Gresham's School

Mission statement

“The school aims to provide a caring, challenging and enlightened education, which celebrates British values in a Christian setting. The school seeks to encourage all pupils to make the most of their talents and to become valued members of society.”

Academics

At Gresham’s, pupils have the opportunity to choose whichever qualification suits them best. Gresham’s School offers a very wide curriculum – GCSE and A Level, as well as the International Baccalaureate (IB) and BTEC qualifications too. There are more than 20 subjects on offer at A Level, and the BTEC subjects that are available are agriculture, digital music production and sport. Pupils at Gresham’s are very successful in their exams with 81% of A Level results between A* - B in 2021, and 78.1% of GCSE results between A* - B in the same year.

One example of a subject in which pupils excel is design and technology. All pupils study design technology in Prep School - this creative subject stretches their imaginations and develops their ability to work both individually and as part of a team. The Dyson Building provides excellent facilities for the STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).

Furthermore, Gresham's is one of the best IB boarding schools in the UK and in the world. In 2021, it was named as a top global IB school which means it is one of the top 25 IB schools in the UK. University destinations after an education at Gresham’s include Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, York and Edinburgh.

Activities & sports

Gresham’s offers pupils an all-round education with extensive opportunities in sports, drama and music. The on-campus facilities at Gresham’s School are excellent – they have their dedicated Auden Theatre and Britten Building for drama and music and Gresham’s is an All-Steinway school so music pupils can be sure that they will have access to world-class facilities. In the theatre performances at Gresham's, students take responsibility for everything - from front of house to backstage, set design and acting on stage.

Gresham’s is also a strong sporting school. It was shortlisted for Sporting Achievement in the Independent Schools of the Year 2021 awards. The main sports are hockey, netball, cricket, rugby, swimming and shooting (with many more such as sailing, football and equestrian). Gresham’s also has a Woodland Activity Centre with an assault course, high and low ropes course, climbing wall and zip wire.

International student community

Approximately 25% of the student population at Gresham’s come from overseas. English is a second language for more than 100 pupils at the school, and around 80 of these students receive additional support in the form of English as an Additional Language (EAL) classes.

Boarding life

Almost 50% of the student population at Gresham’s School are boarders. There are seven boarding houses (4 for boys and 3 for girls), each of which welcomes pupils in to their home away from home. Gresham’s has lessons on 6 days of the week (Saturdays included) and offers a variety of activities and trips for boarding students to participate in on a Sunday. For example, students get the chance to go paintballing, mountain biking, and on trips to the beach, to Cambridge and to London.

Typically, pupils that join in Year 9 will share a small dormitory, slightly older pupils will share study bedrooms and the majority of Sixth Formers are given their own room with a desk.