zinnia C brought the imagery of Norfolk skies to the Dyson building. Oscar B performed a Sky Full of Stars and the concert was brought to a close with ‘Time Lapse’ played by all pupils across all pianos. Â
The pianos were then swiftly put into their new homes across the three schools to continue to offer opportunities for our pupils and community groups for the next fifteen years.
Our anti-bullying ambassadors spoke about verbal bullying in Chapel
News > Our anti-bullying ambassadors spoke about verbal bullying in Chapel
The anti-bullying ambassadors presented to the senior school this morning on the topic of verbal bullying and the pernicious nature of banter. The pupils spoke about being an upstander not a bystander and signposted all the people in our community who can help.
Well done to Woodlands who have won the House chess tournament
News > Well done to Woodlands who have won the House chess tournament
The past two weeks have seen the houses go head-to-head in a riveting and electric interhouse chess tournament. Players have improved their practice and etiquette, showing the true sporting behaviour expected in tournament rules chess. After the qualifying rounds Tallis and Howson’s played for third position with Woodlands and Farfield competing for first in the final. The qualifying rounds saw two-minute finishes, stalemates, victories against tournament favourites, tides change halfway through and games run to time. After a coin toss by those teams gaining highest points in the qualifying rounds, each house played three rounds. Two points were awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss. Congratulations to all those playing in the final: Theo A, Nikolaus P, Erik T, Pablo B, Arthur C, Ferdinand V, Charles C, Jamie P, Benny S, Tomas R, Jamie P and Vasilii B. A special mention goes to Lydia F of Edinburgh and Kyla C Oakeley for outstanding performances in the qualifying stages. The results of the final, held in the prestigious Fishmongers’ Hall in Britten Building were:
