Rifle Club Schools Meeting 2023

The Gresham’s Rifle Team have been at Bisley, during July, for the annual Schools and Imperial Meetings. Expectations were not particularly high, as a result of very little full-bore training during the summer term. However, as shooting got underway, it soon became apparent that we were not in fact all that far off the pace.

There were some early successes during the days build up to the Ashburton Shield. Harry P got the team off to a good start by winning the Monday Aggregate. Hannah B then finished 2nd in the Tuesday Aggregate, which helped the team on its way to winning the Tuesday team competition. The strong individual performances continued with Harry P adding the Wednesday Aggregate to his win on Monday and he also finished in 2nd place in the 300 yard Aggregate. Gresham’s had 11 of their 13 strong team in the Schools Hundred, which is for the top 100 shots during the week, with Harry P in 3rd and Hannah B in 4th. There were some excellent performances by the new shots in the team, with Margarethe G and Grace S appearing on numerous Prize Lists during the week and Ilana B and Corin H acquiring huge amounts of good experience.

The Rifle Team was supported and assisted by Mr Clarke for the Schools Meeting and Mrs Liberman was in charge of running the Pavilion and the catering for the duration of the trip. The Team were extremely pleased, and grateful, to have the support of some staff members on Ashburton Day. The Headmaster and his wife, Mr Kinder (as he so often does), Ms Whittle, Miss King, Miss Grasby, Mr Daniels and Mr Liberman very kindly supported the team for the entire day and they were joined by many friends and family. Thank you all for your support.

Conditions were nothing like as hot as the previous year but there were other factors to consider this year. The wind was trickier and there was the occasional heavy rain storm to contend with. The VIII got off to a very slow start, dropping far too many points at 300 yards. After the first distance the team were already down in 7th place. The team got it together for the following two distances and finished with the 3rd top score at 600 yards and the 3rd top score at 500 yards but unfortunately all of the damage had already been done at 300 yards and the team had to settle for a respectable 4th place in the final standings. Well done to Victoria College on their victory, it has been 62 years since they last won the title.

Our Under 16 Cadets had a reasonable day on the range and managed to finish in 5th place in the Cadet Pairs and 5th place in the Cadet Fours competitions. Well done to Ilana B, Margarethe G, Corin H and Grace S on their good shooting and this is hugely encouraging for the future.

The Schools Meeting was followed by the 154th Imperial Meeting and 15 members of the team shot in the second week of competition.

Thanks must go to all of the staff and all of the pupils that helped to make the summer such a huge success for the Rifle Club

Rifle Club Imperial Meeting 2023

Fifteen members of Gresham’s Rifle Club were at Bisley this year to compete in the National Rifle Association’s 154th Imperial Meeting, which took place immediately after the Schools Meeting. Every member of the team shot well in what were extremely wet and windy conditions, certainly at the start of the week. The newer, less experienced, members of the team were all on fairly steep learning curves, whilst the more experienced shooters in the team were trying to compete for the very top scores.

There was national representation, on day one, for both Hannah B and Harry P as they were both selected to shoot for England in the Cadet National Match. Despite both shooting very well for the England team, it was the Channel Islands that took the victory at the end of the match with England in second place.

During the Imperial Meeting, there are two Schools team matches that run concurrently with the Grand Aggregate. The Gresham’s Rifle Club team of Georgina B, Hannah B, Georgie C, Harry P and Oliver R were able to finish 3rd in the Garry Jones Trophy. The team, comprising of the same members with the exception of Alexandre S, who was replaced by Oliver R, shot for the Anstey Trophy. They had to settle for a 5th place finish in this competition.

The Gresham’s representation in the 2nd Stages of the St. Georges and His Majesty the Kings Prize were somewhat limited this year. Hannah B made the 2nd Stage of the St. Georges, along with Margarethe G, in only her first year of shooting full-bore. The other big individual competition during the week is the Grand Aggregate and, out of the 700+ competitors (from around the world) taking part, Hannah B managed to shoot consistently well throughout the week to finish 116th. Out of the 150 Cadets competing in the Grand Aggregate, Hannah finished 2nd.

There are a few additional shoots that can be entered towards the end of the week and one of these is the Howard Wilkinson (300 + 600yds) which this year was won by Georgina B, with a fantastic score of 99.14 out of 100.

Finally, we would like to wish Harry P all the very best on his tour to Canada with the British Cadet Rifle Team (the Athelings) and Georgina B with her tour to the Channel Islands with the UK Cadet Rifle Team. Thanks must go to all members of staff that have assisted, in whatever way, with the running of the Rifle Club over the past year. May 2023-24 be an equally successful year in the small-bore range and an even better year on the full-bore range.

Sheringham History Group enjoyed a historical tour of Gresham’s, led by Mr Kinder

Members of the Sheringham History Group visited Gresham’s on Tuesday 11^th July for a historical tour led by Simon Kinder, Head of History. Simon explored the history of the school from its foundation in 1555 under Sir John Gresham, to the move to the Cromer Road site in 1903 and recent developments such as the opening of the Dyson STEAM Building. The group were introduced to the portrait of Sir John Gresham, Big School Hall and the School Chapel and listened to a wide range of stories about the amazing history of the school.

Music Revue 2023

The stage was set for a wonderful evening of music making, celebrating the greatest hits from the Music year 2022-2023 and to bid goodbye to our talented Year 13 pupils. With highlights from Schubert’s Wintereisse, Music from the Movies, The Creators’ Exhibition, Recitals, House Music, The Pop Concert, Schola Cantorum & Crickets, and The Phantom of the Opera, the audience revelled with delight in reliving these special moments from the academic year. This celebrated all of our pupils who have been integral to the department over the past year, and shone the spotlight on our notable Year 13 leavers, including Julius R, Johnny D, Will J, Noah W, Jethro H, Jake O, Freddie S, Tavi P and Raphael C. 

Pop Concert

The Pop Concert involved 50 pupils from the Senior School as musicians and vocalists. The performances featured varied music from Stevie Wonder and Stormzy to Segala and Iron Maiden, providing a mixture of Rock, Pop, Country and Jazz.

Well done to all involved!

Gresham’s Prep School awarded the Gold Learning Outside the Classroom Mark

Gresham’s Prep School has received national recognition for its commitment to taking learning outside the classroom (LOtC) and has been awarded the Gold LOtC Mark by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom.

Miranda Goode, Head of Outdoor Learning at Gresham’s Prep School said: “We are delighted to announce that Gresham’s Prep School have been awarded the Gold LOtC Mark accreditation by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom. This recognises our commitment to providing high quality learning outside the classroom opportunities for our students. We are so proud of the breadth of provision and opportunities that Gresham’s Prep offer for Learning Outside the Classroom. Our provision is not only part of our Outdoor Wild Learning School (OWLS) programme but right through the curriculum, our boarding provision and the life of the school.”

The LOtC Mark is awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, the UK-wide charity that champions all learning that happens beyond the classroom. Their work supports educators, schools and organisations who are dedicated to ensuring more children and young people have opportunities for lifechanging learning experiences beyond the classroom, whether these happen indoors or outdoors, close to home or far away. Providing students with more opportunities to access high quality learning beyond the classroom experiences can open their eyes to the world around them and allows them to develop into wellrounded citizens. The many benefits of LOtC are now well-evidenced and include improving academic attainment, physical health, emotional well-being, self-esteem, and resilience.

Dr Anne Hunt, Chief Executive of CLOtC said: “Learning outside the classroom has many proven educational benefits as well as providing some of the most memorable experiences in a child’s school life. Achieving the Gold LOtC Mark demonstrates that Gresham’s Prep School is committed to developing and delivering genuinely valuable learning outside the classroom experiences for their children and young people and I congratulate them on achieving this award.”

For more information about the LOtC Mark, please visit www.lotc.org.uk

22 CCF cadets enjoyed the Summer Tri-service Adventure Training Camp

A group of 22 cadets enjoyed an action-packed start to their summer holidays by attending the CCF Tri-service Adventure Training Camp in Snowdonia. They stayed at Capel Curig training camp, ideally located for a range of adventurous activities across the beautiful Snowdonia National Park, and experienced a rotation of mountain trekking across the Glyders, paddlesport on Llyn Padarn and mountain biking in the trail centre at Coed Y Brenin. In addition they were immersed in a full day of white water rafting and canyoning at the National White Water Centre and another day of climbing and high ropes at Adventure Parc Snowdonia. The cadets involved had a fantastic week of fun and challenging activities, creating some unique memories along the way.