Month: September 2016

On Tuesday Year 5 went to Hedingham Castle for a series of interactive sessions with Norman castle dwellers. We were shown how to invade a Norman keep, how to address and lay places for the hierarchy of staff at the castle, archery and Norman healing methods.

Finlay Clench said “it got more and more exciting as the day went on” and Millie Johnson said “a great day was had by all”.

Two Woodbridge School riders have qualified from the Easton College JwS Arena Eventing which took place on Tuesday 27 September.

Ada Marson riding Rolly Rascal in the 70cms.

James Brown riding il Darco G in the 1.10m  he was also 4th in the 1m qualifying him for the NSEA Plate Championships at Keysoe.

The course was incredibly long and very testing. In the 70cms, sadly not a single  School team completed to qualify and only a  few individuals jumped round. Woodbridge had a young team of Alex Ryder-Davies, Olivia Lubbock, Tess Walker and Zoe Newman. This was the Team’s first dip into this level,  and despite not completing they all rode well and have learnt a lot for future competitions.
Ada Marson was an Individual as her pony had only just come back into work after injury time out.  Ada jumped a clear round to claim her qualification place of 2nd place.

The course continued to cause problems in the 80cms and 90cms with few teams completing.

James Brown and his iL Darco G, who like Ada’s Rolly Rascal had been off some time with injury, came back with a good round in the 1m to take 4th place, and then an accomplished round in the 1.10m to claim 2nd place and his qualification for the Championships.

Again, the Woodbridge riders were able to produce the goods in a very tough competition.

The School now has a superb representation at the NSEA National Champs which take place from Friday 21 October to Monday 24 October, including:

The Dressage team, 80cms Show Jumping Team, Regional Points Show Jumping Team,  and Ada Marson and James Brown as individuals in the JwS Arena Eventing.

Pupils, parents and teachers at Woodbridge School were joined by Olympic champion Simon Dennis MBE as they celebrated an outstanding year of achievements at the school’s annual Speech Day. British rower Simon Dennis MBE, who won a gold medal in the men’s eight at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, was guest of honour at Speech Day on Saturday 17 September.

Simon Dennis inspired pupils as he spoke about the importance of teamwork and how every team member brings something different to the boat. He also spoke of resilience and determination, and how his gold medal represents all the low points and tough training sessions that he had to overcome along the way.

Achievements in academic and extra-curricular activities were also recognised at the Speech Day, with pupils receiving prizes for their successes in drama, music and sports as well as activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Combined Cadet Force, Model United Nations and Young Enterprise. Over the past school year, pupils have participated in a range of drama productions, have performed in more than 60 music concerts and have represented the School at sports on a local, regional and national level.

The Headmaster spoke about creativity and its importance, not just in the classroom, but through sport and extra-curricular activities.

He said “Creativity is part of our defining ethos at Woodbridge School and something that we must continue to harness and cultivate. School is about helping young men and women prepare for life, with good academic results as well as essential skills and attributes like creativity.”

On Saturday, Woodbridge School took two teams to the NSEA Championships Showjumping Qualifier at Bury Farm, Buckinghamshire.

This was a huge experience for most of the riders; none had competed in an International Arena before over a full course of imposing fences.

The Team in the 70cms of Fleur Ludgrove, Perdi Ludgrove, Olivia Lubbock and Ada Marson just missed out on qualifying for the National Championships by coming 3rd overall. However, this did qualify them for the NSEA Plate Championship which takes place at Keysoe Equestrian Centre in Bedfordshire in December.

The 80cms Team of Fleur Ludgrove, Tabitha Wilson-Smith, Rowena Wilson-Smith and Farncesca Aitchison did exceptionally well, producing 4 clear rounds and finishing 2nd overall and qualifying for the Main National NSEA Champs at Addington Arena in October.

On Sunday we attended the Grass Roots Qualifiers at Tendring Hundred Riding Club in Essex.

Out of 5 height classes and teams in each class, Woodbridge gained two team 2nd places, two team Wins and one team 4th, as well as numerous individual placings.

Results of note were Zoe Newman and Rosie Hunter-Blair,who were both making their debut as team members. Both were placed individually, and both took 2nd place in their respective classes.

Overall, all riders rode consistent clear rounds with good times, resulting in our good team scores.

At one point, we had 9 Woodbridge riders walking the course in preparation for their class – quite a sight!