Month: September 2016
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!
The girls’ hockey season has started with a bang. The Juniors already had a friendly tournament at Orwell Park which provided much to be excited about. Senior hockey matches also got underway this week, with the 1st and 2nd team playing against Langley.
A young 1st team took a while to get used to new structures in defence and applying key principles but eventually found their rhythm. It was an end to end encounter and unfortunately Langley took advantage of a few moments of ill disciple in zonal defence from Woodbridge and put two goals away. Georgia Harrold pulled one goal back for Woodbridge but the numerous other chances were just not too be. There were some very good performances, notably from debutants Mollie Biddle, Flora Johnston and India Lawson. Nicole Buckingham was her consistent self and was awarded Player of the Match. Very pleasing was the improvement and growth shown by every player throughout the match.
The 2nd team provided the highlight of the week when they beat Langley 2nd team convincingly 5-0. Flo Jackson is the early “top goal scorer” for the school, scoring twice from right midfield. Katie Garnett, Ella Jerman-Riddell and Rowena Wilson-Smith were the other scorers in this exciting match. Well done to umpire James Meakin for officiating. And Congratulations to Mr Brous and his team.
John Brett in the EADT Education special today talking about how parents can help their children to settle into the new school year.