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Our view
There’s a wonderfully laid-back and friendly atmosphere at this historic school that has a deservedly excellent reputation for tradition, solid teaching and good old-fashioned manners. Refreshingly unflashy, it’s quietly impressive with fabulous academics (without being overly selective) and fantastic facilities, particularly in STEAM and music. The only school in Norfolk to offer the IB (alongside A-levels), it sits in the Top 250 for value-added, and you get the feeling that every pupil knows they are getting the absolute best education for them.
Where?
Located four miles from the north Norfolk coast on the edge of the very lovely town of Holt, the school sits in 200 acres of beautiful, tree-filled parkland with stately old red-brick school buildings and newer builds, including the state of the art Dyson Building, which opened in 2021 and is named after former pupil Sir James Dyson. The Auden Theatre and Britten Building, which houses the music centre, give you a clue to other notable alumni (Olivia Colman is a more recent addition to the long list of famous faces who attended the school). Norwich is 45 minutes by train, London two hours. By car, London is three hours and Stansted, two.
Head
Now in his 10th year as head, Douglas Robb has overseen a blossoming of Gresham’s under his leadership. He tells us the school is self-confident but not arrogant, qualities we couldn’t help but notice he also possesses. He’s proud of his pupils, who shine in all areas of the curriculum, and is grateful of the input – both practical and financial – from Dyson, which means the school offers a unique digital provision, with robotics capturing the imagination and fuelling the creativity of many pupils at the moment.
Admissions
Demand for places is high. About half of the Year 9 intake come from Gresham’s Prep, with the rest joining from other schools. It’s gently selective: pupils sit assessments in English and maths, and submit references from their previous school. About 20 per cent of pupils are from overseas, with 30 nationalities represented.
Academics and destinations
The broad curriculum caters for all abilities, with something for everyone and additional needs well catered for and integrated into the academics. Gresham’s has a strong reputation for STEAM and the Dyson Building is the perfect space to inspire pupils, with all of the latest technology at their fingertips (and thumbprints, which they use to access the centre). Co-curricular subjects are strong, with GCSE and A-level PE, music, art and drama all very popular, and BTECs in agriculture, business, sport and digital music production also on offer.
As well as A-levels and the IB, pupils can take BTECs that include agriculture, which has its own dedicated space on the campus for chickens, bees and farm equipment. Most pupils (98 per cent) head off to university – there’s a good offer rate for those taking the IB – and a small number opt for degree apprenticeships.
Co-curricular
Sport is a big part of school life – facilities are wonderful and everyone gets stuck in with gusto. As well as numerous pitches, courts and tracks, there’s a 25m pool, large sports hall and an impressive strength-and-conditioning gym. Pupils on the Talented Athletes Programme use it to follow their bespoke training plans issued via an app on their phone. The trophy cabinet is bulging with silverware: they’re currently county rugby champions in U14s, U16s and U18s (England internationals Tom and Ben Youngs are former pupils); the U16 girls are national hockey finalists; and the boys and girls regularly make it to the top echelon in cricket. If the more traditional sports don’t inspire, there’s also shooting, swimming, fencing, squash and golf. Gresham’s is one of the top schools for shooting in the country, and a sixth-form girl is currently the U18 GB cadet rifle champion.
Music is equally strong, with the fantastic Britten Building offering classrooms, practice rooms, collaborative spaces and hi-tech equipment for recording and mixing. Every year the pupils record a video for a girls-versus-boys Christmas single, the quality of which is pretty amazing. Gresham’s is an All Steinway School, with plenty of ensembles and choirs giving opportunities to perform in front of an always-packed audience in the Auden Theatre. Plays, concerts and prize-giving are also held at the Theatre in the Woods, a magical amphitheatre deep in the school’s forest.
Art is housed in the Dyson Building and segues neatly with D&T; we saw lots of 3D art and design, and the large space means pupils can go big with their creations. 3D design and robotics are very popular choices for the bi-weekly activity afternoon. As a hangover from the pandemic, the traditional three-hour sports afternoon has been split into two 1.5-hour sessions, with pupils choosing an activity of their choice for the second session, which might be sport, music tech, debating or improvisation, among other options.
CCF and DofE are both popular, and the size of the school grounds means most activities happen on site. There’s an Army vehicle workshop, an RAF flight simulator and a fleet of sailing boats for the Navy cohort. A new activity centre in the woods sees pupils tackling a 21-obstacle assault course, a climbing tower, a 220m zip wire and Go Ape-style high and low ropes. There’s also a bunkhouse, and lots of team-building adventures take place in the woods, including the much-anticipated Year 9 Survival Course.
Boarding
The seven boarding houses include four for boys and three for girls, and boarding and day pupils mix together in the same houses, creating a brilliantly tight-knit community with no sense of ‘them’ and ‘us’. There’s also a co-ed day house for sixth-formers, who take on ‘big sister’ and ‘big brother’ roles for the Year 9s. At weekends, movie nights and barbecues are popular – and on the first weekend of term, all boarders head off to the beach at Wells.
School community
The school strongly believes that only happy and well-cared-for pupils can achieve their goals in the classroom, so pastoral care is at the heart of everything. There is a well-resourced health centre and two mental-health nurses, and a 360-degree approach sees every member of staff given responsibility for pastoral care.
Parents are very engaged. The Friends of Gresham’s association is super-social, arranging lots of fundraising events throughout the year and regularly meeting up for breakfast at the café in the Britten Building.
And finally....
This co-ed school combines a holistic approach to education with an emphasis on building well-rounded characters who know who they are and how to treat others. The equally excellent prep school means it offers a fantastic all-through journey in a wonderful setting.