Well done to Farfield who have won the Year 9 Inter-House Debating Competition

This term has witnessed a quite outstanding Year 9 Inter-House Debating Competition. There was not a weak team across the seven houses which meant strong teams such as Howson’s, Tallis and Woodlands exited at the first-round stage. 

The semi-finals saw Queens’ triumph over Edinburgh opposing the motion ‘This House would abolish SATs for schoolchildren in England’, with Farfield successfully proposing the motion ‘This House would follow the lead of France and ban short-haul flights in the UK wherever viable train alternatives exist’ against Oakeley.   

The final was a rematch of the first-round tie but with the reverse result as Wild Card Farfield (Will, Connor and James) successfully defended the motion ‘This House would introduce a cap on the price of basic food items in Britain’ against the opposition, Queens’ (Ilana, Charlotte and Evie). 

Farfield now hold the Carolyn Thomas Trophy for 2022-23 and join Queens’ (Seniors) and Tallis (Year 10 and 11) as Wild Card teams who lost their first match but went on to win the competition.  

We resume in September with a new house, Arkell, entering the Senior competition for the first time.  

Our Eco Team delivered a brilliant talk to highlight their work this year

Members of our Eco Team delivered a brilliant chapel talk to highlight their work this year. The boys discussed how they are creating a wildlife area as part of their Community Action and Service project and highlighted the importance of minimizing food waste and recycling. They gave a quiz at the end with reusable cups as prizes. We are now submitting our entry for this years Green Flag Award and would like to thank all of our Eco Team for their hard work this year.

The Summer term Field Days saw pupils get involved in a huge range of activities

Services

About 90 pupils in the services program volunteered in the local community. There were many groups scattered across North Norfolk. At Eve’s Hill Veg company, at Kelling, at Thornage Hall and along the River Glaven. Pupils worked in allotments, in gardens and at commercial vegetable growing sites. Jobs included: weeding, clearing beds for new crops, potting on young plants and watering.

One group of pupils made clay bricks that will eventually form a wall in the Natural Surroundings bee garden in Glanford, which will hopefully attract a hairy footed flowerbee. The gang also cut off the seed heads of pendulums sedge. Later in the afternoon OG Henry Crawley and Ex Biology teacher Tony Leach took them on a hunt for the Himalayan Balsam. They learnt to spot this incredible successful invasive species and armed with our sticks, battle with stinging nettles, cross precarious branches and even walk through streams. A day of nature!

At the Treehouse community café in Holt there were numerous wooden pagodas to paint for their new sensory garden. Nearby, a team was based at St Andrew’s church. They were mowing grass, painting fences, strimming and weeding.

Jude P and Darcey L cleared a huge area of the Holt kitchen garden and sowed green compost and wildflower seeds. Later in the afternoon, the St Andrew’s crew came and helped finish the job. Many thanks to them and a especially to Darcey and Jude for their determined spade work.

Four students volunteered at Holt Primary school, assisting in the different year group classrooms, particularly with one-to-one reading. Their efforts were hugely appreciated by everyone at Holt Primary.

Another small group went to Holt Youth Project with an exciting card weaving workshop and they also helped in their allotment.

There was a jaunt to Norwich with a visit to the Castle Museum and the Last Voyage of the Gloucester exhibition whilst another group hiked to the coast and picked litter along the shingle beach.

Meanwhile in school there was plenty to be done with the charity knitting group, or doing maintenance work in Tallis.

Also within school, pupils created a special Labyrinth on the floor in Chapel. Labyrinths are ancient pathways found across the world, most famously in some of Europe’s major Cathedrals. They offer space for reflection and inner stillness in a busy world.

The beautiful pathway was constructed by the Art Department and some Year 9 pupils using natural materials. Staff and pupils have the opportunity to walk around the Labyrinth, taking time to reflect and unwind at the end of a busy school year.

It was a brilliant two days of volunteering and well done to everyone who got involved.

CCF

The 19^th & 20^th June saw some of the busiest Field Days in recent memory. The whole of the Year 9 recruit cohort were involved in assessment of their expedition skills with navigation, campcraft, first aid and trekking activities. Year 10 experienced military training according to section with the Royal Navy section afloat with sailing, kayaking and powerboating at Hickling Broad and the Army section completing field craft skills including blank firing battle simulations as well as live firing at Swanton Morley.

The RAF section learnt skills as varied as archery and rifle drill. On the second day, the RAF cadets did a rotation of paddle boarding, kayaking and raft building at the Mike Thurston Water Activities Centre in North Walsham. The day culminated in the cadets racing their self-built rafts with a mixed degree of success; only one raft made it to the finish line intact! It was a brilliant day of skills building, team building and whacky races! 

Over the two days, the senior NCOs in Year 12 had the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, whether leading a section attack, coordinating a team or delivering a lesson. The skills of resilience, concentration and teamwork were fully on display.

RAF cadets at Mike Thurston Water Activities Centre

Army section in the woods

RAF archery

RAF rifle drills

RAF water fight

Royal Navy sailing

CCF Range day

Theatre in the woods

A selection of pupils headed into Theatre in the Woods to work on getting the stage ready for the upcoming Pop Concert.

We are delighted to announce that we have appointed Darrell Chart-Boyles to be Deputy Head (Academic) at the Senior School

We are delighted to announce that we have appointed Darrell Chart-Boyles to be Deputy Head (Academic) at the Senior School from January 2024. He joins us from Colchester Royal Grammar School, a highly selective school in Essex, where he has been Deputy Head since 2018.

Douglas Robb, Headmaster, said, “We very much look forward to welcoming Darrell to the Gresham’s community, he brings with him a breadth and depth of leadership experience, knowledge and skills and will ensure all our pupils benefit from the highest possible standards of teaching and learning.”

Darrell, writes, “Following five fantastic years, I am of course sad to be leaving Colchester Royal Grammar School. The school community has experienced many changes in this time but my colleagues’ work on Safeguarding as well as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is, rightly, being used as a model for success at both a local and national level. It remains one of the finest schools in the country for good reason and I wish my Senior Leadership Team colleagues, staff and students the very best for the future.”

“As the new Deputy Head (Academic), I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Gresham’s, a school with a phenomenal reputation for its academic, pastoral and co-curricular offering. My husband and I, along with our two sons, are looking forward to joining the Gresham’s family and I cannot wait to get started in what I am sure will be a fantastically rewarding role.”

Tristan Philpott, currently Head of Science, will act as interim Deputy Head (Academic) for the Michaelmas Term.

Congratulations to both Darrell and Tristan on these appointments.

Creators & Digital Media Exhibition

In the first event of its kind, the Creators & Digital Media Exhibition took place in Fishmongers’ Recital Hall on Thursday 15th June to showcase the incredible work created in the Strathmore Studio this year. A drinks reception in Tig’s, complete with theremin and pupils’ portfolios for individual listening, preceded the short film. The film explained the process of arriving at the finished article and presented work from Ned A, Jethro H, Anton L, Jake O, Alex R and Freddie S, ranging from advertisements and film scores to hit Gresham’s Guys and Girls singles. Jake O was recognised for his exemplary dedication to the studio, and the exhibition featured works he had directed, composed and produced. What a wonderful insight into this extraordinarily busy and talented facet of the Music Department. 

The Summer term gospel service featured some lively performances

The termly Gospel service featured George R, Jemima T and Michelle W as our solo musicians. George R was a force to be reckoned with on the drum kit, as he performed assuredly with Mr Cooper and Mr Myers preceding the service. Michelle W sang ‘Everybody’s Free’, accompanied by Chapel Choir to begin the service, and her and Jemima T duetted beautifully for Stormzy’s ‘Give It To The Water’ and Whitney Houston’s ‘Step by Step’, accompanied by our band. Chapel Choir took their turn with a lively rendition of ‘When the Saints Go Marching in’, and the rest of the school had a chance to join in with the Gospel hymns, producing a marvellous sound in ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘When I needed a neighbour’, ‘Mine eyes have seen’ and, of course, ‘Shine Jesus Shine’.

Year 10 and 12 worked through a carousel of activities on Wellbeing Day 2023

On Wednesday 28^th June, Year 9 had their Wellbeing morning and Year 10 had their Wellbeing afternoon. Pupils worked through a carousel of four activities aimed at promoting their wellbeing by helping inform and empower them to make responsible decisions in their personal and online relationships.  

The four activities were as follows: 

• ‘Tender’ charity drama workshop, working to promote healthy behaviour and prevent abuse in teenage relationships. For more information, please visit https://tender.org.uk/schools-programme/ 
• ‘Cyber Escape Room’ – A hands-on workshop from Suffolk Police increasing awareness of online dangers and promoting understanding of cyber security and internet safety. 
• ‘Sexwise’ – Talk and activities from our Health Centre staff, promoting responsible sexual health and providing information about sexual health services.  
• ‘The Boy in the Photograph’ – Talk/drama anti-bullying presentation, encouraging reflection on the impact we have on others, developing empathy and understanding and teaching practical skills and strategies for dealing with bullying behaviour. 

Year 12 pupil Charles marked Pride Month with a presentation in Chapel

To mark Pride Month, Year 12 pupil Charles K gave a chapel presentation in which he told his audience about the events leading up to Pride, starting with the Stonewall Riots of the 1960s. He candidly discussed his own experiences, the value of living in a diverse community, the importance of acceptance and the joy of being able to live authentically and without the constraints of labels: ‘to define is to limit’. Charles outlined the challenges for teenagers of coming out and reminded us ultimately of Dr Seuss’s wise words, ‘Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.’

RAF cadets went gliding at RAF Syerston

Well done to the 10 Cadets from the CCF (RAF) Section who managed to get gliding with 644 VGS at RAF Syerston. Whilst the morning looked a little bit glum and wet, all Cadets managed to get up and gliding for two sorties each. It was great to be joined by Cadets from 2110 (North Walsham) Squadron ATC and Read School CCF.

All Cadets now walk away earning their Blue wings and with huge smiles on their faces. A massive thanks to all the staff and volunteers from 644 VGS who made this possible.