Month: December 2018
Triumphant! Majestic!! Glorious!!!
Readers of my reviews will know I am not prone to hyperbole…
But I have to say…
In twenty-one years at Woodbridge School…
Few moments match Friday night.
You had to be there – better still for those of us lucky enough to be part of the performance (I do apologise, Mr Milton, for my personal take on about 20% of the bass line score).
Bitter cold without (even a hint of snow at one point); but a thousand candles within (and under-pew heating), and three hundred host of audience. A wonderful, wonderful setting (and here our sincere thanks to Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh for the splendid hospitality afforded us; and also to The White Hart, Blythburgh, for deliciously restorative warmth, hot chocolate and sweets in the afternoon; and to Henham Barns for the generous offer of parking space for our intrepid audience).
And then the performance itself – led by Mr Milton at an inspirational gallop that accentuated so brilliantly the stunning music, the joyful sense of dance in so many places, and the exalted text. This is the greatest story, and here it was told to breathtaking effect by our orchestra and chorus of staff, friends, OWs and pupils, and of course by our four outstanding soloists: Hilary Cronin, Nathan Mercieca, James Beddoe and Benedict Williams.
So many highlights, so many memories competing for space: the notes still tumble through me – not a moment seems to pass but another theme tricks me into an idle hum; Mejedi’s extraordinary trumpet solos singing out above the maelstrom; orchestral moments of calm; Jonathan’s timpani accentuating the drama; the harpsichord and organ, the strings and woodwind… and the voices. Those voices rising up and up to the rooftop angels – you could almost sense their wings coming to life in joyful response.
So, so many congratulations to so, so many people, but most of all to Mr Milton – for the extraordinary vision triumphantly realised. We are all immensely richer for the moment.
And now it’s a memory.
One to treasure.
It’s Mozart’s Requiem on Friday 29 March… Norwich Cathedral!
Woodbridge School Rifle Club recently returned to the Lord Roberts Shooting Centre at Bisley to compete in the BSSRA Winter Open. Seven pupils represented us there amongst the 228 individuals from 24 other competing schools. Many congratulations to our team of Luke, Henry, Noah, Charlie, Leon, Alfie and Natasha on their fine shooting, and in particular to Luke for gaining one of the coveted BSSRA Top Shot badges.
The Reception children took part in their first Nativity Play this week “Lights, Camel, Action!”
They performed their dances beautifully and joined in enthusiastically with all the songs.
Our Year 6 Chamber Choir visited the Seckford Almshouses, where they sang Christmas songs and carols to the residents. The children really enjoyed chatting with the residents and singing some of their favourite Christmas songs. All of the residents joined in with the singing, which was wonderful to see. The children were brilliant representatives for the school, performing with exuberance and confidence.
Over the last two weeks, members of the FitzGerald Society (Woodbridge’s Junior Oxbridge Programme) have been meeting to discuss James Whorton, The Arsenic Century. Pupils considered the mass use of arsenic in wallpaper and fabric colourants, as well as modern analogies. The level of industrial poisoning in Victorian times caused some surprise, as well as the ease with which arsenic was added to beer, sweets and cakes. Fortunately, the cake which graced our proceedings was guaranteed arsenic-free…
The next FitzGerald event will be the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition, run by the University of Manchester. This will be followed by a moot (mock law trial). Logic puzzles and problem-solving books are also available to borrow over Christmas.
On Friday 30 November Year 2 took part in their first swimming gala against Ipswich School and Orwell Park. The children were all eager to show parents and staff the progress they had made this term and swam with confidence. The children were proud to represent their school showing determination in individual races and great team spirit in the relay races. There was a super atmosphere throughout the afternoon and we look forward to watching the children’s continued progress throughout the year.
Anna King
QE vs TS
Juno hasn’t played GK all term, but decided to help her House TS out by playing GK. QE kept attacking the goal with many good crosses by Sasha and Georgia, but Juno saved them all.
TM vs WS
Sadly I was injured so I couldn’t play for TM, but I became a match reporter instead, which was fun. The first match that I watched was against WS. Our defence was very strong and we kept the goals out. The final score was 0 – 0.
QE vs TM
Strong play created many chances for QE and both Martha and Georgia took advantage of their strong attacking team and scored one goal each.
WS vs TS
WS fought valiantly against TS, but TS fought back too. Both sides didn’t manage to score and seemed stronger in defence. See final results below.
Girls’ House Hockey Results
1st Queen Elizabeth
2nd Thomas More
3rd William Shakespeare
4th Thomas Seckford
House Match reports written by Nina
Year 3 and Year 4 have been busy decorating their mince pie cakes and getting into the festive spirit. After making their cakes in Week One they froze them and were very excited in Week Two to be able to decorate them. The children rolled out icing and dyed it different colours as they produced their designs. They all excelled themselves and produced some beautifully decorated cakes.
Merry Christmas
From the Food Tech team
Congratulations to Rowan and Georgia, who won the Woodbridge Junior Open Under 10 and Under 12 titles respectively on Sunday. Rowan scored 5.5/6 and Georgia 5/6. There was a very strong Abbey participation, with a lot of students playing their first tournament. These included Mariella, Tristan and Arthur (who both came equal third in the Under 8 section), Oscar, Oliver, Edward, Frank, Theo, (who came third in the Under 10’s), Lade, Jamie, and Hans. Congratulations to all those who took part.
Last Saturday seven Woodbridge School athletes were in Oxford to compete in an annual Southern Inter County cross country championship against the fourteen counties that make up the might of the South of England in running terms.
We are delighted to report that young Ruby Vinton brilliantly defended the title she won last year, retaining the South of England Inter County U13 Girls’ title.
Recovering from a head cold, Ruby made a steady albeit out of character start, before powering away from the best athletes in the South to win by a clear 10 seconds. This was a truly amazing performance, and Roby has an exciting few months ahead in the build-up to the National championships.
Other exceptional performances on the day came from Kit Evans Lombe who was 16th in the U15 boys (just 46 seconds from the lead after 4km of tough cross country) and Nathan Goddard who was 21st in the U17 men (Also just 46 seconds from the lead this time after 5km of cross country).
All of our other athletes representing Suffolk on the day finished in the top 100. April Hill and Amy Goddard in the U15 girls (who also happened to be first and second Suffolk finishers), Charlie Turner in the U15 Boys and Alex Evans Lombe in the U17 Men.
Congratulations to all of the athletes who now enjoy a well-earned break from racing.