Woodbridge School and Sixth Form
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Woodbridge pupils enjoyed a stellar weekend at the RHS MUN conference, representing France, Japan, and Ukraine. The Woodbridge team members Samuel Kill, Daniel Hempstead, Mary Godfrey, Samuel Newman, Callum Sycamore and Joshua Bradbeer all won best delegate awards.   Sophie Little, Daniella Elman and Ellie Bakewell were awarded highly commended delegates.  Due to this success, Mary Godfrey, Ellie Bakewell and Callum Sycamore were also awarded best delegation as Ukraine.

This was particularly exciting as a number of the pupils had never been recognised before and have only started MUN recently.

Despite missing out on the sunshine over the weekend, it was well worth it to have the opportunity to discuss such interesting current affairs, such as the colonisation of Mars.

On our first day in Berlin, we had a guided walking tour around the city.  We saw many fascinating places including the Brandenburg Gate – originally the entrance to the city and the Memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe, 2,711 grey blocks arranged precisely to allow for long, straight and narrow alleys between them.  The installation is also a living experiment of the juxtaposition of image. After the tour we had some time to explore the area around the Berlinerdom and then we had supper at Andy’s Diner & Bar, an American themed restaurant, followed by an early night after our very early start.

On our second day, we took a short coach journey to Sachsenhausen, a Nazi concentration camp which opened in 1936, where we discovered some of the horrendous conditions that the prisoners endured.  We learnt about how the Nazis organised the camp, including how prisoners were tortured and murdered.  The camp was shocking to experience; we left feeling very subdued having learnt how people suffered before and during the Nazi regime.

In the afternoon, we visited the Olympic Park which we enjoyed in the sunshine. This was where the 1936 Olympic Games took place, which as an important propaganda exercise for the Nazis, including hoisting Nazi flags where the flags of the competing nations should have been. The stadium is now the home of Hertha Berlin Football Club. We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Ristorante Al Dente, where the pizzas were tremendous.

On day 3, we visited Hohenschönhausen Memorial Centre and experienced an interesting guided tour of the Cold War prison and cells followed by a captivating tour of an atomic shelter which could be used today for an emergency, although hopefully it will never be required.  In the same Centre, we looked round the Story of Berlin Museum which featured artefacts from the golden age of Berlin in the 1920s and parts of the Berlin Wall. It also housed a great juke box from the 70s which played British and American hits from the era.

In the afternoon, we toured a second Cold War Atomic shelter, which was disguised as an Underground station and is still in use today.  Our evening meal was at Maredo Restaurant followed by a visit to the spectacular Berlin TV tower in a thunderstorm.  This gave us panoramic views of the city at night and detailed information of the sights.

On Saturday morning, which was sadly our last day, we visited Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing between what used to be the American and Russian parts of Berlin when the city and country was divided during the Cold War.  Then we visited a 360 degree experience of what Berlin was like when the Wall was in place and the city was split into East and West Berlin, complete with a classic Volkswagen Beetle of the era.  We then visited the Reichstag, where we were taken up to the glass dome and listened to an audio tour on the building and the landmarks that we could see from the dome. It was incredible to think that this was burned down in 1933! Following this we visited Kaufhaus des Western, which is like a German Harrods which was filled with fantastic displays.  I particularly liked the Lindt chocolate rabbits and we had time for a small but expensive Oreo fairy cake.  After lunch, we had some free time at a local German shopping area.

After a phenomenal few days experiencing the history and culture of a fascinating city, we were all very sad to leave and would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Shanahan for organising a fantastic trip and for Mr Richardson’s German expertise.

This year’s Young Enterprise company was impeccable at the recent Suffolk finals.  One of half a dozen companies competing, each of whom had made profits (though none quite as good as ours), East Coast Eats were out on their own in front for quality of trade stand (featuring a gorgeous cake made fresh from her own recipe in the book by Mary Godfrey, Deputy MD.) and, more importantly, product: a simultaneously sumptuous and elegant cookery book featuring a contribution from Delia Smith, favourites from many of our wonderful local restaurants such as The Table, The Crown, Honey and Harvey, The Oyster Inn and more, and recipes drawn from local traditions as well as charming new takes on old fashioned favourites.  Compact, and perfect for holiday or home, this is a brilliant book well worth the cost.  They have been so popular that the second print is on order.

The team was also well out in front for the quality of the presentation to the audience: witty, energetic, engaging and full of proper content, this was a slick and impressive performance which rightly found favour with the judges.  And talking of which, with twelve minor prizes presented first and all going to one or other of the other five companies, the judges did give our team and supporters something of a sweaty moment before rewarding them with two of the three major awards (trade stand and presentation) and a rightful share of the overall honours (a new format for the evening: the naming of joint winners to reflect the fact that two go forward to the regional finals in June).

So, to June it is,  and to further success.  Many, many congratulations to the company: Callum Sycamore (MD), Joshua Bradbeer, Saxon Gallo, Sebastian Lamb, Lily Proudfoot (presentation team); Mary Godfrey, Daniel Hempstead, Ella Holliday, Jude Ashken, (trade stand); and Mollie Biddle, Thea Hall, Nathan Little, Jessica Bowers and Georgia Martin; and also of course to Mrs Wright for her judicious guidance.

 

Exercise Combat Cadet is the annual competition held by 7 Infantry Brigade (aka The Desert Rats) allowing 20 teams (of 9 cadets) from all over their area of responsibility, which includes roughly 7,500 cadets from both CCFs in schools and ACFs from each of the nine counties, to compete over two days. The aim is to pit the best cadets from each school or detachment against one another in a number of areas. This year the focus was on TIBUA (Tactics In a Built Up Area) and involved operating in an urban environment.  Our cadets had to respond to a range of scenarios, including casualty evacuations, First Aid, section attacks, defensive operations and house and street clearance.  There was also a 3 mile run.

This means we have now come 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 2nd over the last four years which demonstrates the continued excellence of our cadets and Army Section, especially when compared nationally.  No school or ACF can match this run of consistent success over recent years. Much of our success this year was down to our Section Commander, C/Sgt Tom Lomas, who continued the tradition of superb leadership and tactical understanding that our previous commanders have shown.