Category: Senior School News
A team filled with enthusiastic Year 8s, and excited but somewhat nervous Year 7s, started the hockey season off when they represented Woodbridge School at the annual Orwell Park School U13 Hockey Festival on Saturday 7 September.
A fun event for our players, the festival is focused on learning, gaining experience and exposure and providing students with the opportunity to try new things.
The team exceeded every expectation in terms of how quickly they learned outlet and pressing tactics, and how well they played together. Any nerves of anticipation quickly melted away as players worked hard on improving skills and decision making, demonstrating their hard work and focus in every match as they each played in various positions – sometimes for the first time.
A short penalty corner practice at lunch time on the Friday proved extremely valuable, as the team executed their attacking set piece with surprising precision, power and consistency, defending incredibly well as a team at the other end.
During the afternoon the team secured two wins, two draws, and suffered one loss, and Year 8s India was the top scorer.
Thanks to all the parents who supported the girls with such enthusiasm, it was most definitely a fun afternoon had by all.
The last weekend of the summer break saw a sixteen-strong team of Year 11, 12 and 13 Hockey players making their way to Nottingham to take part in the Nottingham High School U19 Pre-season Tournament.
Seven matches were to follow in the next two days, but first there was the matter of being successful (or unsuccessful) during the Escape Rooms activity! The good news is that two teams were successful, while the third one needed to recover from preventing a 100% success rate – but then maybe it would be too easy, and we love a challenge! A dinner-time quiz also proved tricky for some teams, but the Year 11 quartet of Bonnie, Eve, Georgia and Nancy, won this one outright.
Saturday’s three matches saw the group start a little slowly in the first, after a picturesque morning stroll to the amazing venue and Nottingham Hockey Centre, with their five full size Astro turfs. However, after consolidating defensive principles and standards, the team was set up nicely for the second half of the match and rest of the weekend, being difficult to score against.
Game two was time to experiment with a new, more attacking formation, and the target to be better in possession. The excitement when both these proved to be successful was palpable for players and staff.
Game three was time for victory! Head Girl Georgie scoring the first goal of the season!
A tired group, having toiled hard in the heat and sunshine, returned to the hotel to refresh before refuelling with a social team dinner out in Nottingham centre.
Sunday’s four matches were competitive and end-to-end. Woodbridge continued to make big strides forwards, dominating larger passages, learning so much so fast, and getting better and more confident as individuals and a team. Frustrating goals went against us, but these things happen and no spirits were dampened as it was clear to the touring group, and those watching, that growth was happening fast. Tired legs and sore muscles can never stop big and determined hearts from achieving what they set out to do! A thoroughly deserved and joyful win came in our final play-off match to end off the perfect weekend.
Several targets were set and achieved over the weekend: increased communication, accountability, skill, strength, confidence, decision making, defensive dominance, goal scoring chances, learning formations and more.
Success on every level and staff and students looking forward to the Hockey season ahead. Well done to each player who played so well, put so much in and was superb ambassadors for our School.
Congratulations also to new first team Co-Captains, Year 13’s Charlotte and Millie, on getting the best out of every player as well as helping leadership grow through the whole group.
Woodbridge School Year 11 students celebrated their GCSE results in School today, coming together to share their achievements.
- Grade 9 19%
- Grade 9-7 57%
- Grade 9-6 77%
- 3 students achieved 11 Grade 9s
Head of Woodbridge School Shona Norman shared,
“It is always such a privilege to share this day with our Year 11 students, and I’d like to congratulate them on their results today; testament to the hard work they put into achieving them. As ever I remain extremely grateful to our staff for their continued commitment and diligence, as well as their exceptional standard of education. I’m extremely proud of everyone today, and will thoroughly enjoy continuing to be part of their journey as they start Sixth Form in September. “
Having achieved GCSEs in Drama, English Literature, English Language, French, Maths, Music, Philosophy, Religion and Ethics, Combined Science, Spanish and Statistics, Emily will be staying on at Woodbridge School to study A levels in French, Spanish and Drama. She shared,
“I have loved my time at Woodbridge. I have made some amazing friends; the teachers are supportive, enthusiastic about their subjects and have really inspired me. Both the students and teachers are so supportive, there’s an incredibly strong sense of community.”
Oser joined Woodbridge School in Year 7 and having achieved GCSEs in English Language, English Literature, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish, French, Business and Latin, with Statistics achieved in 2023, is going on to Norwich Football Academy where he will also study A levels in Maths and Economics. He shared,
“I currently play and train with the Norwich Football Academy Youth Team, the under eighteens, and I’m hoping to go on to play professionally. I might also consider using my A levels to go on to study Finance.”
Lara is celebrating GCSEs in English Language, English Literature, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish, Geography, Art and Drama and going on to study A levels in Art, Maths and Economics at Woodbridge School Sixth Form. She shared,
“I was so nervous, everything felt very unknown this morning – and now I’m just so happy.”
Lara hopes to go on to university after her A levels, but is undecided as to what she would like to study right now. With plenty of time to make that decision, for now she’s celebrating her results.
Students recently took part in the National Schools Target Rifle Competition at Bisley, spending four days enjoying a programme of activities and events, their accommodation and meals provided at Brunswick Camp, Pirbright in Woking.
Showcasing target rifle at its very best, the competition comprised of a range of shooting opportunities for cadets. Year 12’s Oscar shares his experience:
Oscar, Year 12
Our shooting team, including Year 12’s Oliver, Jack and I as well as Year 10’s Ernest and Arlo and Year 9’s Woody, all set off in the Woodbridge School mini bus on Sunday morning heading for Alexander Barracks, Pirbright. On arrival we set up and went for dinner ready for our first practice day. Over the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we all had the chance to practice shoots consisting of two sighters and seven scoring shots with a maximum score possible of 35.7. We started off shooting twice at 300yds and then moved back to shoot twice again at 500 yards and ending the days with one 600 yard shoot.
The food was good and on Wednesday evening we had the chance to do a clay pigeon shoot after dinner which everyone really enjoyed.
On the Thursday it was Ashburton Day which was the main competition. The opening of the competition was marked by a detail of the Scottish cadets who marched down the 300 yard firing point to the magnificent sound of the bagpipes. We then started with the team of four in the School Fours (WO1 Oscar, Sgt Oliver, L.cpl Arlo and Cadet Woody) followed by the team of two (Sgt Jack and Cadet Ernest) in the School Pairs. We did all the ranges and then the final competition was the Spencer Mellish in which the best shooter from each school takes part in a competition where you shoot two sighters followed by 10 scoring rounds. You do not have a coach and have to rely on yourself to make adjustments to the sights. It was an honour to be picked to shoot in this part of the competition and I really enjoyed the challenge and learnt a lot, especially about how to counteract the wind!
Thank you to all of the cadets that took part, representing themselves and the School brilliantly, and to Austin for teaching me how to coach and for teaching all the new cadets how a full bore shoot works. A special thank you goes to Mr Stollery who made it all happen.
17 members of our Army cadets from Years 9, 10 and 12, attended summer camp last week, staying at Longmoor Training Camp in Hampshire for a week.
The week was filled with a range of training exercises which began on the first day when the cadets deployed into the field for the fieldcraft package. Here they carried out platoon harbour drills, section attacks, wood clearance operations and a reconnaissance patrol.
Next came the close quarter battle paintball package – this wasn’t the usual paintball game but a full day learning and then rehearsing all the drills required to conduct a night time building assault. The cadets used guns with laser pointers and torches attached, and all wore full body armour.
Wednesday saw cadets enjoy a range day, engaging targets at various ranges using the cadet rifle and live ammunition – and exciting and exhilarating day for everyone.
Cadets enjoyed a cultural visit to Portsmouth later in the week, visiting the D-Day museum and even had the opportunity to walk around a landing craft that was used on the day. They also visited HMS Warrior and Victory, and the Mary Rose. Although this wasn’t what you might consider a typical Army summer camp day, it was incredibly interesting and the students had a great time.
On the last day of the summer camp it was time for the fieldcraft exercise test day. The cadets took part in an ambush, platoon attack and wood clearance and fired over 300 rounds of blank ammunition.
It was a really great week for everyone, thanks go to everyone who made it possible including Mr Garvie and Mr Capjon.
The final Head’s Commendations of the academic year were awarded in School this week to two groups of students, each joining Miss Norman to celebrate with tea and cake.
On Tuesday Year 8’s Grace received hers for her recent win at Hickstead Equestrian Championships, while Year 11’s Juno, Rose and Georgia, along with Year 13’s Felix were awarded theirs for volunteering to help at Sports Day last week. Year 13’s Layo was also recognised for raising money for The Bridge School. Our Senior School students were joined by Year 6’s Chloe who celebrated being part of the team that qualified for the Prep School’s Athletics Championships.
Thursday saw several students recognised by Miss Norman for also qualifying for the Prep School’s Athletics Championships, including, Year 7’s India J, Olly, Alexandra, Thomas, Josh and Dexter, as well as Year 8’s Digby and Oscar.
Digby was also commended for breaking the Year 8 300m, 800m and 1500m records at Sports Day – the 800m record had stood since 1977! Likewise, Alexandra broke the Year 7 800m record, Thomas the Year 7 300m record, Josh the year 7 200m and 1500m record and Dexter the Year 7 800m record!
Year 12’s Hugh also joined Miss Norman in recognition of going above and beyond at an agent visit recently.
Throughout the year many students have been successful in being nominated and selected for to receive a commendation from Miss Norman for a huge variety of achievements and contributions to School. Well done to everyone, we look forward to celebrating more in the new academic year no doubt!
The Year 10 historians enjoyed a busy day in Norfolk on Tuesday exploring some of England’s finest Norman castles and cathedrals.
The impressive earthworks and flint ruins of Castle Acre were a wonderful backdrop to learn all about these structures of military and administrative dominance, and provided an interesting contrast to the robust limestone keep seen later at Norwich.
Here the students were also given a tour of the enormous cathedral. Like the priory at Castle Acre this was home to a large community of Benedictine monks, and Year 10 were left better able to appreciate the importance of piety and spiritual power to the Anglo-Normans.
A great day out, the historians went home with minds brimming with thoughts of the earls, monks, bishops, and kings of this truly transformative period in our history.
The Chapel lawn in School was filled with picnics, blankets, and chairs (as well as one or two umbrellas!) as family, friends, Old Woodbridgians and staff members from across the School came together to see this year’s Year 9 Shakespeare On The Lawn production The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
A much-anticipated event by all, it’s fair to say we’ve all been hoping and praying for good weather so that we might enjoy this delightful evening, and that we did. The occasional light rain shower did nothing to deter our actors or our audience.
Our Year 9 students have been rehearsing for weeks, working incredibly hard, and were certainly ready to put on a performance as everyone sat to watch the stage under the trees come to life with script, song and laughter – as well as beautiful props, wonderfully jolly music and delicate lighting.
One of the first of Shakespeare’s many masterpieces, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is considered to be where he showed for the first time some of the themes and characters for future plays. The story of friendship, love, infidelity, the conflict and misunderstandings between friends as well as foolish behaviours of lovers, was told by our Year 9 students, who performed magnificently.
We were introduced to two best friends, Proteus and Valentine, who both travel to Milan and both fall in love with the same girl – the Duke’s daughter, Sylvia. Although Sylvia clearly loves Valentine and vice versa, Proteus continues to pursue her, despite already having a girlfriend at home, Julia. The play follows this twisting tale of love, misunderstanding and confusion until we see Proteus and his friend Valentine scuffle at the realisation of their matched affection for the same girl. Proteus eventually backs down ridiculously realising he actually does love Julia, and they are married as are Valentine and Sylvia.
There was much comedy in most scenes, and the students captivated our audience in every way. No matter who was on stage or what part they played in that scene, our actors demonstrated their understanding of the importance of their actions in relation to one another as well as each and every part of every scene.
The actors moved around the stage with ease, exiting right and left to travel behind the audience as they left their scenes; this movement was as much a part of the performance as what was happening on stage, it was captivating!
A short pause in the first half for a light rain shower was managed professionally, and gave our audience the opportunity to grab another coffee, Pimm’s or refreshment from their picnic baskets – spirits were high and the weather did nothing to dampen spirits; it was clear to see how impressed visitors to the School were by the way our students and staff managed this slight interruption.
Thank you to absolutely everyone involved in this production and the performances; from our wonderful Head of Drama Miss Mayes and her team, as well as all those in School who have allowed students to rehearsals or helped support the show in so many ways over the past few weeks and on the evening.
Thanks also to our Design students who created merchandise that was sold at both evening performances, showcasing their superb design skills in producing memorabilia that can be cherished for years to come.
And finally thank you to everyone who supported our students by coming along to the performances; they’ve worked so incredibly hard and it was clear to see their dedication, enthusiasm and commitment, as well as their enjoyment and talent. We’re incredibly lucky to be treated to these performances each and every year, and once again everyone who came along enjoyed a beautiful and entertaining evening.
The performance was a joy to watch, it was colourful, lively, funny and serious in all the right places.
Last Friday, our traditional Field Day took place, with students taking part in various activities including trips to Go Ape, Colchester Zoo and our CCF cadets at various locations enjoying different activities.
Year 7 and 8’s Visit to Go Ape and Colchester Zoo
Taking some out of their comfort zone, Go Ape offered Year 7 students the chance to climb the high wire courses and challenge themselves in all sorts of ways! Meanwhile Year 8 enjoyed learning more about endangered species as well as visiting all the other animals at Colchester Zoo. Everyone had a great day.
CCF RAF Field Day and Overnight
Our RAF cadets had a great time on their Field Day and overnight stay at Barnham training area. Enjoying a full-scale overnight complete with run-ins with real RAF regiment gunners, students took part in a real variety of activities during the day and evening. From stalking and patrolling, to air rifle shooting, everyone had a fantastic time, enjoying the experience and taking on board a host of new skills.
CCF Army Field Day and Overnight
Joining our RAF cadets at Barnham training area, the Army section deployed and set up the bashas to sleep under as soon as they arrived. Cooking their evening meal from their ration packs, Year 9 then took part in a night noises exercise, while the Year 10 conducted an ambush. Friday saw Year 9 cadets go through a rota of stands; pairs fire and movement, navigation, a stalk, and patrol observation skills. Meanwhile Year 10 cadets carried out section attacks. Another great experience for our cadets, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
CCF Navy Field Day and Overnight
Last week the Royal Navy section enjoyed an afternoon of raft building in Holbrook Bay. The breezy conditions thoroughly tested the knot-tying skills of our cadets, and gave all a good workout paddling ahead of overnight camping nearby, overlooking the beautiful Stour. After a calm and clear night under canvas, a selection of cadets took part in sailing and windsurfing at Alton Water, while others had the opportunity to have a go at archery and canoeing at the campsite and on the river Deben. Fair to say everyone enjoyed the activities, another great Field Day for our Navy cadets.
Year 9 RAF Cadets travelled to RAF Syerston near Newark recently, ahead of the opportunity to glide. After a full safety briefing and demonstration to ensure students understood procedures on training models, they set out towards the airfield. Hear more about the day and the experience from Ishan in his report.
Year 9’s Ishan
I was so happy to be selected to take part, as it is a unique and amazing experience – completely worth the 5.00am start!
When we arrived at RAF Syerston in Newark, they were ready and waiting for us, everything had been very well organised; I was excited to say the least!
We were escorted to the briefing room where we received a thorough safety briefing, including what to do if we had to eject from the aircraft. Part of that briefing was to ensure we could all eject and pull the parachute if needed – although the thought of it was terrifying, it was great to learn about everything and it actually helped reassure us all ahead of the flights.
We were soon on our way to the runway, travelling in a minibus to get there and treated to the sight and sound of two Tornado fighter jets along the way!
As soon as we got to the runway, the crew were very efficient in making sure the aircraft were ready to fly; almost immediately two jets were ready to go.
Sitting in the cockpit was surreal, as in a matter of 30 seconds, I knew I’d be 1,200 ft up in the sky. To get into the sky, they attach a cord to the underside of the aircraft and the pilot calls on the radio to the crew member to “Take up the slack!”, which means make sure the cord has no slack to enable the aircraft to be taken up the runway – and very high into the sky.
On take-off I experienced pulling 3Gs, meaning you weigh three times your body weight – it’s quite an intense feeling! Once up in the sky, the cord drops from under the aircraft causing a sudden drop in altitude, which although scary was exhilarating, as you then know you are up in the sky!
I was lucky enough to experience two flights, the first time for familiarisation – the pilot explaining the airbrakes and instruments, telling me to keep the ball in between the two lines or ‘goal posts’. Landing was surprisingly smooth. On the second flight, as soon as the cord dropped, the pilot told me I had control until landing – it was a full on adrenaline rush, but an incredible feeling and experience.
