Gresham’s Partnership

Ormiston Venture Academy is delighted to have Gresham’s as an educational partner.

Ormiston Venture Academy works in partnership with Gresham’s in a variety of ways to give our students the experience of such a nationally renowned establishment with such an incredible history of success.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Gresham’s was refounded under the direction of new and innovative headmaster George Howson. Under Howson, the School moved to the existing site on the edge of Holt and adopted a progressive curriculum which embraced the Sciences, encouraging independent thought and creativity amongst its pupils.

Gresham’s expanded considerably over the twentieth century, yet it retains the warm community atmosphere which has become central to its ethos over the years. They continue to embrace new technologies and follow a modern approach to education, with the construction of facilities such as the Auden Theatre, the Cairns Centre, the Butterwick Centre and the Dyson Centre in recent years. They remain committed to offering a high standard of education and promoting personal growth, shaping generations of confident and enquiring young people.

Throughout their time at Venture students might get several opportunities to engage with Greshams. This might be in the form of sporting fixtures and workshops held at Greshams, or travelling over to use the music, theatre and STEAM facilities that Greshams have on site. Greshams 6th form students have at times come to Venture to do some outreach work as part of their IB extended project. We are constantly looking at ways to expand our partnership with Greshams and give more Venture students the opportunity to visit and experience Greshams before the two larger elements of the partnership open up in Year 10 and in Year 11.

In year 10 all students have the opportunity to apply for a residential experience at Greshams. Students apply and go through an interview process to determine the 5-10 students (numbers vary each year depending on space at Greshams) who will get to spend a week integrating into life at Greshams including boarding. This process gives students a great new educational experience but also an insight into the the most well known and the highlight of all of our work together, which is the fantastic offer of

t is a package worth in excess of £75,000 over the two years and covers all boarding accommodation fees and ‘reasonable extras’ – everything necessary to be able to study at the school. It also offers the successful Venture student access to all the ‘extras’ that Gresham’s extends to their pupils in terms of extra-curricular activities: flying; shooting; expeditions; performances; concerts in a boarding school environment.

The process for the scholarship opens annually in September to all Year 11 students. Students put them selves forward as being interested in the scholarship before having an initial interview to explore their passion and reasons for applying. From these interviews 10 students are shortlisted and get to visit the campus to make sure they want to continue in on the process.

Principal Gilbert-Barnham and Miss Haddleton who is the link between Greshams and Venture, request that the candidates then write a report based on their experiences which would be used

to support the Principal’s decision along with the final interviews to select the final four candidates. The interviews to select the final four candidates take place in Spring.

These successful four are then given the opportunity to take their parents for a day at Gresham’s and stay on for a short residential experience. Douglas Robb, the Gresham’s Headmaster and his team, then interview all four candidates and select the scholar. In addition to the interviews all four candidates are asked to take registration tests to show off their academic skills. The final decision lies with the Gresham’s senior leadership team who take all the tests, interviews and academic data into consideration when deliberating.

If you would like to find out more, please contact the Academy – we will be pleased to tell you more details about the process and requirements.

To view our Gresham’s Scholars please click here