80 pupils made their way to Norwich Theatre Royale to see Agatha Christie’s play ‘The Mousetrap’. The pupils were enthralled by the murder mystery, which kept them guessing throughout.Â
Some of the pupils will document this experience as part of their Bronze Arts Award qualification, whilst others will use this experience to inform classroom discussion in English and Drama lessons. A great day out!
East Anglian League
The yearly cross-country battle between Ipswich, Norwich, RHS and Gresham’s has got underway with a very positive start for Gresham’s Cross Country team. With two competitions completed, the girls team has secured two wins. With Maya P and Grace H leading the team of Lily C, Alice D and Tanya P, they have all contributed to the result with their top ten finishes. They are all training for the Cambridge half marathon and are making great progress.
Norfolk Schools Cross Country Championship.
The first of the qualifying rounds for the English school’s cross country was held at Wymondham College and our teams demonstrated a fine performance. Lottie H and Edie C were first away in the Junior girls race and Lottie had a cracking start leading for the first lap. However, she was caught on the second and finished in a close second place qualifying for the next round of the competition. Edie had a strong race and finished in the top half of the main pack.
Ted K and Connor M were up next and showed some promise in a strong field. They finished in 36th and 63rd respectively. The Year 10 boys’ races was a long 6.3km. Ben W and Ollie M competed in a strong field and finished 16th and 52nd respectively.
The Year 11 girls’ race was a fast and furious event with some falls at the first corner. Our four worked hard and finished with Charlotte G in 12th claiming the last qualification spot, closely followed by Evie H 13th, Poopy G 17th and Poppy G 32nd.
The senior girls’ race was dominated by Hattie R fresh from her GB debut in Belgium. She led from start to finish and eased back on the second lap to conserve energy for the South of England Cross Country Championship on the 28th January. Maya P also put in a great effort finishing 7th so both girls qualify for the next round of the competition.
Well done to all.
Over in the Dyson Building, a wonderful collection of historical Natural Science objects has recently been uncovered in the Biology Department, pictured here with Mr Wight. Miss Gathercole’s classroom collection includes Coleoptera, butterfly specimens, an elephant tooth, tusk, and an African Crowned Crane’s wing, alongside other treasures. A century ago, items like these would have enabled Gresham’s pupils to gain a better understanding of the rich and diverse natural world beyond our Norfolk borders. The fact that they are still being preserved and used as an inspiration for others in the field of Science and Biology is wonderful to see.
Year 13 pupil Alfie has used computer science to give our history a future.
An A level Computer Science project has been in the works behind the scenes in the Gresham’s archives. As a result of Alfie K’s work, we will be able to improve the search capabilities for records in the online catalogue. This will make our records more accessible for researchers who are working remotely.
“Nicholas McCarthy is a concert pianist specialising in left-hand repertoire, and Gresham’s School created a brilliant opportunity for him to visit our school and showcase his musical ability as well as share his backstory. Across the two-day visit, there is not a shadow of a doubt that Nicholas gained the greatest respect of all the pupils and staff of Gresham’s School.
On Friday 13th January, a selected group of musicians at Gresham’s were treated to a masterclass by Mr McCarthy and then he demonstrated left-hand repertoire with a performance. Some lucky pianists were given a one-to-one session with Nick to improve their piece of choice and how to enhance the performing aspect of playing the piano.
On Saturday 14th, Nick McCarthy gave an inspirational talk during the School Chapel Service and also demonstrated left-hand piano-playing. His talk was on the topic of his life story and how, even though he was born with one hand only, he decided, after seeing a friend play the piano at school, that he too would like to not only play the piano but become a concert pianist. Initially, he did not even have a piano, although he did get a keyboard for the following Christmas; he taught himself to play, and used Radio 3 as his inspiration and teacher. One day, his father told Nick to turn the radio down, and in fact it was Nick playing! This was when he knew he was good and he subsequently applied for multiple music colleges across the UK. He made history when he became the first one-handed pianist to graduate from the prestigious Royal College of Music in London. Ultimately the main takeaway from the talk was: no matter how many people put you down or discourage you, no matter what the obstacles standing in your way, nothing is impossible and no matter how crazy your dreams may be, you’ll be able to achieve them if you put the effort in.”
Debating is already in full swing this term. Many congratulations to Sixth Formers Miranda H-S, Georgie C and Tillie C who progressed to the third round of the ESU Mace Debating competition by successfully defending the motion This House Would abolish trial by jury in the second regional heat held at Langley School. Only two teams progressed to the next stage of the competition, so this was an outstanding performance from three very talented debaters.
The Year 10 and 11 Inter-House Debating Competition is also moving through the first round. Oakeley saw off the challenge of a strong Tallis team, successfully defeating the motion This House would make the study of mathematics compulsory until the age of 18. Howson’s also overcame Edinburgh in opposing the motion This House supports Scotland’s gender recognition reform bill.Â
The VEX Robotics teams have been working hard since September to prepare for the regional competitions for the ‘Spin Up’ challenge this year. They travelled to Colchester and displayed excellent teamwork, problem solving skills and resilience to reach the top 5 position out of 20. They hope to improve further in other upcoming competitions to enable them to attend the National competition in March.
The pupils braved some very low temperatures to camp out in the school woods during a January weekend. They enjoyed a take-away curry, flame-grilled popcorn and a breakfast fry-up, as well as sleeping in the outdoor cabin’s hammocks. This was a great opportunity to develop resilience in both staff and pupils; a great time was had by all!
As part of our Services programme, our Amnesty International Write for Rights group re-launched this month. So far, the group have written to governments and victims in both Bangladesh and Cameroon, where human rights abuses have been highlighted through specific cases. Anyone can join the campaign and information is on the Noticeboard Team under the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion tab.Â
This year, the festival fell on 22nd January and marked the start of the Year of the Rabbit. Although generally calm, gentle and loving, Rabbit people can be very ambitious and intuitively know how to get ahead in the world.
To celebrate Chinese Luna New Year, Senior pupils studying Chinese paid a visit to a restaurant in Norwich for a New Year meal. They had the opportunity to bring their learning from the classroom into practice within a celebration of culture and enjoyment. An especially big thank you to Mr Nelson for joining the group for the celebration and for driving them safely.Â
Year 9 have been learning how to use tools such as a saw, axe and knives to effectively prepare firewood. This included making pegs, techniques for splitting logs and making kindling.
The following week, they put their new skills to the test, in order to build and light a fire. They discovered that isn’t quite as easy as it looks, but teamwork makes all the difference!
The boys then moved on to shelter building. They made the most of their teamwork skills to build a shelter that could fit the group, and concentrated on the roof.
They then had to contend with windier conditions in which to create a fire the following week, so they found objects to work as a wind break (some found themselves the best option!) Mr Majid then demonstrated how to fillet a mackerel and some of the group took the opportunity to try this themselves and then cook their efforts.
