On Thursday 20th April a group of pupils from Years 10-12 went to Cromer cinema to see the National Theatre Live screening of “Good”, a political play by C.P Player about the Holocaust. David Tennant was supported by only two others actors and so the pupils were treated to an abstract style of theatre they had not encountered before. We hope that many more pupils will be able to join us on these cultural theatre trips – the next is in June to see the RSC production of ‘Julius Caesar’ at the Theatre Royal, Norwich.
Thirty boys and girls completed their gold practice expedition in the Peak District during the Easter holidays. They travelled to the Hope Valley where they completed a four-day expedition covering the Hope and Edale valleys. They enjoyed mixed conditions from bright sunshine, frosty nights and a couple of wet days. The groups are now well prepared for their assessment expedition taking place in the Yorkshire Dales at the end of the summer term.
The CCF held a full Contingent Parade for its Annual Review on 28th April. The Guard of Honour, commanded by CSM George R, was inspected by the Headmaster and each section held a drill competition with trophies awarded to the wining Royal Navy Watch, Army Platoon and RAF Flight. The Contingent marching band provided some excellent music and demonstrated some smart drill of its own. A number of visiting and senior school staff enjoyed a tour of training in the afternoon seeing a wide range of activities including RAF section pioneering, Royal Navy afloat training and Army section fieldcraft. The cadets and NCOs all delivered an excellent display of what is offered through participation in the CCF.
Blakeney Concert (21st April)
Schola Cantorum recently gave a concert in St. Nicholas Church, Blakeney. The concert was split into three parts, ‘Music for Holy Week and Easter’, ‘Music to take us to the interval’ and ‘The Coronation’. This allowed Schola to show off their versatility whilst navigating between traditional choral pieces including sacred works by Vierne, Sanders, Mozart, Langlais and Wesley, and the more contemporary favourites ‘Shenandoah’ and ‘Over the rainbow’. Two solos from Ruby S and Tamsin S were particular highlights, as were the musical offerings from Crickets, Gresham’s elite voice ensemble, who gave entertaining renditions of ‘On wings of Song’ and ‘Ain’t misbehavin”. The concert was brought to a close with a thrilling performance of Parry’s coronation anthem, ‘I Was Glad’. Schola Cantorum produced an impressive concert with some truly wonderful sounds emitting from the choir despite being reduced in numbers. Well done to all students involved.
Piano Showcase (26th April)
The annual Piano Recital was a delight. Featuring students from both the Senior and Prep schools, it was a fantastic showcase of our pupils as they performed on a Steinway grand in the Fishmongers’ Recital Hall. Their extraordinary standard was shown across a range of genres, blending piano classics by Debussy, Fauré, Chopin and Ravel with more modern pieces by Norton, Rodgers & Hart and Tanaka. Well done to Boaz M, Emily M, Noah W, William J, Lyrico H, Jake O, Evie M, Hannah B, Milan H, Belle W and Alice S for their performances, and thank you to our lead keyboard tutor, Heidi Shinn, for coordinating the concert.
Music and Munch (28th April)
Gresham’s informal concert series had another triumph in April, as Music and Munch featured an eclectic mix of music for solo piano, violin, voice, trombone and piano duet. Well done to Milan H, Belle W, Beatrice G, Isadora A, Fergus R, Mia W, Jake O and Amelie H, who all performed to a wonderfully high standard to the appreciative audience. The next Music and Munch is on Friday 19th May. All are welcome to Tig’s café from 12:50pm for a light lunch and to enjoy the concert.
Evensong (30th April)/Chapel music (1st May)
The termly Evensong service took place at the weekend, offering an opportunity to listen to some contemplative choral music in Chapel on a Sunday evening. Chapel Choir performed an impressive array of sacred choral works: ‘Peace I Leave With You’ by Amy Beach as an introit, Ayleward’s responses, Stanford’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C, and finally Stanford’s epic anthem ‘For Lo, I Raise Up’, with Ruby S and Johnny D as soloists.
The following day, Schola Cantorum gave an enchanting performance of ‘How do you keep the music playing’ in Chapel, featuring Ruby S – a wonderful way to start the week!
Future events
Music for a Spring Evening – 12 May, 7:30pm
Join us in All Saints’ Church, Morston, on Friday 12th May at 7:30pm for a light programme of vocal and instrumental works. Tickets are £15 and can be purchased from 01263 740063 or 01263 741125. All proceeds to charity.
Music from the Movies – 25 May, 7:30pm
Featuring full orchestra, house band, vocal ensembles and star soloists in Gresham’s atmospheric Theatre-in-the-Woods, this is a not-to-be-missed movie music extravaganza! £10 tickets can be booked from www.trybooking.co.uk/CHWY.
The Senior School heard a moving talk in Chapel about the work of Nelson’s Journey, a local child bereavement charity who have helped numerous families in our community. After the service, our student Charity Committee members presented a cheque for £863 to the charity, following fund raising events earlier in the year.
OG Nathan Lomax T (2006 – 12) returned to his former House, Tallis to give some current Year 13 pupils a presentation into using the professional networking platform LinkedIn.
In his presentation he talked about life after school, careers and how to make yourself and using the platform of LinkedIn to help with this journey. It was an extremely charismatic and helpful presentation.
The careers department organised and accompanied 5 prospective sixth form medical pupils to attend the Norwich Undergraduate Surgical Society event at UEA organised by current medical students studying at Norwich Medical School.
It was an extremely beneficial learning afternoon for the pupils with informative, honest and realistic presentations from current medical students on the application process. They particularly enjoyed the medical workshop carousel of suturing, bls, x-rays and shoulder examination.
All in all it was an extremely helpful & proactive afternoon which gave our pupils the opportunity to hear presentations but also to talk to students studying medicine to find out more for their next stage of study and application.
On Friday 21st April, the RAF section sent a team of 8 cadets to the annual Norfolk and Suffolk Wing ATC Wing Field competition which took place over the weekend at Wretham Camp in Thetford. It was the first time Gresham’s had attended and also the first time a CCF team had ever competed. The team took part in nine different activities, which were; aircraft recognition, first aid, archery, shotgun shooting, fieldcraft, STEM, orienteering, river crossing and tug of war, competing against the 25 Air Training Corps Squadrons from Norfolk and Suffolk.
Overall, the team placed 16th which is a very respectable result considering it was the team’s first time at this event and that there was some very well experienced teams competing. The best individual activity score was tug of war where Gresham’s placed joint third. All of the cadets who attended had a great time, and have paved the way for future competitions. Many thanks to Flt Lt Williams and Capt Bates who helped to train, organise and transport the team.
Pre-Prep had an incredible visit to Houghton Hall to see the massive sculptures by Sean Scully and take a look inside the Hall.
They were amazed at the size and scale of the pieces and enjoyed being able to walk all the way around them.
The Hall itself drew lots of gasps, as the awe and wonder of the size, beauty and luxurious finish overwhelmed us.
They saw more works inside by Scully before a very special viewing of the actual throne Queen Camilla will sit on at the opening of parliament in the autumn.
A picnic on the lawn, under the shadows of the Hall and sculpture finished what was a unique and very special visit.
The U15 team completed a great win over Wymondham College in the first round of the U15 National Tournament. Grace H-K hit a superb 83 not out from 56 balls, facing the first ball and carrying her bat in an impressive captain’s innings. Amelie H hit 22 from 15 balls and took 3 wickets for 11 runs off 4 overs in a fine all-round performance. It was an outstanding team outing and should set the team up nicely for Thursday’s Regional Final of the National Indoor Competition in Cambridge.
The team then came third in the Eastern Region after beating Shenfield, Champions of Essex, Leicester Grammar School, Champions of Leicestershire, and Ipswich School, Champions of Suffolk. They had a great run, and they must now focus on winning the outdoor national tournament.
Year 13 pupil Nico organised a charity rugby match in memory of his uncle, Jake Van Poortvliet, who sadly passed away in 2021 after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2019.
The match was set up to raise money for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which funds research and raises awareness of MND. Any donations to the Just Giving page are greatly appreciated, and can be made using this link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/nico-allen-1682009883424
