Many congratulations to our ESU Debating team who journeyed to Langley on Tuesday evening for the second round of the English-Speaking Union Mace Debating Competition.  

Having progressed through the first online round, our team faced the best teams in the Norfolk and Suffolk regions in an in-person heat. They had a difficult draw, having to oppose the abolition of the House of Lords, and faced a strong and experienced Langley proposition. Miranda H-S opened for the team and erected a very strong defence case, defending the Lords’ status as an amending chamber and citing various occasions when its scrutiny had rightfully caused the elected Commons to pause and improve legislation. Mojo A defended the Lords as an institution that had evolved and reflected diversity, and noted that corruption and cronyism were faults of politics generally, and not the exclusive fault of the Lords. Eva O’D summed up, astutely noting the points of clash, addressing questions from the floor and reminding the floor of why the Opposition’s case had merit and had prevailed in the debate.  

There were six teams in the heat in three debates across four hours of debating and only the best two participating were selected for round three. Happily, Gresham’s made the cut and so for the second year running we progress to the third round of the competition which covers the whole of the eastern region of England and leaves the team one win from the national finals.  

This is an impressive achievement, not least as Miranda is the only survivor of last year’s successful team. Well done Miranda, Mojo and Eva! 

The Gresham’s School Inter-House target sprint competition recently took place at the end of January. Each of the seven Houses entered a Junior team (Year 9 & Year 10) of five competitors and a Senior team (Year 11, Year 12 & Year 13), also containing five competitors. There were eight Senior teams for the first time, as we welcomed Arkell into the competition. The event has been adapted slightly, in order to make it very spectator friendly and also to allow those who had not done very much shooting the opportunity to be competitive. Each competitor was required to run 200 meters before coming into the air rifle range and shooting down five targets. Once the five targets had been knocked down then the next runner set off around the track. The event was made slightly more exciting as it was run under floodlight, at 8 o’clock in the evening. Both the track and the range were floodlit to create a wonderful atmosphere.

A huge congratulations, and thanks, must go to the 75 pupils that took part and that were involved in the event. Particularly well done to Oakeley for winning the Junior trophy and to Oakeley and Woodlands for becoming joint winners in the Senior trophy. Oakeley also won the combined overall trophy, so very well done to them for defending this trophy for the second year in a row.

Ahead of Safer Internet Day next week our Young Digital Leaders delivered an excellent Chapel talk to the Senior School around the theme of ‘Inspiring Change’.

The digital leaders work in the school to raise awareness and run programs and projects to educate the Senior and Prep school on using the internet safely. They assist pupils, pupil-to-pupil, in knowing how to protect their information, security and wellbeing online.

This year’s Safer Internet Day projects include:

• Chapel talk to senior school
• Prep School talk
• Senior school hunt on the ways the internet has inspired and produced change
• Tutor time Kahoot competition

On the 25th of January, our Under 15 netball team faced a strong Rugby School team in the Independent Schools Netball Competition. A combination of Under 15 and 14 players formed the squad. It was a great opportunity to see some of our younger players step into the squad and gain experience in this competitive environment. When Rugby arrived it was clear to see that their height was going to be a challenge in itself. Rugby came out in force and took a 10 goal lead after the 1st quarter. Our girls showed some good passages of play but were unable to capitalise on these opportunities. Our opposition showed more consistency in their play and pushed their score line on. Gresham’s continued to work hard on the court and could recognise the opposition were stronger than us on the day. Although a tough match, our squad gained a lot of experience and our U14 players now know the challenge ahead of them next year.

Chapel Choir sang beautifully on Thursday evening in a special service of Choral Evensong to mark Burns Night. The Headmaster also proved his Scottish credentials during the service by reading some Burns’ poetry; his faultless accent raised many smiles in the congregation.

The U15 boys Rugby team played in their National Bowl this week, after reaching the final 16. The team had a long bus journey across to Princethorpe College. The match had been postponed due to frozen pitches the week before.

As the wind howled and the pitch glistened with moisture, Gresham’s unleashed a spectacle of brilliant rugby in the first half. Their strategic prowess shone through, cleverly harnessing the gusts to their advantage. At half-time, the scoreboard painted a portrait of a hard-fought battle, with the opposition leading 10-5.

Undeterred by an even windier second half, the team pressed on valiantly. Hector B, Ollie J, and Sam T dazzled with remarkable carries, while Ben B showcased his prowess in the back field. Despite their tenacity, Princethorpe College managed to pull away in the closing stages, securing a 31-12 victory. The final score doesn’t reflect the true intensity of the match, which was fiercely contested.

Well done to the U15s for their commendable journey to the final 16, a testament to their skill and determination. A special mention for the U14’s player who played a pivotal role in this cup run.

The term has started with a bang. Although we are only 3 weeks in, and the weather has been a real challenge, we have still managed to fit in 30+ fixtures across the club.

The Boys 1st XI have continued their Tier 1 England Schools Championship matches. Most recently, they played a very strong Solihull side, losing in a very close game. They face Rugby School and Norwich School next week.

The U14s have progressed through the first round of the U14 England Hockey Cup, while the U15s have moved into the independent schools plate competition.

Our U15 girls have continued to play this term and did incredibly well to make the last 8 schools in the country, narrowly losing to Wellington College in the quarterfinal. They also made the U16 last 8 in the England Schools U16 plate competition. This is a really positive season, which bodes very well for the future.

Wednesday evening is Recital evening in the Music Department and on 24^th January, over 60 pupils and staff making up our Concert Band, Strings, Brass, Jazz, Percussion and Guitar Groups came together to perform a diverse programme of music. Brass Ensemble opened the concert with a 3-piece set including the popular theme from the film Rocky while Guitar Ensemble performed the classic Beatles’ number Day Tripper. The Strings Orchestra have been working hard on new repertoire this term and this evening performed both their contrasting pieces for the first time, the recognisable Prelude from Grieg’s Holberg Suite and the Theme from His Dark Materials, receiving deserved loud applause.

Benny S, Ferdinand vD, Timo F and Milan H aka the Jazz Band put on a fine performance of Comin’ Home Baby by Ben Tucker to take us into the interval.

Dr Limbrick teaches tuned percussion at Gresham’s when not pursuing a very busy professional international concert schedule himself. Our pupils performed his composition Mopti Street, named after a roundabout in a town in Ghana; and why not! Playing a variety of percussion instruments, such as marimba, vibraphone and xylophone, the 11 musicians showcased the flexibility of such instruments in this rhythmic, joyful, yet challenging piece.

After the interval, Concert Band entertained with a mostly new set from the 1980s, including some classic tunes such as God Only Knows, the music of James Bond and who doesn’t love a Boy Band medley with a dash of K-Pop thrown in! A fabulous finale to a great evening of music.

The standard of playing over the evening was testament to the practice our musicians make time for, during what is a very busy school week for them and thanks to our music staff who lead and support these pupils.

The Senior School marked Holocaust Memorial Day in Chapel this week. Sixth Form pupil Alma delivered a powerful talk reflecting on the horrors of the past and emphasising the importance of preserving, and extending, freedom today. This was followed by a time of silence as we remembered the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and those killed the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.