Woodbridge School and Sixth Form
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Woodbridge School Prep
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Year 1 children have been learning about their 5 senses and in particular the sense of taste. They tasted a range of foods and tried to decide whether they tasted sweet, salty, sour or bitter. The children also looked closely at their tongues and learnt about the different taste buds.

This was a fantastic displays of some great netball by a large squad of players in the U13s.  There were some great passages of play and we were always in control of the game.  Olivia Buchanan, Emily Whyte, Ella Walker and Cordelia Griffiths shot well in the circle and they were well supported by some great defensive play by Issy Eaton, Ariane Bilgen, Molly Marshall, and Eleanor Wright.  We looked after our turnover ball quite well but held it together in the centre of the court with Clara Simpson, who made some great interceptions, Rebecca Yardy who was cool under pressure and Jess Elmer who moved up and down the court effortlessly.

A great start to the season. Well done!

The Under 13 B Netball side started their season with two back to back matches in as many days. The first game against East Bergholt A team was always going to be tough but the B’s showed great determination to claw back to level terms only to lose out in the final seconds of the game 7-6. A very positive start that was then put to use the next day as RHS B team were put to the sword. A close first quarter saw the makings of a tough game but then Woodbridge eased further ahead to win 17-8. The team were superb throughout with Nina Varadarajan impressing throughout. Special mention should also go to Katie Bellhouse who cut out many RHS attacks

The U13As, despite some players down due to illness, still put out four (victorious!) teams v RHS, and played brilliantly! They were always in control of the game and I didn’t doubt their ability to win for a second.  Olivia Buchanan controlled the attacking third of the court brilliantly and shot consistently to put us up 7-3 at quarter time.  Eleanor Wright, as WD played a solid game and made some great interceptions and Issy Eaton and Ariane Bilgen worked tirelessly in the defending circle, with some great turnover balls used to our advantage.  Ella Walker was a controlling influence in the centre of the court and linked beautifully with the defence and attack of Rebecca Yardy who played very well. Cordelia Griffiths and Emily Whyte who both played shooter attacked out of the circle and created brilliant space and won some important rebounds.  We were up 13-5 at half time and gave ourselves some breathing space for the second half.  We were then joined by Molly Marshall and Clara Simpson who had played fantastically for the B team in the first half.  Both girls made their mark on the team and we stretched our lead to 18-9 with 10 mins to go.  A great quarter to see out the match from all the players meant that we had our second victory of the season under our belt – good skills! Bring on Ipswich School at the weekend.

Score: Won 3-1
The boys 1st team secured their second win of the term with a convincing 3-1 win over RHS. After a slow start with too much time spent in their own half , the boys finally started to build momentum and a turning point came after a slick series of passes up the right side of the pitch which took them into threatening areas.  A series of well executed long corners and penalty corners followed, but none were converted (though the choreography was encouraging given it is so early on in the term). Ben Kilburn, Toby Stowe and Ben Spence all came close to scoring but were denied by the RHS keeper and defenders clearing the ball.  RHS had attacks of their own but no clear cut chances, until the tables turned halfway through the first half when Woodbridge took on one player too many in their own defensive area and lost the ball on their own 23m line. With defenders out of position due to supporting the attacking build up, RHS took their chance well and put the ball in the back of the net with little resistance offered. 0-1 to RHS.

This setback propelled Woodbridge into action and they continued to dominate big phases of the game again. After peppering the RHS circle Woodbridge’s first breakthrough came when Ben Kilburn finished well from a rebound following a series of saves from the RHS keeper. Ben Spence took the score to 2-1 before half time when he also finished well from another rebound.

The second half saw RHS have two big chances. Miles Budden, making his debut in goal, made sure nothing came of the first chance when he made a great 1-on-1 save winning the ball clearly before the RHS player collided with him. The second scary moment came for Woodbridge at a penalty corner. Ben Kilburn and Tom Innes reacted well to the variation at the top of the D and the ball was cleared to safety. Myles King put the game out of reach when he scored Woodbridge’s third goal ten minutes from the end of the match. Myles kept getting close to scoring throughout the match so it was fitting that he got his name on the score sheet, rewarding 70 minutes of hard work.

Woodbridge can be very satisfied with this win, knowing they did some things very well and taking note of what needs to be improved. Again a number of players contented for the player of the match award – indeed everyone played well.  However the honours went to  Ben Kilburn for a very consistent, composed and dominant performance: his decision making, work rate and patience in the defensive press was instrumental in the number of turnovers won; and in attack his experience was also telling, so often being in the best place at the right time to build pressure and create chances.

Thank you to everyone who supported the game so well.  Woodbridge’s next opponents will be Norwich School in the U18 Cup competition.

Wow – what a Christmas Holidays.

My Ski training started on Saturday 10 December and I had the run up to Christmas training in Austria with Ambition Racing – my ski Team.

Training weeks mean early starts – normally 5am then breakfast at 5.30am, to be on the Mountain and ready to practice from 7am until 1pm. Then back to our team base for a pasta lunch and then off to the local Austrian school 2.30pm – 6.30pm with our tutors to keep up to date with school work and homework, then back to base for supper and ski preparation ready for the next morning. Not exactly a holiday but good fun as well as being hard work.

This routine continued after Christmas – I felt like I was the only person in school on 28 December, as it is not possible to fit in school work on days where we are racing, all non-racing week days are school days.

My first competitions as a fully fledged member of the team were VERY exciting. I couldn’t wait to see if all the training I have done since last May was going to make a difference.

On 6-8 January the Ambition Championships took place in in Hinterreit, about 15 minutes from our training base. I won three silver medals and a bronze – I was thrilled, especially as I was the fastest English girl. On 10-11 January the first Evolution Speed Championships took place. The location, Reiteralm, was about an hour and a half away from base, so very early starts. I was thrilled to win first place in the British Giant Slalom U12, and second in the International competition.

I am back in England until Saturday 21 January I have to work on my fitness, training every morning before school to keep my legs and knees strong and keep improving my core and cardio fitness. Then back to the slopes in Switzerland for three days of training before the next races.

Press coverage of the Suffolk Schools’ Series B Cross Country Championships, hosted by Woodbridge School.

The Reception children were delighted to be visited today by Graeme and Sally-Anne from the Suffolk Police. They children were very keen to try on the Police hats and uniforms. They particularly enjoyed the opportunity to sit in the Police car, listen to the siren and watch the flashing lights.

The boys 1st team faced their first big challenge of the season less than a week into term when they faced Felsted in the National U18 Cup.  Preparation started with some training and selection sessions prior to Christmas and the start of the new term and competition for places was fierce.

The Woodbridge U18 team travelled to Felsted with seven debutants.  A young team, including two year 10 pupils (Alex Weir-Simmons & Oliver Juszt), relied on senior players to lead the way and steady the ship and the talent and enthusiasm of new recruits to adapt quickly to a faster pace and increased pressure of senior school boy hockey.  All involved passed this test and it made for a very exciting, end-to-end afternoon of hockey.

Woodbridge started the stronger team, forcing 3 penalty corners early on.  Over-excitement perhaps led to less than clinical execution of the first few routines.  Continued pressure and another penalty corner in the 7th minute saw Myles King open the scoring with a drag flick at a too awkward height for the Felsted goalkeeper to deal with.  Woodbridge continued to build play up well but gave possession away too cheaply in the final third of the pitch by attempting long balls at the wrong time or running into flat sticks.  Good defensive structure and discipline in tracking back ensured that Woodbridge was nearly always on hand to stop Felsted advancing.  When they did break through Oliver Juszt in goal was on hand, making great saves to keep a clean sheet going into half time. 1-0 to Woodbridge.

In the second half, Woodbridge was more patient in their play and started to use the whole width of the pitch better.  They played attractive passing hockey out the back and through the midfield, which resulted in good scoring chances.  However, halfway through the second half momentum shifted in Felsted’s favour and despite heroics from Oliver Juszt in goal they equalised with 13 minutes to go.  This seemed to negate any complacency the Woodbridge boys may have had and it was back to business. Slick passing and good decision making became the order of the day again.  A few tired errors in defence gave Felsted a couple more good scoring chances but Oliver Juszt again denied them certain goals and kept Woodbridge in the game.  As the Woodbridge bench started to prepare for the pending penalty strokes in the event of a draw, a very quick and clinical counter attack resulted in the perfect ending. Captain Ben Kilburn gained possession and moved the ball wide.  It went back into the centre midfield where Myles King timed the perfect through ball to Alex Weir-Simmons in the D… two touches… GOAL!  Woodbridge played clever, slow hockey for the remaining two minutes of the game to secure a most satisfying and deserved 2-1 victory.

There were many good performances, especially by players on debut (Oliver Bacon, Jakob Hatfield, James Phelan and Dom Ellis-Freeman).  Ben Kilburn did not miss a tackle all game.  Myles King was influential and ran Myles in midfield.  Alex Weir-Simmons showed composure and quality. But ultimately player of the match went to Oliver Juszt – a brilliant performance in goal and showing why England Hockey have their eyes on him.

Woodbridge now wait to hear who they will face in the next round of this National Competition.

Won 34-13

This was a fantastic displays of some great netball by a large squad of players in the U13s.  There were some great passages of play and we were always in control of the game.  Olivia Buchanan, Emily Whyte, Ella Walker and Cordelia Griffiths shot well in the circle and they were well supported by some great defensive play by Issy Eaton, Ariane Bilgen, Molly Marshall, and Eleanor Wright.  We looked after our turnover ball quite well but held it together in the centre of the court with Clara Simpson, who made some great interceptions, Rebecca Yardy who was cool under pressure and Jess Elmer who moved up and down the court effortlessly.

A great start to the season. Well done!