Gresham’s History Society had the privilege of welcoming Mr Peaver, a Gresham’s legend, for an engaging and illustrated talk on Rudolf Carl von Slatin, an Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in Sudan.
Mr Peaver shared tales of Slatin Pasha’s remarkable life and travels, including his imprisonment and escape from captivity.
The talk brought history to life, offering an in-depth look at Slatin’s extraordinary travels and contributions.
On Saturday, the Colloquium was hosted by Miss Cann in the Psychology Department, located in the beautifully refurbished Reith Building.
The topic was ‘psychology super-humans’. Pupils were invited to take an online test to see if they might qualify as a ‘super-recogniser’, like the elite individuals currently working for the Metropolitan Police. These are individuals with an exceptional ability to remember and recognise thousands of faces, even after seeing them only once, then pick them out of a crowd.
In addition to super-recognition, the Colloquium explored the fascinating phenomenon of synaesthesia—a condition where senses merge, allowing people to experience one sense through another. For example, pupils discussed how some synaesthetes might associate specific colours with days of the week, answering the curious question, ‘What colour is Tuesday?’ (With responses ranging from green to yellow).
The past few weeks have brought a series of engaging Academic Enrichment lectures, covering a wide range of historical, political, and practical topics.
Last week, we were privileged to host Mr. Kinder, Head of History, who delivered an outstanding lecture on the 110-year history of the Middle Eastern conflict. This topic was specifically requested by our current Sixth Form pupils, eager to gain a deeper understanding of the historical context surrounding the conflict.
We extend our thanks to Mr. Kinder for his illuminating presentation.
This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Romario Ellis, a 20-year-old entrepreneur, advocate for apprenticeships, and the Founder of Outer Circle, to share his journey with degree apprenticeships. Romario’s story highlighted his path from an apprentice to establishing a dedicated platform empowering young people to gain confidence, skills, and understanding to launch their careers through apprenticeships with supportive, influential employers.
Joining Romario was OG Isobel Reading (E 2020-22), an apprentice at JP Morgan in Global Finance and Business Management. Together, they delivered an insightful and authentic look into the very real and successful route of undertaking a degree apprenticeship.
Thank you, Romario and Izzy, for your encouraging, candid perspectives and for inspiring our pupils to consider the opportunities offered by degree apprenticeships.
Gresham’s Music Department welcomed Colchester Army Band to the school for a workshop in partnership with Norfolk Music Services. Over 30 Gresham’s pupils from Years 9-13 were joined by 20 pupils from Norwich School, Thetford Academy, Springwood High School, King’s Lynn and Fakenham Academy to work on arrangements of popular Pop Music as well as more traditional pieces. It was evident from the outset and the initial Coldplay Medley piece that the standard for the day would be high and as a result, pupils were able to work through more complex music, including Ole Mountain Thyme and produce a wonderful sound.
Playing in and amongst the professional Army musicians most certainly gave the pupils confidence. A break in the day allowed the Army careers’ officer to tell our CCF contingent about life in the military and the many avenues available to anyone interested. From vets, medical staff, accountants, chefs, engineers, the options were endless. From a music point of view SSgt Dolor explained what life as a musician in the Army involves with bursaries on offer and excellent musical tuition as well as the opportunity to travel. The day concluded with a small concert, open to family, to play through the pieces learnt over the day.
Gresham’s marked this year’s Harvest Festival in style over the weekend, with a celebration that highlighted both tradition and community support.
Outside the Chapel, tractors and sheep stood proudly, setting the scene for a lively and meaningful event. Inside, staff and pupils came together to honour the season’s bounty and celebrate all things food related.
The highlight of the festival was the generous collection of produce, which was donated to local food banks. This impressive effort will directly support families in need across the local area.
Over the last 12 months, Cadet Flight Sergeant Georgina B has been writing and creating her EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) which has been run and funded through the RAF Air Cadets.
The EPQ is an optional qualification available to all RAF Air Cadets in Sixth Form. As a Level 3 qualification, it carries half the UCAS points of a full A Level and is completed alongside a pupil’s usual academic commitments. The EPQ allows flexibility and is fully coursework based.
Flight Sergeant Georgina created an artefact and did a small research project around aircraft and the effectiveness of teaching in the RAF. Even in early draft, it was clear that Georgian B’s work was of an excellent standard. So much so, it has been marked as the highest standard piece of academic work submitted by the RAF Air Cadets nationally, earning her The Foster Trophy as the highest-grade cadet in the Level 3 Extended Project Qualification.
In a letter from Group Captain Boreham, Central and East Air Cadets Regional Commandant, he shared that “Georgina had the highest standard submission and grade for the Level 3 Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) run through the RAF Air Cadets. This is an outstanding achievement, seeing her communicate so effectively her passions for teaching and aircraft in the RAF”.
By virtue of this award, Flight Sergeant Georgina and her parents were invited to attend RAF Cranwell for the annual RAF Air Cadets award ceremony, one of only a handful of Cadets to attend nationally.
This year, three Cadets have started their EPQ’s with the RAF Air Cadets and hope to mirror the same excellence that Flight Sergeant Georgina has this year.
Last Friday, IB History pupils had the opportunity to attend a unique workshop at the University of East Anglia (UEA), entitled All Shall Be Afforded Dignity: Art and Anti-Apartheid Movement.
The day began with a fascinating talk on the complex history and politics of apartheid in South Africa, and the anti-apartheid movement in the and across the globe, delivered by Dr Nicholas Grant.
Following the lecture, the pupils explored the exhibition and reflected upon the All Shall Be Afforded Dignity exhibition featuring the works of Norman Kaplan. The morning concluded with a hands-on printing workshop led by the artist JMC Anderson. Here, the pupils were guided through the process of creating their own Linograph prints, using protest as their central theme.
On Thursday morning, our Year 8 Prep pupils had the exciting opportunity to participate in a project led by poet, Laura Mucha. As part of an ambitious attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest poetry lesson, Laura live-streamed her interactive class on YouTube to school venues across the globe.
Joining over 270,000 children worldwide, our pupils contributed to a collaborative poem centred on the theme ‘What Counts’. The event was one of many activities organised to celebrate National Poetry Day, and the excitement was palpable.
Pupils not only participated in the creative process but also connected live with a Guinness World Record adjudicator, who ensured that all aspects of the lesson complied with the strict guidelines required for an official record attempt.
Poetry serves as a powerful medium for expressing emotions and fostering self-reflection. Who knows—perhaps one of our budding poets will write about being a world record-setter one day.
Our Computer Science (CS) department has switched to the latest Edexcel GCSE syllabus, which examines candidates via real Python programming tasks ‘onscreen’.
This is a major step up from other paper-based CS exams, giving the school valuable experience with onscreen assessments as exams move from paper to digital. Our pupils also enjoyed the more ‘real-world’ nature of the exams.
In recognition of this forward-thinking approach, our Computer Science centre has been awarded the prestigious Computer Science ‘Innovator’ Credly badge.
Credly, a globally recognised digital credentialing platform, issues badges to institutions that successfully deliver Pearson’s onscreen assessments. This badge highlights the school’s achievement in delivering the GCSE (9-1) Computer Science (1CP2) Paper 2 onscreen and underscores the centre’s commitment to innovative education.
By earning this badge, Gresham’s has aligned itself with a trusted credentialing platform, enhancing the value and credibility of the achievements earned by the centre.
On Thursday 19 September, a group of Year 9 language pupils were lucky enough to join a Teams call with staff from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The session offered an eye-opening look at how languages play a crucial role in fighting crime and protecting national security.
The pupils learned about the most sought-after languages, as well as how all languages train the brain to crack codes and spot patterns. Once the call was over, Year 9 pupils tried a fictional exercise to discover the time, location, and mode of transport for a drugs shipment due to arrive into the UK. They used a code to fill in a French dialogue, which they then had to translate and decode to find the answers.
Pupils will now have the chance to enter the National Language Competition (NLC) in November, where they can put their language and codebreaking skills to the test.
