Outstanding results for Art and Design Department

You would be hard pressed to find such stellar results as the Art and Design Departments at Gresham’s. This year 60% of pupils achieved 9 and 8 grades across GCSE Fine Art, GCSE 3D Design and GCSE Graphics – that’s the equivalent of 50 A* grades!

A remarkable 75% of all grades at A Level were at A*. And these outstanding grades have been achieved consistently for years: last year 90% of pupils achieved A* in 3D Design, and for two years running, 100% of pupils achieved an A* in Graphic Communication.

Furthermore, pupils are achieving impressive outcomes as a result of their success: this year, that meant Architecture at Manchester, Fine Art at Leeds, Graphics at Reading, History of Art at Cambridge, Interior Design at Falmouth, and a placement at Pilar Corria Art Gallery. Last year, nine pupils went on to Architecture courses, and nine into other Art and Design-based courses, including Falmouth, UCL, Goldsmith’s, and an animation degree in Germany.

This summer, Limony A won First Prize in the 2024 Norfolk Art & Design Competition, with Vera C having her work highly commended and another two pupils shortlisted. Previously, we have enjoyed a three month residency at Saatchi Gallery and pupils regularly show work throughout the UK – and that’s not to mention the many graduates who exhibit and enjoy careers in a wide range of art and design disciplines.

During September, one of last year’s leavers will be exhibiting in the Chair of Virtue Exhibition at Shoreditch Design Triangle as part of the London Design Festival. Sophia C will be one of just five designers selected to exhibit.

Looking at the broad theme of ‘Natural Forms’, Sophia chose a combination of elements related to the human body. A playful interaction of components such as a red blood cell, abstracted rib form and the ball and socket joint finally led to the ‘Blob Chair’. The challenge for Sophia was to bring these elements together in a way that, not only functioned as a chair, but aesthetically created a satisfying integration of forms and materials.

A walk through the Dyson Building at Gresham’s will very quickly reveal how all this is possible: the staff are utterly dedicated, the building is unrivalled in a school setting, and the exhibition spaces are filled with work that is both professional and impressive.

Major General Felix Gedney kicks off the first academic enrichment lecture of the year

For the first academic enrichment lecture of the year, we were honoured to welcome Major General Felix Gedney who talked to Year 13 pupils about The UK Armed Forces and Society.

It was an extremely informative and thought-provoking talk, giving answers as to why we have the Armed Forces, what the Armed Forces do, and who is in charge. The Year 13 pupil audience were superb, and gave excellent, informed answers to question prompts from Major General Gedney. 

We were grateful to begin the year with such an energised and engaged opening to the new season of academic enrichment lectures.

Superb GCSE results for Year 11 pupils

Gresham’s Year 11 pupils are once again celebrating a superb set of GCSE results, nearly a third of which are at the highest 9 / A* grades. Six pupils have achieved a clean sweep of 9s and 8s, one of whom has achieved an outstanding 11 GCSEs all at grade 9.

As with this year’s A level and BTEC results, Gresham’s continues to buck national trends when it comes to our pupils’ academic outcomes. While nationally the grade 9-4 pass rate fell again to 67.4%, ours is the highest ever at 96.6% and over half of all grades are at the coveted 9-7 level.

Thanks to the hard work of their teachers, along with the support of their families, 83 pupils have managed to achieve at least one grade 9 or 8 this year, showing that this cohort of Greshamians have been recognised for their talents across the full breadth of subjects on offer.

We congratulate the whole Year 11 cohort and are looking forward to welcoming the majority of them back into Year 12 to study A levels, BTECs and the International Baccalaureate!

Exceptional success for our A level and BTEC students

Gresham’s is proud to announce that our A level and BTEC pupils have once again achieved outstanding results. At A level, 46% were graded at A* or A, well above the national average of 28%, while 88% were graded A*-C, a significant increase on last year’s outcomes. Pupils taking BTEC subjects also performed very strongly with 47% of their results at Distinction or Starred Distinction.

Universities have been quick to offer our pupils places with 98% securing their firm or insurance choices. This year, Old Greshamians will be heading off to study in all parts of the UK and around the world including Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Goldsmiths, Imperial, Leeds, London South Bank, LSE, Loughborough, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford Brookes, Queen Mary, Reading, Royal Holloway, St. Andrews, Sheffield, Southampton, Surrey, UCL, UEA, Warwick, York, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Spain.

Pupils have also secured places at top specialist institutions such as the Royal Agricultural College, Harper Adams, Leeds Conservatoire, University of the Arts London, and the Royal Northern College of Music, as well as a range of degree apprenticeships.

These results are a testament to pupils’ consistent hard work as well as the outstanding support they have received with their studies from their teachers, tutors, Heads of House, the pastoral, support and SEND teams, and their families. Well done all!

Rifle Club Imperial Meeting 2024

Fifteen members of Gresham’s Rifle Club were at Bisley this year to compete in the National Rifle Association’s 155^th Imperial Meeting, which took place immediately after the Schools Meeting. Every member of the team shot well in what were generally good conditions in terms of temperature, but at times, the wind conditions were challenging. The newer, less experienced members of the team were all on 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 Georgina B, as she was selected to shoot for England in the Cadet National Match. Georgina was the top shot out of all competitors in the match (105 / 105), but the England team still had to settle for second place, just three points behind Wales.

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, Oliver R, Grace S, and Alexandre S were able to outshoot all the other schools to take first place and win the Garry Jones Trophy. Things didn’t go quite so well for the Anstey Trophy, as the same Gresham’s team had to settle for a 6^th-place finish in this competition.

Gresham’s were well represented in the 2^nd Stages of St. Georges and His Majesty the King’s Prize this year. Georgina, Oliver, and Grace made the 2^nd Stage of St. Georges, with Grace shooting well enough to progress through to the final. The entire team was there to watch her finish 80^th out of the 700 competitors that started in the competition. Margarethe G, Harry P, and Jonny W all shot in the 2^nd stage of the King’s Prize, and despite having a wonderful time, were unsuccessful at making the final. The other big individual competition during the week was the Grand Aggregate and, out of the 650+ competitors (from around the world) taking part, Georgina B managed to shoot consistently well throughout the week to finish 186^th.  The Grand Aggregate was won by Chloe Evans (OG). Out of the 200 Cadets competing in the Grand Aggregate, Georgina B was the top shot. In the process of becoming Top Cadet, she also won herself a bespoke shooting jacket worth over £1,500, thanks to sponsorship from ‘TenPointNine’.

Several of the team members also shot for the UK Cadets in both the Inter-Services Long and Short-Range matches. Georgina, Harry, and Oliver shot in the Long-Range match, with Alexandre and Jonny as reserves. Georgina then shot in the Short-Range match, with Grace as reserve.

It was a fantastic two weeks of competitive target rifle shooting, and I would very much like to thank every member of Gresham’s Rifle Club for making it such a great trip. You are an awesome group of young people.

Finally, we would like to wish Georgina B all the very best on her tour with the British Cadet Rifle Team (the Athelings) and Marcella B on her tour to the Channel Islands with the UK Cadet Rifle Team. Mrs Liberman will also be going on the UKCRT tour as the team’s Adjutant. Thanks must go to all members of staff who have assisted, in whatever way, with the running of the Rifle Club over the past year. May 2024-25 be just as successful, if not more.

Rifle Club Schools Meeting 2024

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

There were early successes during the days building up to the Ashburton Shield. Alex S got the team off to a good start by finishing 2^nd in the Monday Aggregate. Harry P then finished 8^th in the Tuesday Aggregate, with Alex just behind in 9^th. The Wednesday Aggregate didn’t go quite so well for the team, with Oliver R achieving our highest place shot, in 22^nd place. Gresham’s had 11 of their 17 strong team members in the Schools Hundred, which is for the top 100 shots during the week. There were some excellent performances by the new shots in the team, with Bella B and Kyla C being the pick of the bunch. However, Lucy C and James M both also enjoyed a very successful week and acquired huge amounts of experience.

The Rifle Team was supported and assisted by Mr Clarke for the Schools Meeting, and Mrs Liberman oversaw running the Pavilion and the catering for the duration of the trip. The team is very grateful to them both for all that they do and was extremely pleased, and grateful, to have the support of staff members on Ashburton Day. Mrs Ross, Mrs Humphrey, Mr Matthews, Mr Margetson, Miss Grasby, and Mr Liberman very kindly supported the team for the entire day, and many friends and family joined them. Thank you all for your support.

Mr Kinder, as he all too often does, went to huge lengths to support the team this year. Every Wednesday evening, before Ashburton Day, the team gets off camp and visits the Military Cemetery at Brookwood. This has become an annual visit for the team. Kinder arrived at Bisley in time to join the team for their trip to Brookwood this year. In true Mr Kinder fashion, he had gone to great lengths to research three OGs that are commemorated on the WWII memorial in the cemetery. He took time out of his well-earned summer break to tell the stories of these three OGs to the team. Two of the OGs had even represented the Gresham’s School shooting VIII at Bisley, which made it even more relevant to the young people. It was an extraordinary occasion, and I am extremely thankful to Mr Kinder.

Conditions had warmed up throughout the week and Ashburton Day was a warm, but pleasant, day. The wind was tricky at times and certainly caught many teams out at the 600-yard distance (including the Gresham’s team). The VIII got off to a strong start, scoring the third-highest score on the range at 300 yards. Every member of the team scored in the 30s and left the team only 8 points behind the leaders. The team was then hit hard by tricky conditions at 600 yards and the majority of the VIII failed to score above 30. They handled the conditions at 500 yards much better but had other issues to contend with. At some point during the lunch break, one of the teams’ rifles had sustained damage and two members of the VIII had to switch to a completely different rifle. It was very impressive to see the team handle this setback so well. They were able to make up some positions and finished the day in 6^th place, which was very respectable considering the level of preparation they had begun with at the start of the week. Well done to Epsom College on their victory, which was hugely deserved.

Our Under 16 Cadets had an excellent day on the range and managed to finish 6^th in the Cadet Pairs, and 5^th place in the Cadet Fours competitions. Grace S and Corin H both shot very well in their competitions and could have easily represented VIII. Bella B had a real struggle at 300 yards but did not let this affect the rest of her day and went on to shoot fantastically well at the other two distances. Ilana B, Kyla C, Lucy C, James M, and Alastair S all put in some strong performances, and it is looking hugely encouraging for the future of the team. Henry J was the team’s reserve for the day and was able to secure 2^nd place in his competition.

The Schools Meeting was followed by the 155^th Imperial Meeting and 15 members of the team shot in the second week of competition.

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

Excellent IB results

Gresham’s is delighted to announce excellent results in the 2024 IB Diploma Programme. Pupils once again achieved a 100% pass rate and our average point score was 35.5 out of a possible 45, significantly higher than the rolling global average.

59% of examinations were awarded a Level 6 or 7, equivalent to an A or A* at A Level. 23% of our pupils achieved a world class score of 40 points or above (the equivalent of 4 A* grades), while 58% achieved 35 points or above – the equivalent of A*A*A at A Level.

We are incredibly proud of all our IB pupils and would like to congratulate them on their impressive successes. Alongside their IB studies, this cohort have made outstanding contributions to music, drama, sport, debating and other co-curricular activities during their time at Gresham’s.

We wish our IB pupils every success and congratulate them on meeting the entry requirements of a wide range of destinations including; Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, St Andrews, Edinburgh and many other international destinations such as Bocconi.