Towards the end of the Lent Term the Senior School marked their own ‘Good Friday’ in Chapel. During the service pupils performed a powerful dramatization of The Passion, before leading the school in the ancient tradition of ‘Stripping the Altar’.
The U15 Cricket Team headed to UEA Sportspark for the County Finals of the National Indoor Cup. They won all 5 matches – against Wymondham, Norwich High School for Girls, Langley, Thorpe St Andrew and finally Norwich School – to retain their title as County Champions. This also sees us qualify as Norfolk’s representatives at the Regional Final, which will be at Cambridge University on 24th April.
Team: Georgia D (Captain), Amelie H (Vice-Captain), Henrietta C, Charlotte F, Olivia M, Tilly B, Angelica H, Holly M, Issy P, Georgina W
Also, the team did very well to come second in the East Region Indoors. Beating the champions of Suffolk, Essex and Bedfordshire along the way, the team just got pipped in the final. What a fantastic achievement by these superstars!
International pupils and those in the school’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion group enjoyed a mini Easter egg hunt as part of their regular get together in the Library this month. These occasions offer valuable opportunities for pupils to relax, swap experiences and build friendships over tea and coffee (this time expertly made by Mr Chart-Boyles) and biscuits. The eggs didn’t remain hidden for long, although pupils did manage to miss a few in their haste!
The Senior School took part in their Annual Chapel Easter Egg hunt just before the end of term. This joyful event took place in the woods with pupils searching for a share in over a thousand chocolate eggs and other goodies. Pupils had a brilliant time running to find them as always!
This term has seen the girls compete in many excellent netball matches. We have had 5 senior teams and 8 junior teams representing the school. The players have worked very hard in training sessions and have played the games in a very competitive, spirited way. It is clear to see that we have great depth across our junior and senior sides with our players often being far superior in skill levels compared to their opposition which is a real credit to the players. This is evident with our 15B and C teams and 14B and C teams all having unbeaten seasons.
We have also had many players this term that stepped on the court in January having never played netball and they have showed incredible improvement throughout the term. Across the teams we have scored 2062 goals excluding tournaments and in many of the matches have had to play players out of position to manage the scoreline. When in this position, many of the opposition coaches have complimented the sporting way our players have approached the game.
We have competed in the INSC competition at U15 level and in the Brentwood tournament in both U15 and U19 age groups. This tournament is a brilliant opportunity to play teams that we don’t come across in our fixture schedule. We had the opportunity to face schools such as Brentwood, King’s Canterbury, Chigwell, Kimbolton and Felsted.
The second part of the term brought lots a great results, with block fixtures against Norwich High School in both juniors and seniors. To finish the term we fielded 11 teams against RHS. The 1st team proved a tough encounter against a strong RHS 1st team but our girls still put out lots of great passages of play. RHS just pulled away in the last couple of minutes taking the win. A special mention to our 2nd team who finished in style with a huge 40-14 win, they have had a brilliant term. We finished with 9 out of 11 wins against RHS.
Finally, we completed the term with house netball. The games were played in fantastic spirit in both A and B competitions. It really showed how much depth the school has as the B team competition was also to a very good standard of play. For the first time we introduced Arkell House to the competition, their housemistress looked extremely proud of them.
There have been many great moments throughout the term. One stand out block fixture against Ipswich School saw us take 9 out of 10 wins. Mr Higgs was delighted to have his third unbeaten season and finally a complete performance by the 1st team to take a stunning victory against a strong Norwich School team.
A special mention to Sophia and Harriet who have done a fantastic job as captain and vice-captain of the 1st team this term. They have been great role models for all the players in the club.
A huge thank you to all the players and coaches for the enthusiasm and knowledge you have brought to Gresham’s netball this year.
Since September, the Music department have been working with the Amelié ensemble and the band to realise the incredible sound of the show with a professional approach and a group of dedicated and talented singers to create the amazing sound of Amelié. From January, pupil designers have been working in the Auden to create the physical world of Amelié’s colourful imagination whilst the highly efficient stage crew and technical team have been in rehearsal alongside a tight knit ensemble working to stage a complex production within a challenging stage configuration. The audience have been very close to the action and immersed in the imaginative and colourful world of Amelié for four amazing nights.
After winning the school’s Performing Shakespeare Competition with her fantastic performance of a monologue by Juliet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Hennie D went on to compete against other school finalists in the ESU Performing Shakespeare Competition regional heat which was held in Bury St Edmunds. The competition was fierce, but Hennie’s understanding of the text, committed and nuanced performance of the aforementioned monologue shone and she was selected as one of the five winners to go through to the next round in the competition which takes place in May. Huge congratulations to Hennie and very best of luck for the next round!
On Friday 15th March the Year 11 pupils enjoyed ‘A Night in Vegas’, an occasion for them all to come together as a year group before their examinations next term and celebrate the hard work that they are putting into such an important year for them. Entering Big School to the sound of a pupil-led band and walking a suitably luxurious red carpet, they were served a delicious three course meal prepared by our fantastic Catering Department and then had the opportunity to try their luck in the casino, before dancing late into the night to some great tunes provided by resident DJ, Mr Cooper. This really was a night enjoyed by everyone and will be remembered by all as a fitting celebration of the year group’s efforts.
On Monday 11th March, the Bold Voices ambassadors (a group of Year 12 pupils) visited the Prep School to deliver workshops to pupils in Years 7 and 8 to raise awareness of, and encourage discussion about, gender stereotypes. This project was the culmination of a 6-month programme run by Bold Voices, to help students tackle issues of gender inequality within schools. The student ambassadors fully immersed themselves in the programme, attending regular webinars and working collaboratively to raise awareness and educate about gender stereotyping. Their final project was ambitious, and was very well received at the Prep School. Well done to Albert, Alma, Amelia, Iciar, James, Reva and Sarah on their excellent work.
The Lent Term has seen the start of a new clay target shooting activity. During the dark, cold months of January & February there have been regular training sessions on the newly purchased indoor clay target simulator, with lots of pupils attending to try out the sport. In the second half of term the action has moved outdoors with live firing on a local site, introducing new pupils to the activity as well as giving experienced shots the chance to hone their skills ready for the competition season. This has all been possible thanks to the dedication of Mr Detnon and Mr Clarke who have taken the time to set up and manage the equipment and logistics. The future looks very bright for Gresham’s clay shooting and we look forward to the chance to defend our national title at the Cadet Clay Championships in the summer term.