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It was a great day at the ESAA English Schools’ Track and Field Cup.

Our junior (Years 7/8) and intermediate (Years 9/10) athletics teams went to compete in the ESAA English Schools’ Track and Field Cup at Bury St Edmunds on 17 May. With sixteen schools entered competition was tough.  Our best 13 girls and 15 boys in each division were selected to compete in two events each in a way which ensured that all the events were covered. After that, it was the distances and times which counted, gaining points for the team – with only the top school to qualify! This was our chance – a chance mirrored across 80-plus similar events for multiple schools across the country.

Our junior girls’ team did well finishing 6th. Highest scorers were Ruby Vinton and Beau Barrington-Hibbert on 38 points, and 37 for Amy Goddard. The best individual performance was Ruby’s in the 1500m, finishing in 4:57!

The Junior boys’ team finished 8th. Top scorers were Fazil Akyol with 39 points, Henry Dinwiddy with 35 and Tom Martin 33. Fazil’s javelin throw of 29.75m was the top scoring individual achievement.

The intermediate girls won with an amazing 408 points (second place RHS on 310 points some way behind). These points place them around 6th in the country as they go into the Regional round… that from 1000 schools taking part!  Amazing! Top scorer was Nell Pilkington with an outstanding 54 points with a throw of 11.23m in shot (worth 35 on its own) and 100m run of 13.8s. Second was Sophie Graham with 49 points and third Emily Whyte with 44.  Victoria Burrows, Flora Pitt, Isabelle Eaton, Ianthe Hill, Ella Walker, Annie Yates, April Hill, Bea Thomas and Joey Zhou all added excellent scores from fine individual performances to secure victory.

The intermediate boys also won in very fine style with RHS and Farlingaye second and third respectively. Top scorer was Leroy Okojie with 42 points thanks in part to his blistering 11.0s for 100m, second John Hendry with 40 and third Maurico Corfe.

Despite the weather, yesterday’s Stepping Into Business was a huge success – the children in Year 6 loved setting up their stalls, serving their numerous customers and managing their money. All the teams have been busily completing their profit and loss sheets this morning and winners will be announced very soon…

Many thanks to all who came to support as well as to all those parents who assisted in the run-up to the event. A particular thanks goes to our Business Angels, Adam Saunders, Nick Deacon, Mark Carter, Vicky Smith, Isobel Bilgen and Richard Phillips, for their support and guidance in the project.

And finally, a very big well done to all of Year 6…a huge achievement for their first steps into the business world!

Miss Ballam

The town was out in force to celebrate the efforts of its citizens young and old competing in the Woodbridge Shufflers’ junior race and 10k last Sunday.  The sun was out in force as well – glorious if you were there to support, and revel in the pre-event entertainment provided magnificently on the Chapel Lawn by the wonderful Swing Band.  Sunshine and Swing – a perfect combination, and the music rolled richly over the verdant grounds, relaxing tense muscles and filling nervous hearts and minds with positive thoughts.  The applause flowed for Mr Shepherd and his virtuosos, and then the scene shifted to the highways and byways of Woodbridge.

The Junior Race was an extraordinary endorsement of our fantastic running programme.  Resplendent in Woodbridge tops, our boys and girls dominated proceedings as the results couldn’t fail to show:

In a field of 140 athletes, Woodbridge School Pupils filled 4 of the top 5, 6 of the top 10 and 12 of the top 20 positions. With some 30 athletes in total we accounted for almost a quarter of the field and the sea of red running through town was a sight to behold. All of our athletes finished in the top half and the running group were particularly proud of Rufus Davis, who in his first year with us, finished a credible 40th completing the 1500 m in 6:01

Medal winners were:
C.Turner – Overall race winner in his pink socks and Gold u16B
K.Evans Lombe – Second in the race, also in pink socks and silver u16B
A.Hill – Third overall, first lady and gold u16G
R.Vinton – Fifth overall, second lady and Gold u12G
M.Marshall – Silver u16G
E.Rufford – Silver u14B
A.Goddard – Gold u14G
J.Hattan – Bronze u12B
A.Jackson – Silver u14G
R.Jackson – Silver u12G
O.Ripman – Bronze U8B

And then in the Senior 10k itself, it was time for the most extraordinary moment of the day without doubt: Nathan Goddard, not yet 16, finishing fourth from a field of over 650.  Fourth! In 35:10! Needless to say winning the under 18 pennant to boot!  And not too far behind in 20th (38:05) Alex Evans Lombe ran a marvellous race as well. Chris Long, with just over a year of running behind him deserves a special mention as he was almost in the top 10% finishing 84th in 42:36. These three were our school’s undoubted highlights, with parents and school running club regulars, Mr Turner winning the Over 50 category in a very quick 36:04 for 9th place, closely followed by Mr Rufford in 13th in 37:17.

Some fantastic staff results included Mr Smith (39:49) and Mr Garvie (41:10)  both making it into the top 100, as well as Mr Streat (51:44), Mr Lubbock (57:32 )and Ms Start ( 51:25).

With so many athletes competing on the day we may well have missed some names and we apologise in advance if that is indeed the case. 

One more incredible highlight. Our Marketing Team put a massive effort into the day and decided to raise funds for one of the official charities of the race. We are extremely proud to announce that pupils and staff have raised over £500 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, an outstanding conclusion to a great day!

Many congratulations to all of our runners: pupils, staff, parents and OW’s.

Artspace – a brilliant venture on Thoroughfare that delights the eye with its rolling programme of exhibitions.  And never more so than with Woodbridge School Art department’s first major foray into public spaces. Taking its inspiration from work done by our pupils exclusively outside the confines of curriculum (not that the art department accepts any sense of restriction or inhibition even within the curriculum), the show highlights both consummate skill and imaginative vigour as well as the excitement of process and progress.  Whether viewing the beguilingly innocent Year 9 portraits, the dramatically abstract prints or the beautifully produced studio photographs there was plenty to admire.  The Thursday evening private view was buzzing with delight in what had been achieved, and bursting at the doors with pupils past and present (recent OWs envious of the opportunities embraced by the current cohort), with proud parents, and many more.  And for some of the artists there was even the extraordinary additional endorsement of sales made and customers delighted.

What a great event: imaginative, ambitious and inspiring.  Our thanks and congratulations to all the exhibitors and to Mr Hutchinson, Miss Ross, Mrs Parker and Mr Holden on this fantastic initiative.

The exhibition runs until 22 May (closed Sunday) from 10am to 4pm: Artspace 64 Thoroughfare.

This week the Art department has also unveiled a new online platform showcasing all that the department offers in the way of extra curricular art, trips, and showcases the ever-increasing opportunities for pupils to engage in a wide range of media including ceramics, textiles, fashion design, photography and printmaking.

The online platform also boasts a shop through which pupil artwork can actually be purchased.

‘Woodbridge Editions’ is a new flagship initiative launched by the School; a venture inspired by Ross Holden, our new Art Technician. In both Year 12 and 13 our A-Level artists are commissioned by the Art Department to design and create a limited edition print. This print is produced in a small run to a very high professional standard. The prints are made on artist quality paper with artist quality inks; each print is embossed with the Woodbridge Editions logo, signed by the student and numbered. The resultant prints are for sale, through exhibition and from our purpose built online platform. The student artist gets 50% of the print price. These prints can be purchased on the online platform, accessible through the school website.

Mr Streat’s tutor group would like to thank everyone for their very generous approach to assault and battery!  What a pleasure it was to be drenched by buckets and flattened by sponges full of water.  If only it had been snowing…

We raised a brilliant £145.40 for the Bridge School, Islington – this is money which will make a real and tangible difference to the lives of the lovely children there who have to live with severe or profound learning difficulties.  And if you enjoy the pictures and video, and feel you were almost there throwing your own sponge, then why not make a contribution! You can do that via my Just Giving page all set up for the Bike Ride in the Summer (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-streat7).  And talking of which… there is still room for more riders on 23 June so look down for the information below and get in touch.

On Friday 4 May the CCF held its biennial inspection. The inspecting officer was Lt Col Carvel.  First Col Carvel listened to selected cadets talk about a range of activities from Royal Navy courses, the RAF Cranwell competition and the Army summer camp.

After lunch with the Headmaster,  Col Carvel took the salute and inspected the contingent, some 250 cadets.  Next followed displays from our drum corps, RAF drill team and the Army’s combat cadet team which demonstrated extracting a casualty whist in contact.

The Col was then guided around the rest of the CCF who were conducting normal Friday afternoon training such as the obstacle course, paintballing, leadership tasks and shooting in the range.

The finale of the afternoon was the gun run competition and a final parade where Col Carvel told the contingent how impressed he was with what he had seen. His comments on the day are below

“I was the Reviewing Officer for the Woodbridge Combined Cadet Force Biennial Inspection on Friday 4 May.

The day was an excellent occasion attended by all staff and students of the Combined Cadet Force. I was really impressed to see over 250 people involved in the day and a fairly even boy-girl student ration.  The three contingents were well presented and I was given the opportunity to listen to the experience of students and observe training in the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force sections.  It was also great to see many parents in attendance – the Combined Cadet Force is clearly a central element of the eduction experience at Woodbridge School and Is well supported.

The Woodbridge School Combined Cadet Force is very obviously successful and proud.  Their achievements over the last two years are very impressive and the commitment of the section staff and Contingent Commander deserves specific praise.  They create excellent opportunities for the students to enjoy and excel. The entire contingent is thriving, and the four Army, four RAF, three Royal Navy, and School Staff Instructors deserve great credit.

I state confidently Woodbridge School Combined Cadet Force is in great health…”

See below for a video of the inspection by pupil Myles McEvoy.

School’s Out Holiday Club returns to Woodbridge School this May Half term with exciting activities to suit all ages.

Early Explorers age 4-6 years

Creative Crew age 7-12 years

Adrenaline Adventure age 7-12 years

Next Generation age 13-16 years

Book now via www.schoolsoutactivities.co.uk

 

The Head Boy and Head Girl for next year are Harry Hobday and Lily Proudfoot. From a very strong field of candidates, they were chosen for a number of reasons. Both have been great enthusiasts during their time at the school and balanced an excellent work ethic with a huge range of extra-curricular involvement. Both have had leadership experience and were able to talk with great insight about the nature of leadership in their interview with Mr Tetley. Both are also superb role models and very approachable to younger students.

A musical journey on the grand scale – in time, in complexity, in magnificence, in spectacle, in performance, and even in miles!  Hats off to the soloists, the fifty-strong orchestra, the one-hundred strong chorus, and the whirlwind of energy that was Mr Milton.  A Child of our Time was with us, holding our hands under the octagon of Ely Cathedral, reaching into our hearts and minds.  But I get ahead of myself – for this was a concert that was much more than the eponymous hero of its programme.

Sometimes the journey helps define the event, and Woodbridge School’s physical journey to Ely Cathedral for our grand concert marked a new departure in all sorts of ways.  The extraordinary magnificence of the surroundings lent not only an astonishing acoustic to the evening, but also a sense of awe and wonder that music, oh glorious music, could only magnify.

The Chamber Choir has a reputation that has graced the wider reaches of our European continent over the years, but rarely has it sung in such a venue, and under Ms Weston’s sure guidance it opened the concert in the finest of styles, singing six wonderful British works spanning nearly five centuries and ending with Finzi’s extraordinarily triumphant, and triumphal, God is Gone Up.  Mr Turner surely had all the stops out for this one as the cathedral filled to the brim with sound.  Magnificent!

The Chamber Orchestra calmed the mood: contemplative pastorale to the fore in Vaughan Williams’s hypnotic Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.  Tallis originally conceived the melody as a psalm tune, and the underlying poetry inherent in the music could not have been more beautifully portrayed.  It was as if we all breathed as one: audience, performers and music.  The ebb and flow brought calm and peace.  Masterful.

And then to A Child of Our Time.  Dark.  Shadows.  So important to know the subtext here, and indeed the text.  For this is a story, and a difficult one – as difficult as the music.  But with difficulty comes the chance for even more extraordinary achievement and I have to reflect here on my own experience: four weekend days of intense work, a first rehearsal with the orchestra just two days prior and with it a sudden and visceral understanding both of the meaning and the astonishing virtuosity of the piece.  And then transposition to the Cathedral to be part of a performance that had me a-tingle from the first bittersweet chord.  I’ll not forget.  And surely that is what music is at its best – for performers and audience alike: unforgettable and transcendent.

It was worth the journey – whichever one you mean!  What a concert.  So brave an undertaking, so rich the rewards.  Many, many congratulations to Mr Milton, Ms Weston, Mr Turner, and all the performers, and many thanks to the hundreds of you who shared this very special moment in the musical life of our school.