Religious Studies and Philosophy pupils visited London for a Buddhism trip

At the beginning of term, Sixth Form pupils from the Religious Studies and Philosophy department departed for a two-day Buddhism trip from the 10th – 12th January. Arriving on Wednesday evening at London Docklands, the pupils were up for a busy first day.

Wednesday

Kagyu Samye Dzong

A Tibetan Buddhist centre of the Kagyu school. Pupils were led into Shrine Room Two and given a talk reflecting core Vajrayana beliefs. The various symbols significant to Vajrayana Buddhism in the shrine room were explained and the relationship the Kagyu School has with the Dalai Lama’s Gelug school was elaborated. Pupils engaged in Mindfulness, a breathing practice, with the lay practitioner taking the visit.

London Buddhist Centre

A Triratna organisation that reflects the Western combination of various Buddhist schools was a rich visit. With an initial discussion from the visit leader on the six core principles of their school, the mix of lay and monastic practice within the school and processes of ordination were explained. This was followed by a body-scan meditation and loving-kindness meditation. After a Q&A session, pupils arrived at Tottenham Court Road for lunch in central London.

SOAS University

The Chair of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at SOAS, Dr Lucia Dolce, kindly gave a seminar with her colleague, Dr Christian Luczanits. With initial discussion reflecting their interests (Japanese Buddhism and the impact of Buddhist art respectively), pupils were exposed to the standard of university-level study in Buddhism. Discussion topics during the seminar included the status of women, the inclusion of meditation in the school curriculum, and the significance of art in the transmission of Buddhism.

Kailash Momo

After a brief rest in the hotel pupils went to London’s only Tibetan restaurant. A reflection of the meat-eating practiced by Buddhists that contrasts with teachings of harmlessness (Ahimsa), pupils enjoyed a mix of Momo (dumplings), curries, and plenty of spice!

Thursday

Victoria and Albert Museum – Permanent Buddhist and Southeast Asian exhibits

After a minibus drive past Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, pupils arrived as the V&A opened. The three sections relating to Buddhism in the museum included artifacts depicting Buddhist concepts, such as the wheel of dharma and Buddha’s archery competition for the hand of Yasdhora. With an array of art relating to the different schools of Buddhism, pupils saw images such as the mourning of disciples at the Buddha’s death, the Buddha during his ascetic period and Tibetan Mandala.

Three Wheels Pure Land

A small semi-detached house forms the Three Wheels Pure Land centre. Featuring a Zen garden, the priest Kenshin, gave talks on his priority in seeking the unseen, practices important to the Shin Pure Land School and the practice of gratitude.

Buddhapadipa

The last visit was to the Uposatha hall at the 4-acre site home to the Theravadan monastics resident in Wimbledon. With rich and detailed art covering all the walls within the hall, the group’s monk explained the birth, mission, and death of the Buddha through the artwork displayed on the wall. A combination of modern science with Buddhist views was represented with a rocket, Mona Lisa and Charlie Chaplin found. This was followed by a Q&A session discussing the daily life of Theravadan Monks and views significant to Theravadans when compared to other schools, which was useful to the A level course pupils study.

Thanks goes to the pupils for representing the school so well with active engagement for each visit and making the trip a positive and useful learning experience. Also, to Mrs Nash and Mr Liberman for assisting with driving, travel, their energy and meditation prowess!

Our Schools’ Challenge Quiz Team have excelled in the East Anglia region tournament  

On Tuesday evening, Gresham’s Quiz Team – Guy P, Cerys D, James C, Darcy G and supporting sub Hennie D travelled out to King Edward VII’s Academy in King’s Lynn to play two back-to-back fixtures against KES. Our matches there have previously always been close and hotly contested. We were behind in the first match but pulled ahead to prevail 350-260 in the final stages. The second match was a much more comprehensive win, 390-120. Our team showed excellent knowledge of Prime Ministers, currencies, monarchs, bestselling albums and much else besides but it was great to see all four quizzers scoring key starters and contributing to a clean sweep of answers in some rounds. Special mention to Guy who performed with distinction in both matches, especially on the buzzer for starter questions. We have only lost one match in this competition in three years – good luck to the team in the next round.

The History Society met to discuss ‘this week in history’

The Gresham’s History Society met again on Tuesday evening and pupils from Years 11-13 discussed ‘this week in history’. Events discussed included Henry VIII’s becoming Supreme Head of the Church in England, the development of electric lighting, the coronation of Elizabeth I, the first air raids on Britain (which fell on Norfolk) and Hitler’s move to the bunker in Berlin as the Second World War moved decisively against him.

Guest speakers have been talking to pupils about career opportunities

Dale willis from My Great First Job

Dale Willis from My Great First Job visited Gresham’s to give insight on the skills needed to achieve career goals.

Year 10 pupils enjoyed an interactive presentation about skills. Dale talked to them about skills they are gaining and learning at Gresham’s and demonstrated, with his bag of props, how subject learning and skills are key for being successful in the working world.

Year 13 pupils had an instructive talk with Dale on using LinkedIn to showcase their personal brand.

Charlotte Hathaway from Excelsior

We were joined at Chapel by guest speaker, Charlotte Hathaway, Skipper of Excelsior.

Charlotte talked about the superb sailing opportunities with Excelsior in 2024, including:

• completing your DofE Gold residential on board the historic wooden sailing smack, sailing out of Lowestoft
• navigating the Baltic Sea as crew on the biggest and most beautiful tall ships if adventure calls and you are aged 15+
• sailing from Helsinki in Finland to Tallinn in Estonia or Mariehamn in Finland to Szczecin in Poland at the beginning of July

Schola Cantorum sang at the Fishmongers’ annual Livery Dinner and Carol Service

Members of Schola Cantorum made two trips to Fishmongers’ after term finished to sing at the annual Livery Dinner and the Carol Service. Resplendent in black tie and evening dress the choir sang carols on the impressive staircase as guests gathered to go into dinner on Wednesday 13th December. They then entertained between courses. On Monday 18th December, evening dress was swapped for school uniform and gowns as the choir led the carol service in St Magnus the Martyr.

The annual Gresham’s Guys and Girls singles have been released

The annual Gresham’s Girls and Guys singles have been produced and released on Strathmore Records once again this year.

An upbeat version of Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World was recorded by the Gresham’s girls, consisting of Ruby S, Tamsin S, Sophia P, Alma D-R, Tilly R, Jemima T, Reva S, Sophie L, Jemima W, Emily M & Olga B, with the music video recorded in a Boarding House with the girls celebrating Christmas, and decorating the tree. 

With a more sincere approach this year, the boys tackled a mature concept taking on ‘Nothing Compares To You’, made famous by the late Sinead O’Connor, with an insert of a boy band Christmas Classic, ‘Stay Another Day’. The boys, Rory R, Jimmy T, Josh K, Milan H, Bruno B, Jude P, Eduvie O, Larkin A, Sergio S, Will B filmed the video, using all of their dramatic energy to convey the meaning of the lyric and to do justice the song and it’s legacy.

The singles are available on the Gresham’s Media YouTube Channel and all other audio platforms,  Please download and share with your friends and family and spread the Gresham’s Girls and Guy’s joy!

Congratulations to members of the Rifle Club who attended the British Schools Winter Open

On the last Saturday of term, the Rifle Club travelled to Bisley for the annual British Schools Winter Open. Gresham’s took two good teams, one of which had a large amount of experience and ability, the other which was made up of several younger, newer members of the Rifle Club looking to gain some valuable experience. Our ‘A’ team went to the match extremely confident and certainly had the ability to win. Numbers were slightly down this year, with 142 competitors at the competition, from 11 different schools, from around the country and with the majority of the ‘big’ shooting schools all represented. Each individual had to shoot four times, to give a total out of 400, in what were particularly unpleasant conditions. The good number of newer shots that we took to the competition all shot very well but it was the senior members of the team however, that really showed their talent. Oliver R was 19^th out of the 142 competitors, Marcella B was 17^th, Alex S was 14^th, Jonny W was 10^th and George B was a very respectable 5^th in the British Schools Individual Championships with a superb score of 383 (x400).  Marcella B and Grace S were 3^rd in the Junior Pairs, with Ilana B and Margarethe G just behind them in 4^th. In the Senior Pairs, George B and Georgina B finished 3^rd with Oliver R and Jonny W just behind them, also in 4^th. In the Teams of IV competition, Gresham’s again did very well, with the ‘A’ team finishing in 2^nd place and the ‘B’ team finishing in 3^rd place. This set the team up for a good win, beating Wellington College into second place (by 11 points), in the Team of VIII competition.

Huge congratulations to all members of the Rifle Club but particularly to George B for being the top individual at last months English Schools competition and then following that up with a 5^th place finish at the British Schools Winter Championships.

Messiah

Our annual Messiah from Scratch took place on Sunday 10th December with a loyal chorus, accompanied by guest orchestra including pupils. As always the solos are performed by pupils and this year once again, we had a very strong field from which to pick. The standard was exceptional, not only from our 6^th formers, some of whom have secured places in Music Conservatoires next year, but younger pupils also. Congratulations to Sophie L, Jimmy T, Larkin A, Reva and Ruby S, Sophia P, Sebastian C, Dougie L, Ilana B, Zinny B, Milan H, Naomi H-S, Tamsin S and Rory R and Ilana B and Naomi H-S in the orchestra.