Woodbridge School and Sixth Form
+44 (0)1394 615000
Woodbridge School Prep
+44 (0)1394 382673

Following on from my letter of last week, the Government has now clarified the most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19.  If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.  As you know, staff have been extremely busy, and will remain so, providing education remotely for those children with us who are working from home.

As Head, I am asking for your assistance and help in adhering to the Government guidelines.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

  1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
  2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
  3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
  4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus.  They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
  5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision.  I have attached advice from the Government which outlines the categories for key workers:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

Nicola Mitchell and I have already received some contact from parents who fall into the above categories for key workers.  If you have not done so then please can you email me by 3pm today so that we can support those in our care.  We will only be able to assist those who have made themselves known to us by this time.

Later on this afternoon, Mrs Mitchell and I will be in touch with those who have registered to confirm what support will be in place next week.

Since my last communication and the government announcement on Friday, a number of pupils and families have taken the precaution to self isolate following an assessment of their symptoms. We are dynamically risk assessing each case and the risk of exposure to our wider community and can confirm that to date there are no tested confirmed cases. As a community, we are sending our thoughts to those affected during this difficult time. I am most grateful indeed to all those who are using the parent portal to update us on their respective situations as this is an essential way for us to communicate, remain aware and inform our planning.

This week, both the Prep and the Senior School will be setting in motion a ‘Remote Learning Trial’. This is in preparation for any school closure, should this occur, and to therefore ensure continuity of education:

Senior School

On Tuesday (17 March), Year 12 will have a remote learning trial day, but this will take place in school. On Tuesday evening, there will be no after school activities and no prep. Instead, there will be a Senior School remote learning trial evening from 7:00pm – 8:30pm. More information will follow about this including detail of what is being shared with pupils today.

Prep School

Mrs Mitchell will be in contact with regards to plans.

May I also ask all parents to have a plan in place for the possibility of your child being sent home due to illness. If you are not able to collect your child in person then you must have somebody on standby (not aged 70 or above) who will be able to do this for you in your absence.

Please find attached an updated list of events that have been postponed and/or cancelled.  As previously advised, all sporting fixtures have now been postponed for the remainder of the term. Individual emails will be issued with regards to events where payment is a factor.

I appreciate that this is a worrying time for everyone but please be assured that the School is being proactive in its approach for every eventuality and, as a community, will support you as much as we can. You are not alone. If you have any concerns or queries then please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.

I shall be in touch again this week with further updates as they come through.

Shona Norman
Head

A message from Graham Watson, Chief Executive of Seckford Foundation:

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Governors of the Seckford Foundation has appointed Clive Schlee as its new Chairman, succeeding Roger Finbow who retires from the role at the end of February. Clive will bring a broad range of experience to the Foundation, after spending the last sixteen years as Chief Executive of Pret A Manger.

Clive helped to grow Pret into a billion-pound business with strong values and over 500 stores in ten countries. Prior to that he spent 17 years in restaurants and financial services at Jardine Matheson & Co Ltd, the Hong Kong based conglomerate. He is also Chairman of Itsu, the London based sushi chain.

During his career, Clive has a track record of giving back to the community. He championed the Pret Foundation, greatly increasing its income and starting to offer jobs and accommodation to the homeless in addition to distributing unsold food to hostels every night.

Clive spent much of his childhood in Suffolk and has lived in Bromeswell for over 20 years. Following his retirement from Pret in October last year, he plans to spend more time in Suffolk and hopes to use his business experience to help the local community.

Roger Finbow, our current Chairman, said: “It has been a great privilege to be Chairman of the Seckford Foundation over a ten year period which has witnessed many changes in the fields in which the Foundation is active. I am delighted that Clive has been appointed to succeed me and am confident that he will find the role as challenging and enjoyable as I have.”

Clive Schlee said: “It is an honour to be able to serve the Foundation as it plays such an important role in the lives of so many people in Woodbridge and Suffolk.”

I am sure that you will join me in welcoming our new Chairman to the Foundation as he begins to immerse himself in the broad range of our work.  There will be opportunities to thank Roger for his huge commitment to the Foundation in due course.

Graham Watson
Chief Executive, Seckford Foundation

There was a wonderful sense of community at this year’s Speech Day – even the sunshine joined in.  The grounds looked wonderful; the prefects’ ushers’ carnations were in full bloom; the Dome was at its best – dazzlingly full of Mrs Mulcahy’s beautiful flowers; and the Swing Band upped the tempo and raised the smiles with its own fantastic set of joyful melodies under Mr Shepherd’s expert baton.

Mr Finbow set the scene with a perfectly judged overview of the Foundation’s aims, aims which seeks to nurture and guide young and old through its impressively diverse set of responsibilities, with our School main amongst them.  Miss Norman, building on an early spontaneous round of applause to acknowledge the first female Head of the School, embraced the ideals of community and care in her inspirational vision for what a Woodbridge education stands for: young people growing into adults who understand their central commitment to others, and with a keen understanding of their responsibilities to each other and to the world around us.  Of course this played well with Miss Norman’s guest, Professor Pretty, who, having enjoyed the potted biographies and admired the book choices of our prizewinners, laid out his own vision for all of our futures.

Despite the bleakness of some of his statistics, and where simple extrapolation would leave the world in as little as seventeen years, his message was full of hope.  Hope, because he sees the power in small actions, and the relative unnecessariness of so many ‘things’.  He exhorted us to look around, to enjoy moments, to see colours anew, to relish flavours, to preserve rather than use or destroy, to plant rather than cut.  His eleven essential props, bracketed by an oak timber 8000 years old and an oak sapling no more than a year or two, each told vital stories – destruction and spoilage; but also redemption and harmony – Balinese rice fields and the Avocet, but plastic from the Arctic and avian extinction too. He called us to arms.  Every little bit we can do matters.  Hence the oak tree as Britain’s greatest home for biodiversity.  And the richest nations must take the lead, so we should start if no one else will.  So, consider your actions (or inactions) and work for the next generation (perhaps something the last few generations have begun to forget). And by way of advice, he offered the Japanese ideals: eat properly (four colours on your plate!), exercise regularly, socialise, keep on learning, and garden!; he reminded us to find value in ‘things that are not things’: a sunset, birdsong, colours, harvest and growth; he exhorted us to produce less carbon dioxide; and he left us with Mary Oliver’s poem:

Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

And then to cap a truly inspiring and uplifting occasion, Head girl and boy, Poppy and Toby, offered our thanks to Professor Pretty with a beautifully judged, and immensely sincere and touching, double act.  And the day’s best joke.

It is with great sadness that we must inform you of the death of Nicholas Garrett who passed away earlier this week. Nick was the very much loved Master of the Abbey from 1997 to 2015. He was appointed from St Andrew’s School, Eastbourne, and after leaving Woodbridge became Headmaster of a school in Abu Dhabi. He was diagnosed with cancer last year. An event to mark his life will be held in Woodbridge School at a later stage. I am sure you will join us in prayers for Nick’s widow Ruth, his daughters Anna and Lara (who are both teachers), and his wider family. Since his return from the UAE, Nick and Ruth have been living in Eastbourne, and we will forward to Ruth any correspondence received.

May he rest in peace.

The Reception children took part in their first Nativity Play this week “Lights, Camel, Action!”
They performed their dances beautifully and joined in enthusiastically with all the songs.

On Friday 30 November Year 2 took part in their first swimming gala against Ipswich School and Orwell Park.  The children were all eager to show parents and staff the progress they had made this term and swam with confidence.  The children were proud to represent their school showing determination in individual races and great team spirit in the relay races.  There was a super atmosphere throughout the afternoon and we look forward to watching the children’s continued progress throughout the year.

Anna King

The Reception children have been learning about nocturnal animals this week. After reading the story Owl Babies, they produced this beautiful art work.

In science the Year 2 children conducted experiments to test the friction created by different surfaces.  They used toy cars on grass, gravel, sand and tarmac and made predictions about which surface would provide the most and least friction. The children discussed what is meant by a fair test and recorded their results in small groups.  Great teamwork!

Some Pirate treasure has been discovered!  Could it belong to the infamous Captain Blackbeard?  It’s down to Year 2 to draw the evidence, using their skills of careful observation and accuracy.  We need to do a still life of our discovery, in case that landlubber returns!