Gresham's School
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Gresham's School is a
private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
(English fee-charging boarding and
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school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
for forty boys, following
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
's dissolution of Beeston Priory. The founder left the school's endowments in the hands of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, who are still the school's trustees. In the 1890s, an increase in the rental income of property in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
led to a major expansion of the school ie building on land at the eastern edge of Holt, including several new boarding
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
as well as new teaching buildings, library and chapel. Gresham's began to admit girls in 1971 and is now fully
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
. As well as its senior school, it operates a preparatory and a nursery and pre-prep school, the latter now in the Old School House, the historic home of the school. Altogether, the three schools teach about eight hundred children.


History


The school

Gresham's School, Holt, was founded by Sir John Gresham, who obtained
letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
in 1555, during the reign of Queen Mary I.S.G.G. Benson and Martin Crossley Evans, ''I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School'' (London: James & James, 2002 For its home he gave the school his
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
at Holt, which he had bought in 1546 from his elder brother Sir William Gresham. The founding of Gresham's was connected to
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
's suppression of the
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
of Augustinian canons at Beeston Regis in June 1539. The Priory of St Mary in the Meadow, Beeston Regis, established in 1216, had operated a school which John Gresham and his brothers probably attended, but the school came to an end with the priory, leaving no provision for education in the neighbourhood of Holt. The new school opened and was granted a
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
in 1562. By the letters patent of 1555, the school was called in full 'The Free Grammar School of Sir John Gresham, knight, citizen and alderman of London'. The founder endowed Gresham's generously, placing its property in trust with the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and full estate records dating from the school's foundation are held at the Guildhall Library. Sir John Gresham's endowments included his freehold property in Holt and Letheringsett, his wood and land called Prior's Grove, his manors of Pereers and Holt Hales, "with all and singular to the same belonging, situate in Holt, Sherington, Letheringsett, Bodham, Kellinge, Wayborne, Semlingham, Stodrye, Bantrye and West Wickham, in the said county of Norfolk", and also tenements called 'The White Hind' and 'The Peacock' in the parish of St Giles's Without,
Cripplegate Cripplegate was a city gate, gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England. The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate Wards of the City of London, ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gat ...
, in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. Close links with the Fishmongers' Company continue to the present. By his Will of 1601, Leonard Smith, a fishmonger of London, left £120 and all his goods to establish a fellowship at
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...
, and in 1604 'Mr Smith's Fellowship' was confirmed by the college, with the provision that "scholars from the Grammar School of Holt, in Norfolk" were to have preference. The school library contains the Foundation Library, a collection of books and manuscripts provided at the school's establishment in 1555 and later. On Christmas Day 1650, Thomas Cooper, a former usher of Gresham's, was hanged for his part in a Royalist rebellion on behalf of Charles II. His body was left hanging on a gibbet in the Holt Market Place. For three hundred and fifty years, the school was based in what is now called the Old School House, or "OSH", the former manor house of Holt overlooking the Market Place in the town centre. In 1708, the school escaped a major fire which destroyed most of the rest of the mediaeval town of Holt. This resulted in most of the buildings now to be seen in the town centre belonging to the 18th century. In 1729, the Fishmongers' Company presented the school with "...a valuable and useful library, not only of the best editions of the Classics and Lexicographers, but also with some books of Antiquities, Chronology, and Geography, together with a suitable pair of globes". By the 18th century, references to fish were hard to find in the court minutes of the Fishmongers' Company, and the company's main business had become managing its extensive property and administering its charities and trusts, such as the school at Holt and St Peter's Hospital, an almshouse at Newington in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. For the period 1704 to 1750, Charles Linnell has analysed the 'Status of fathers of boys at Holt Grammar School' in his ''Gresham's School History and Register'' (1955): "Sons of
gentlemen ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...
10%,
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
30%, professional men 5%, tradesmen 20%, plebeian 15%, unknown 20%". One of the school's 18th-century heads was John Holmes, appointed at the age of twenty-seven, a prolific writer of educational textbooks who led the school between 1730 and his death in 1760. In the 19th century, boys were strictly required to attend services at the Holt parish church, and in November 1815 a boy called Charles Loynes was "expelled for non-attendance at church". In 1823, the expenditure of the Fishmongers' Company on the school was £367, of which £158-10s-0d was for the master's salary, allowances and gratuities, £80 for the Usher's salary, board and lodging, £52-11s-6d for repairs, £22-12s-6d for taxes, £15-15s-6d for poor rates, £12-10s-0d for coals, £9-13s-4d for two-thirds of the cost of the school books, and £6-6s-0d for a School Feast which took place in June. In 1836, the 'Wardens and Commonalty of the Art and Mystery of Fishmongers of the City of London' held an insurance policy for 'Other property or occupiers: Free Grammar School Holt Norfolk (Rev Benn. Pulleyn)' with the Sun Fire Office. In his ''History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London'' (1836), William Herbert says of the school: Herbert also notes that the officers of the court of the Fishmongers' Company include "a steward of the Holt free school, in Norfolk". John William Burgon, in ''The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham'' (1839), after listing the estates with which Sir John Gresham endowed the school, says Burgon goes on, however, to add In 1859, the Gresham Grammar School was closed while its site was substantially rebuilt and converted, providing accommodation for boarders. It re-opened on 30 July 1860. In 1880, a commission was appointed to enquire into the City of London Livery Companies. When it published its first reports in 1881 the following formed part of a 'Supplementary Statement on behalf of the Fishmongers' Company' included in Volume 1: In the early 1900s, under an ambitious headmaster called George Howson (who had moved to Gresham's from Uppingham), the school expanded onto a new campus of some at the eastern edge of the town, while keeping the Old School House as one of its houses. When Howson arrived at Gresham's, he found it in numbers much as it had been when founded in 1555: in 1900 there were only forty ''Holt Scholars'', plus seven boarders. The New School (by the architect Sir John Simpson) was opened by Sir Evelyn Wood on 30 September 1903. This consisted of School House (renamed Howson's in 1919) and the Main Building, including Big School. Woodlands was acquired and opened as a new house in 1905, the school's first swimming pool was opened in 1907, and Farfield was built in 1911. The School Chapel was completed in 1916, during the
Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, during which one hundred and six Old Greshamians were killed. Under Howson's successor as headmaster, J. R. Eccles, Gresham's appears to have been one of the first schools in England to abolish corporal punishment. In March 1921 Eccles wrote to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and "condemned corporal punishment of any kind". His letter is not however evidence for permanent abolition at Gresham's. The Thatched Buildings, the gift of Eccles, were opened by Sir Arthur Shipley in February 1921. In 1923, Sir Harry Brittain asked Edward Wood, President of the Board of Education in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
"whether he will explain why Gresham's school, Holt, was admitted to the benefits of the Superannuation Act although it is an endowed school, owning all its buildings and supported by a wealthy city company?" A new school library, designed by the architect Alan E. Munby, was opened in 1931 by Field Marshal Lord Milne. In the 1930s, there were three categories of scholarship in the senior school: Holt ''A'' scholarships gave complete exemption from fees, County Scholarships were worth £100 a year, and Fishmongers' Company Open Scholarships were worth £50 a year. The school was evacuated to
Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...
in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, between June 1940 and March 1944. Martin Burgess's memories of Gresham's during the freezing months of January to March 1947, the coldest British winter on record, are quoted at length in ''I Will Plant Me a Tree'' (2002). Not only was the winter icy cold, but because of fuel shortages, the school was unheated. Burgess recalls that "Periods were held in full overcoats and scarves and gloves. If it happened now the School would be closed, but such a step was not even thought of then. In any case, the roads were blocked... One day the School was called out to dig out a farm, or was it a small village? Hurrah! No periods! In the afternoon everyone prayed there would be periods, it was so cold. A man had died." Under the long headship of Logie Bruce Lockhart (1955–1982), there was a further period of change and expansion. Kenwyn, a new Junior School House, was built and opened in 1958. The bridge over Cromer Road was opened in 1962 and was initiated after the death of Kirsty, LBL's daughter, while crossing Cromer Road in front of Howson's. Tallis, a new boys' house named after John Tallis, Master of the school for more than thirty years in the first half of the seventeenth century, was built and opened in 1963 as were the biology classrooms and music rooms. Oakeley became the first girls' house in 1971 when girls were first admitted to the Sixth Form only. The school became fully co-educational in the 1970s. There are now four boarding houses for boys and three for girls (see "Houses" section below), as well as a wide range of buildings. These include Big School, the School Chapel, the Auden Theatre, the Cairns Centre, the School Library, the Music Centre, the Central Block, the Thatched Classrooms, the Reith Laboratories, the Biology Building, the Armoury and others. In February 2005, Gresham's School's 450th anniversary was marked by a service at
Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...
attended by the school's Patron,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
and 1,500 past and present Greshamians. In July 2005, the
Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...
called it "''a school which changed the world.''" When Philip John, formerly head of King William's College, arrived to take over the headmastership in September 2008, the ''Tatler Schools Guide'' commented "It will be interesting to observe the impact of mathematician Philip John." He left in 2013 and Nigel Flower, the deputy head, took over as acting head. Douglas Robb, previously head of Oswestry School, took up the position of headmaster in September 2014.


Headmasters

See List of masters of Gresham's School.


Notable alumni

See List of Old Greshamians and :People educated at Gresham's School. OG groups include the main OG Club, open to all former pupils, which publishes a magazine and has almost four thousand members; the OG
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
Society, the OG
Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
Team, the OG Rifle Establishment (OGRE) which has its own residence at Bisley, and the OG
Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...
. The lodge was formed in January 1939. Notable Old Greshamians include the poet W. H. Auden, the composer
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
, James Dyson the founder of Dyson company, the fourth President of Ireland Erskine Hamilton Childers, the KGB informant Donald Maclean (spy), Sir Alan Hodgkin, Lord Reith,
Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...
, and mass murderer
Jeremy Bamber Jeremy Nevill Bamber (born Jeremy Paul Marsham; 13 January 1961) is a British convicted mass murderer. He was convicted of the 1985 White House Farm murders in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, in which the victims included Bamber's adoptive parents, N ...
.


Houses

Most Gresham's students are boarders and live in one of the school's seven boarding
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. Four of these are for boys: Howson's (1903), Woodlands (1905), Farfield (1911), and Tallis (1961). Three houses are for girls: Oakeley (1971), Edinburgh (1987), and Queens' (1992), known as Britten until 2016. Edinburgh, designed by Nicholas Hare Architects, was opened by
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
, the school's Patron, after whom it is named. Britten, the school's third house for girls, was opened in 1992 and named after the composer
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
. It is an extension of the former school
Sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...
, designed by William Henry Ansell. While at the school Britten was often sick and did much of his early composition in the Sanatorium, including his ''A Hymn to the Virgin''. The name of Britten was changed to Queens' House in September 2016, in honour of Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II. During each of their reigns, the school developed. Each house has a housemaster or housemistress and a house tutor and matron. There are house teams for team sports, as well as other house activities, such as evening prayers, "prep", and dramatic productions. Most houses have about seventy members. Senior boys and girls may be appointed as house prefects. Some of those are then chosen as school prefects and one in each house as House Captain. A new house, Arkell, for day boys and girls in the
sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
, opened in September 2023."Houses"
Greshams.com, accessed 21 October 2023
The Old School House was previously the main school building, then from 1905 to 1936 was the Junior House. From 1936 to 1993 it was a boarding house of the senior school and since then has been the home of the Gresham's pre-preparatory school.


Junior Schools

The former Junior School of Gresham's was reorganised into a Preparatory School and a Pre-Preparatory School in 1984, both on their own sites at Holt, with their own heads and staff. Like the Senior School, both are fully
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
. The Prep school has over two hundred children between the ages of seven and thirteen and takes full and weekly boarders as well as day pupils. Many continue into the Senior School. The school's Kenwyn House was once a house of the Senior School called Bengal Lodge. The Pre-Preparatory School is housed in the Old School House and is a day school for approximately one hundred boys and girls between the ages of two and seven.


Curriculum

The school teaches most subjects of the mainstream humanistic curriculum. While only limited choices between courses need to be made for
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
, in the
sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
at
A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
pupils choose three or four subjects, and most combinations are possible. *
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
* modern languages: French, German, Spanish,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, and Japanese *
English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
*
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
*
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
*
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
,
art and design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
,
history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...
*
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
,
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...
*
religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...
and
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
*
theatre studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also enco ...
,
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
,
physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
Since February 2007 the school has been an
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
World School (IB code 003433), offering the
IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...
.


School terms

The school's year is divided into three terms,
Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...
(early September to mid-December),
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
(early January to the
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
holiday) and
Summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
(Easter holiday to mid-July). In the middle of each term there is a half-term holiday, usually a week long. For boarders, there are also other ''home weekends''. The
academic year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...
begins with the Michaelmas term and ends with the summer term, so starts at the end of the summer vacation.


School sports

Apart from its sports grounds for
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, rugby,
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
, and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, the school has its own indoor
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
, squash,
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
, and
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
courts, gymnasium, sports hall, music school (the Britten Building), and extensive school woods with an outdoor activity centre. It owns a boat-house at Barton Broad and a shooting lodge at Bisley, as well as a shooting range at the school. The principal school sports for boys are rugby (Michaelmas Term), hockey (Lent Term) and cricket, tennis and athletics (summer term) and for girls hockey (Michaelmas Term), netball (Lent Term), and cricket, tennis, and athletics (summer term). There is a wide range of other school sports, including badminton, soccer, squash,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
,
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
,
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
,
cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...
,
shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...
, and
canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...
. An Old Greshamian, Richard Leman, was a member of the gold medal-winning British hockey squad at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
and of the bronze medal-winning team at the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
. Another OG, Gawain Briars, was the British number one squash player and went on to head the world
Professional Squash Association The Professional Squash Association, or simply the PSA, is the governing body for the men's and women's professional Squash (sport), squash circuit. The body operates in a similar fashion to the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP and the ...
. Brother and sister Ralph and Natasha Firman are
racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
s, and Natasha was the winner of the inaugural Formula Woman championship in 2004. Giles Baring and Andrew Corran were first-class cricketers, while international rugby footballers include Andy Mulligan (
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
) and the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
, Nick Youngs (
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and his sons
Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...
and Tom (England). Both also played for the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
winning team in Australia in 2013. In rifle-shooting, Gresham's has been one of the top ten schools in England since about 1955, and Glyn Barnett won a shooting gold medal in the
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
at
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. In the field of winter sports, the 11th Earl of Northesk took an Olympic medal for tobogganing (then called 'skeleton') in 1928. Notable mountaineers have included Tom Bourdillon, Percy Wyn-Harris, Peter Lloyd, and Matt Dickinson.


Chapel

Gresham's is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
foundation and was recognized as such by the Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (Independent Schools) (England) Order 2004, but it is open to all denominations and religions. Services are a focal point of the school's life, with a morning assembly in chapel on four mornings of the week. Pupils not in the sixth form have an extra morning in chapel, while sixth formers have another tutorial period. The Saturday morning service is a choral practice, and Holy Communion may be taken on Sundays. There are also formal prayers in most boarding houses in the evenings. Non-Anglicans are excused communion services on Sundays, and
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s attend mass on Sunday at the church of Our Lady and St Joseph in
Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...
. Boys and girls who so wish are prepared at the school for
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
into the Church of England, usually conducted by the
Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...
or one of his suffragan Bishops. The foundation stone of the chapel was laid by the chairman of governors Sir Edward Busk on 8 June 1912. However, there had been little progress by October 1913, when the plans by the architects Sir J. W. Simpson and
Maxwell Ayrton Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA (1874 – 18 February 1960), known as Maxwell Ayrton, was an England, English architect. He spent most of his adult life working in London and designed houses, public buildings, ...
were for a two-storey building seating about 600, with a high bell tower. In the event, a smaller chapel was built between 1914 and 1916 and is now a
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The Chapel bell, cast in
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
in 1915, is inscribed with the words ''Ring in the Christ that is to be, Donum Dedit J. R. E.''. The last words stand for "the gift of J. R. Eccles", who at the time was second master, later headmaster, while the first eight are the last line of
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
's poem ''Ring Out, Wild Bells'' (1850). The Gresham family motto, ''Fiat voluntas tua'' ('Thy will be done') appears on the chapel's main door. The tune called ''Woodlands'', the setting for the hymns ''Lift Up Your Hearts!'' and ''Tell Out My Soul'', Timothy Dudley-Smith's versification of the ''Magnificat'', was composed for the school in 1916 by Walter Greatorex, a Gresham's master, who succeeded another composer, Geoffrey Shaw (composer), Geoffrey Shaw, as the school's Director of Music. Old Greshamians include several bishops, David Hand (bishop), David Hand, Archbishop of Papua New Guinea, and John Bradburne, a candidate for canonisation.


Out of school activities

There is a school orchestra, a school choir, a Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and a number of school clubs. North Norfolk Divers, a branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, is based at the school. A school play is produced at the end of every Summer Term, and each house also puts on a performance through House Entertains once a year. In 1922, W. H. Auden played the Shrew in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and in 1925 he played Caliban in ''The Tempest''.


Combined Cadet Force

Gresham's has a long military tradition, from Christopher Heydon, Sir Christopher Heydon, who took part in the capture of Cádiz in 1596, to Tom Wintringham, commander of the British Battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, and Robert Bray (general), General Sir Robert Bray, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the school had an Officers Training Corps. During the 1940s, OTCs in British schools were renamed 'Junior Training Corps', and the school's JTC was amalgamated into the Combined Cadet Force in April 1948, which continues to provide military training. The CCF's British Army, Army section is now associated with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment (previously with the Royal Norfolk Regiment, to 1959, and the 1st East Anglian Regiment, 1959 to 1964) and has some 270 pupils as cadets. About another 130 are in the CCF's Royal Air Force, Air section, and training takes place on Friday afternoon of each week. Activities include shooting, expeditions, combat manoeuvres, ambush and continuity drills, signals training, orienteering, climbing, kayaking, line-laying, first aid and lifesaving, motor mechanics and hovercraft construction. A Biennial Review of the Gresham's School CCF Contingent was carried out on 10 May 2006 by Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, General Sir Richard Dannatt KCB CBE MC, Commander-in-Chief Land Command and Chief of the General Staff designate.


Fees

The school's annual fees for the academic year 2022–23 are: * Senior School boarders: £39,345 * Senior School Day Place Non-Boarders in a boarding house: £27,450 * Senior School Day Place in Arkell House: £20,490 * Preparatory School boarders: £28,500 * Preparatory School non-boarders: £16,515–20,355 * Pre-preparatory School Year 2: £12,120 * Pre-preparatory School Year 1: £11,295 * Pre-preparatory School Reception: £11,295 In September 2005, Gresham's was one of fifty British schools which were considered by the Office of Fair Trading to be operating a Independent school fee fixing scandal, fee-fixing cartel in breach of the Competition Act 1998. All of the schools were ordered to abandon the practice of exchanging information on their planned fees. Combined scholarships of up to 40% are available.


Governing body

More than half of the school's governing body represent the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, who have been the school's trustees since 1555. The chairman of governors (currently Paul Marriage)List of governors of Gresham's School
at gresham's.com
was until recently always a past or present prime warden of the Fishmongers' Company. A previous chairman was David Cairns, 5th Earl Cairns, after whom the school's Cairns Centre is named. Another prime warden, Richard Carew Pole, Sir Richard Carew Pole, was also a governor. The governing body includes a representative of University of Cambridge, Cambridge University, currently Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark and one of Norfolk County Council, and it also seeks to include some distinguished List of notable Old Greshamians, Old Greshamians. The clerk of the Fishmongers' Company also acts as clerk to the governing body, and its meetings are held at Fishmongers' Hall in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
.


The Grasshopper

The Grasshopper is used as the badge of several Gresham's School clubs, and a long-established school periodical is called ''The Grasshopper''. The green insect appears as the crest above the school's coat of arms, commemorating the Founder, Sir John Gresham, whose family crest it was. The Gresham Grasshopper is also used by Gresham College and can be seen as the weathervane on the Royal Exchange (London), Royal Exchange in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, founded in 1565 by John Gresham, Gresham's nephew Thomas Gresham, Sir Thomas Gresham, and the similar weathervane on the Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, which is modelled on the Royal Exchange's. The first Royal Exchange was profusely decorated with grasshoppers. According to an ancient legend of the Greshams, the founder of the family, Roger de Gresham, was a foundling abandoned as a new-born baby in long grass in North Norfolk in the 13th century and found there by a woman whose attention was drawn to the child by a grasshopper. Although this is a beautiful story, it is more likely that the grasshopper is simply an Heraldry, heraldic rebus on the name Gresham, with ''gres'' being a Middle English form of ''grass'' (Old English language, Old English grœs). In the system of English heraldry, the grasshopper is said to represent wisdom and nobility.


Development and external relations

During the celebrations of the school's 450th year in 2005, the establishment was announced of a Foundation to focus on encouraging legacies and donations for scholarships, bursaries and specific major projects. A Director of Development and External Relations has since been appointed, as part of a programme of reaching out to Old Greshamians, and gatherings are planned around the UK and overseas.Gresham's School online


Bibliography

* John Holmes (schoolmaster), Holmes, John, ''A New Grammar of the Latin Tongue... freed from the many obscurities, defects, superfluities and errors, which render the common grammar an insufferable impediment to the progress of education'', by (1732, thirteenth edition 1788) * Holmes, John, ''History of England, Performed by the Gentlemen of the Grammar School... at their Christmas breaking up'' (drama, published in Latin and English, 1737) * Holmes, John, ''The Art of Rhetorick made easy... to meet the needs of the time when schoolboys are expected to be led, sooth'd and entic'd to their studies … rather than by force and harsh discipline drove, as in days of yore'' (1738) * ''The Mirror of Literature, Amusement and Instruction'', 27 August 1825 * ''Crockford's Scholastic Directory, 1861'' (has article on Gresham's School) *
The Free Grammar School at Holt, Norfolk
' in ''Report on the Charities of the Fishmongers' Company: Part I'' (City of London Livery Companies Commission Report, Volume 4, 1884) pp. 223–249 * Radford, Rev. L. B., ''History of Holt: a brief study of parish, church and school'' (Rounce & Wortley, 1908, BL 10358.f.38) * George Howson (headmaster), Howson, George William Saul, ''Sermons by a Lay Headmaster, Preached at Gresham's School, 1900–1918'' (Longmans, Green and Co, 1920) * Partridge, H. W., ''Register of Gresham's School, 1900–20'' (Holt, 1920) * ''Gresham's School, Holt: Meeting New Demands of Life'' in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', August 6, 1920 * Simpson, James Herbert, ''Howson of Holt: A study in school life'' (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1925, 93 pp) * Taylor, C. K., 'Where Boys and Masters Pull Together: The Sixth and Final Article on the Schools of England', in Smith, Alfred Emanuel, ''New Outlook'' (Outlook Publishing Company, Inc., 1927), pp. 112–115 * W. H. Auden, Auden, W. H., 'Gresham's School', in Graham Greene, Greene, Graham (ed.), ''The Old School: Essays by Divers Hands'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1934) * Eccles, J. R., ''One Hundred Terms at Gresham's School'' (1934) * Eccles, J. R., ''My Life as a Public School Master'' (1948) * James Herbert Simpson, ''Schoolmaster's Harvest: some findings of fifty years, 1894–1944'', (London, Faber and Faber, 1954) * Charles Lawrence Scruton Lidell and A. B. Douglas, ''The History and Register of Gresham's School, 1555–1954'' (Ipswich, 1955) * Warin Foster Bushell, ''School Memories'' (London: Philip & Son, 1962) * Peter John Lee, ''A Catalogue of the Foundation Library of Gresham's School'' (Holt, 1965) * ''Three Centuries at Holt'' (Holt Society, 1968) * * Philip S. Newell and Bernard Sankey, ''Gresham's in Wartime'' (1988) *


Archives

The Manuscripts Section of the Guildhall Library in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
holds the following Gresham's School records: * Estates records 1547–1904 * Administrative records 1633–1901 * Admissions Register 1729–1857 * Prize List 1846–1891 Norfolk Record Office also holds some Gresham's accessions, including a bundle of correspondence relating to the school from 1799 to 1810 between the Fishmongers' Company and Adey & Repton, including copies of statutes.Gresham's accessions, reference NRA 27820 Repton
. Retrieved 15 August 2007.


See also

* Farfield * List of Masters of Gresham's School * List of Old Greshamians * :People educated at Gresham's School


References

* ''The History and Register of Gresham's School, 1555-1954'' (Ipswich, 1955)
Gresham's Preparatory School


External links


Gresham's School online
- Official site
Profile
on the Independent Schools Council, ISC website
Photograph of late 16th century brass plates on Old School House
at flickr.com
The Auden Theatre, Gresham's School



Gallery of old Gresham's photographs
at greshams.com
Gresham's at art-e-mail.com

Map of Holt

Woodlands House (Gresham's) online
{{authority control Gresham's School, Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Norwich Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Educational institutions established in the 1550s 1555 establishments in England Boarding schools in Norfolk Private schools in Norfolk International Baccalaureate schools in England Organisations based in England with royal patronage People educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk Schools with a royal charter