Senior School News Archives - Page 12 of 112

Our Prep and Senior School athletes were at the East Area Prep School Athletics Championships last weekend, 9 June, with some exceptional results!

It was an early start for our athletes, who, after having achieved the qualifying times and distances for their events, set off to Bedford; travelling to The International Stadium to compete.

Year 7 and 8 Woodbridge students were competing against athletes from 50 other schools in the East region, hoping to gain a place to compete for the East team at the National finals due to take place in Nuneaton on Monday 3 July.

Team spirits were high, our athletes supporting one another, particularly as many of them achieved their personal bests.

A very successful day for our athletes, with Year 8’s Romilly the first to qualify with a 2nd place finish in the 1500m, followed up beautifully by Year 8’s Felicity taking 1st place in the 800m race, and our Year 7 javelin qualifiers Eirann and Frank took 2nd and 1st place respectively.

Top ten finishers included Year 8’s Amelia who took 3rd place in discuss, alongside our Year 8’s boys’ relay team consisting of Charlie, Tom, Lade and Ollie who also took 3rd place. Year 7’s Annabel took 4th place in shot, Year 8’s Frankie 6th place in hurdles, Year 7’s Jamie 7th place in shot, Year 8’s Marina 8th place in 1500m and Year 7’s Grace 8th place in 1500m. Year 8’s Georgia took 8th place in long jump, Year 8’s Cleo 8th place in 300m, Year 8’s Ollie 8th place in shot and Year 7’s Oscar 9th place in 1500m.

From our Prep School (all Year 6 students), Ella won the 1500m race, Alexandra won the 800m race, Thomas won the javelin and took 2nd place in the 200m and our girls’ relay team consisting of India J, India B, Ella and Alexandra came in as runners up taking 2nd place; all qualifying for the National Prep Schools Athletics Finals.

Thank you to all the staff and parents that helped and supported the students, and a very big well done to all the athletes who took part, giving maximum effort throughout and who were all an incredible credit to Woodbridge School.

With tickets now on sale for this year’s Shakespeare On The Lawn, As You Like It, we recently met up with Orlando – Year 9’s Sam, to talk about how he feels rehearsals are going and what his hopes and aspirations are for the character.

Sam was rehearsing with his friends and fellow actors, with Miss Mayes’ expert direction; she spent time explaining and exploring the use of body language and voice projection to convey the scenes, how to engage and entice the audience.

With one or two props in place under the trees on the Chapel lawn where the production will take place in July, the young actors also talked through how to help their audience interpret what is happening in each scene, particularly what is being suggested but not spoken on stage.

Talking about how he felt to be given the part of Orlando Sam said,

“I was so pleased to get Orlando – but to be honest, I didn’t really mind which part I got, so long as I had a speaking role.”

He continued,

“I’ve had Shakespeare On The Lawn in my sights since Year 7 when I saw it for the first time, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so to have such a great character to play is brilliant!”

Talking about ongoing rehearsals he said,

“I love the rehearsals, I’m always excited to come along, it’s great fun and it’s making the prospect of performing even more exciting. If you asked me what was the perfect way to spend my lunchbreak I’d say doing this!”

Sam is taking Drama GCSE and hopes to go on to study at A level, something he recognises is a few years away, but none the less something he feels certain about – as he does the playwright,

“Shakespeare wrote such great stories and characters – all the lines and every bit of every play is important and interesting. I learn so much studying and performing Shakespeare – about him, about the plays and about myself.”

When asked what his main hope was for the performance, like any other young actor he said of course that he hoped he didn’t forget any of his lines! But watching the rehearsals today and seeing the preparation taking place, this year’s Shakespeare On The Lawn looks set to be as special as the many we have already seen here in School.

As You Like It will be performed on our Chapel lawn on 4 and 5 July and tickets can be found via the Seckford Theatre.

Earlier this week on Monday, Woodbridge hosted cricket in School versus RHS. With some excellent conditions and close play resulting in a win for our Year 10 players, by just one run, our report holds more details.

Woodbridge U15B vs. RHS, Cricket report
With the cricket pitch gleaming in the sunshine, Woodbridge U15B Girls cricket team hosted RHS in what was to become an extremely well and closely played match.

The team worked hard, really bringing tension to the match in the last two overs where RHS had to score 19 to win. With this in their sights, Nancy and Issy bowled brilliantly, with Issy taking a catch off her own bowling to take five runs of the RHS total – saving Woodbridge and giving us the match by just one run!

Great bowling also by Tilly and Eliza – with Eliza bowling one of the RHS players out, and Jassy taking two wickets also.

Phoebe D took a great caught and bowled, as well as a stumping, and Phoebe R and Lucy took a wicket each from a stumping. There was some good batting and running from Georgia and Eliza when they got into their stride, and Alice and Lyrah. Poppy fielded brilliantly and Rose bowled much better than she thought she would!

Well done to all and a great close game!

Sisters, Year 12’s Ada and Year 10’s Eve, competed at the British National Eventing Junior and Pony (U16) Championships last week, for Junior and Pony riders respectively taking place in Northumberland at Belsay International; it was Eve’s first attempt at the Pony Championships which is a three-day event. To get to these Championships, the combination of horse and rider have to compete at a number of events at increasingly higher levels, with a level of results to qualify to enter.

With Horse & Country TV filming on the Friday of the Championships, the cross country in particular, it was an exciting event for everyone taking part.

Ada celebrated success with 7th place, and was one of only six to finish on her dressage score which is an amazing achievement! Ada represented the Eastern Region in the National Youth Eventing Champs last year where the team took 3rd place, and she has also just been asked to join the training squad for the GB Junior European Eventing Team which is an incredible achievement!

Eve also did brilliantly, lying 16th out of 38, with only 18 completing, after Cross Country, but sadly her pony wasn’t comfortable in the final Showjumping phase as so she stopped. One of only 18 out of 38 starters that completed the Cross Country, which was at the highest level in the country for U16s, Eve has just one more year in the U16s so this will have been an excellent experience for her.

Well done to both girls, who represented our School and themselves exceptionally and good luck with everything that lies ahead!

Image credit: Athalens Photography

The Woodbridge School riding team had a fantastic time away over the half term, competing at the National Schools Equestrian Association Championships at Hickstead.

Our 70-75cm Eventers Challenge Team consisting of Year 8’s Harry, Zac and Edie, along with Year 7’s Grace, took the lead at 9:05am and then had a nail biting wait of six hours as the other teams competed to try and knock them off top spot. And so it was with absolute relief as well as joy when they found out that they were the Champions. They rode four fantastic and competitive rounds; a very strong and technical course for our team and they really made it look easy.

Our same team went forward the second day to compete in the 80-85cm Eventers Challenge championships, and again gave four very strong rounds and three clears for 10th place. This is still a big achievement for these riders who are stepping up to the technicalities of the championships.

We then took two teams forward for the 90-95cm Eventers Challenge Championships,

Team 1
Year 13’s Katie
year 10’s Oscar
Year 12’s Ada
Year 10’s Eve

Team 2
Year 8’s Edie
Year 8’s Zac
Year 12’s Florence

Both Teams gave a brilliant effort and Zac rode a brilliant clear to achieve the 4th best score and support his team.

Well done to all our riders who showed determination in all their rounds, all coming away and learning a great deal.

Year 10 DT students spent a whole day in our design department earlier this week; learning and exploring a range of skills in order to prepare and arm them with a range of new skills and techniques for future projects. With Year 12 students dropping in to offer assistance and guidance, it was an eye-opener for many who left feeling informed and confident about future work.

Poppy, Year 10

The Year 10 DT skills day was very inspiring for me as a GCSE student. Throughout the course this year, I have experimented with a few materials but I feel that I haven’t pushed myself out of my comfort zone yet.

However, the skills day allowed me to explore a range of new techniques and equipment which has given me a fuller understanding of what is available to me in this subject, and which will enable me to produce my work with a greater level of independence and confidence. The day also enabled me to practice and make mistakes without any worry of the effect it would have on my coursework.

Overall, the DT skills day was very successful and enabled me to become a more confident DT student.

Our lower School tennis teams have been incredibly busy this half term; our match reports below share details of the games, players and scores.

Woodbridge U13 Girls vs. Thomas Mills, Hartismere and Debenham

U13 Girls have played three league fixtures against Thomas Mills, Hartismere and Debenham, seeing many players play their first competitive singles and doubles matches or representing Woodbridge School for the first time in tennis. Thomas Mills was a formidable opponent and asked the best from our players in rubbers that produced some quality tennis. Woodbridge lost this tie 2-10 with Year 7’s Freya winning her singles.

Woodbridge dominated the next two fixtures, beating both Hartismere and Debenham 12-0, dropping very few games in the process. Well done to Year 8’s Frankie who has been playing at number 1 and all the other players who have representing the team so far including Year 8’s Honor, Year 7’s Lola, Freya, Grace , Annabelle and Abigail.

Woodbridge U13 Boys vs. East Bergholt

The U13 Boys also had a strong start to their league matches, winning 2 from 2 at time of writing. Woodbridge dominated against East Bergholt, winning three singles and both doubles rubbers to win the tie 10-2. The boys played exciting tennis, making their opponents by hitting tight angles and hitting multiple winners. Team work in doubles rubbers between number 1 pair, Year 8’s James S and Toby and number 2 pair, Elijah and Harry, was great to see.

Woodbridge U13 Boys vs. Finborough

This week the U13s hosted Finborough, last year’s eventually county champions. A somewhat new-look team was well up to the challenge and the tie produced the best tennis matches so far this term – an absolute pleasure to watch. The players were tested physically and mentally and games swung in roundabouts and the sudden death deuce rule demanding nerves of steel.

After six rubbers, everything was even, each team having won three each. year 7’s Pranav and Year 8’s George won their respective singles and doubles with good team work to make sure the tie goes into a match tiebreak shootout. This ‘first to ten’ tie break was a test of nerves and skill. Toby and Pranav took on the challenge and took an early lead.

5-2 up it looked like they have done most of the job, but then Finborough came back, following some unforced errors. At 6-6 momentum shifted back to Woodbridge as Pranav and Toby started to implement their tactics well again, shooting ahead to win the tiebreak 10-7 and therefore the match. Both teams were excellent and will hopefully get to meet again in a friendly later in the term. Thanks to all the players who have represented the team so far.

Woodbridge U15 Boys and Girls teams vs. RHS

The U15 Boys and Girls teams played in a friendly fixtures against Royal Hospital School. The girls team made up of Year 10’s, Tabitha and Eve, and Year 9’s Lyrah and Eloise, beat RHS 8-4, on the valley courts in School. We were grateful for the great parent support at the fixture.

The U15 Boys, consisting of all Year 9’s Alex B, Tom V, Rowan, and Oscar B, came up against top opponents, all experienced international students, which challenged our players to play fantastic tennis and also an opportunity to practice their Spanish skills. Great camaraderie was on show on each side of the net, and across the net in the double. Singles was also a competitive affair; Tom winning his match in style. Woodbridge lost the tie 2-10 but won many battles and played great tennis. This time ‘sudden death deuce’ was not on our side.

Thanks and well done to all who have played for the school so far this team and who attend tennis clubs so well.

Sisters, Year 12’s Ada and Year 10’s Eve, are competing at the British National Eventing Junior and Pony (U16) Championships next week, for Junior and Pony riders respectively taking place in Northumberland at Belsay International; it is Eve’s first attempt at the Pony Championships which is a three-day event. To get to these Championships, the combination of horse and rider have to compete at a number of events at increasingly higher levels, with a level of results to qualify to enter.

Ada and Eve have both represented Woodbridge at multiple equestrian team events and National Finals including Eve taking the National Pony 110cms Jumping with Style Title at the end of last season and being a team member that secured the Regional Points League National Title for the School. Ada represented the Eastern Region in the National Youth Eventing Champs last year where the team took 3rd place; she is hoping to build on this good result next week at Belsay International.

Both girls are also heading to Hickstead on younger mounts the day before departing for the British Eventing Junior and Pony Championships to hopefully help the School to a successful team result in the Eventers Challenge final on Monday.

This is Ada’s last season at Under 18s and she hopes to prove herself enough for potential team selection, who commented, “It is a long way to go to get on the British Junior Team but I have a lovely horse and we have been progressing through the ranks so I hope for a good result at the Championships.”

With Horse & Country TV filming on the Friday of the Championships, the cross country in particular, it’s an exciting event for everyone taking part.

We wish everyone taking part the very best of luck at this top level, particularly Ada and Eve who will be representing Woodbridge School and Suffolk.

Over 700 people from the local community as well as further afield took part in the annual Woodbridge 10K race last weekend on Sunday 21 May 2023. The race has historically brought out not only the serious runners looking to improve on their PB and compete against others taking part, but also those wanting to challenge themselves or perhaps try a 10K for the first time. Whatever the state of fitness and mind of the participants though, one thing is for sure – it’s known for and deserves its reputation for being a demanding course.

Once again Woodbridge School was proud to be sponsoring the run, with a long tradition of supporting the event as well as offering our School grounds for pre-race preparation and event parking, on this, the 41st anniversary of the event we remained proud to be part of and supporting this wonderful community event.

With volunteers at every turn, from the Woodbridge Shufflers to the local running club as well as our own members of teaching and non-teaching staff in position, the weather was on everyone’s side. Woodbridge came together as a community on the Market Hill, the town shown off in all its splendour with the locals and those visiting to support participants, completely behind every runner.

Our School had students, parents, non-teaching and teaching staff taking part, some for the first time, some for the umpteenth time in a row, as a community our School was well represented which was a delight to see and be part of; reports of the spectators shouting messages of support to everyone running have been a joy to hear.

One of the main reasons the race is so very popular and continues to grow in terms of participants and supporters is the wonderful work it does for local charities; six in particular benefitting from sponsorships and donations including: East Anglian’s Children’s Hospice, Home-Start in Suffolk, St Elizabeth Hospice, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Woodbridge Riding for the Disabled and the Cleft Lip and Palate Association.

Congratulations and well done to everyone that took part, race times for all can be found at www.racetimeresult.co.uk/woodbridge-10k, but below are results for a selection of students from our School* since many students, staff and parents will have competed for clubs and sponsors and entered themselves into the race. These students (below) took part in the 10K race and include the top 40 finishers in the Junior race as well as student prize winners.

In the main 10K there were 702 finishers, and we are aware of three students making their debut in the event:

Year 10’s Angus reportedly had an easy run after his speed work session on Saturday, as he prepares for the track session, yet he still finished an amazing 57th and 3rd U19 in 40:45. Similarly Year 10’s Poppy finished 222nd in 48:18 and Year 10’s Luke finished 480th in 58:18 having an amazing first experiences at this event.

In the Junior Race there were 113 finishers and Woodbridge School athletes were ever-present on the age group podiums. In fact, in some age groups Woodbridge School athletes won all three medals.

Congratulations to the following top 40 overall or age group medal winners:

Boys 14 – 15yrs:

4 Jasper 5:01 Bronze

Girls 12 –13yrs:

6 Romilly 5:14 Gold
11 Felicity 5:22 Silver
36 Sophie 5:52 4th

Boys 10 – 11yrs:

8 Alfie R 5:24 2nd
9 Otis 5:25 3rd
17 Olly 5th
20 Archie 5:34 7th
32 Alfie P 11th
46 Joseph 6:08 14th
53 Matthew 16th
70 Zik 23rd
75 Tom 25th

Boys 12 – 13yrs:

21 Sam 5:35 5th

Girls 10 – 11yrs:

22 Alexandra 5:36 Gold
23 India J 5:37 Silver
29 Ella 5:43 Bronze
34 Marina 5:48 6th
39 India B 6:00 7th
51 Jasmine 6:12 9th
60 Imogen 6:26 11th

Special mention for Year 3’s Charlie who was 67th in 6:36 and Silver medal winner of the boys age 8 and under!

A fantastic set of results on a brilliant day for the town and the school. Huge congratulations to every finisher.

*Note: There was a mix up with bib numbers so the results reported here do not reflect the official results of the Woodbridge 10K

There have been various matches played home and away for our cricket teams recently, with our U13 Girls playing Ipswich and our U14A Girls playing King’s Ely. Our match reports below have all the details of the matches, players and scores.

Woodbridge Year 8 U13 Girls vs. Ipswich

The first game of the season for our Year 8 girls playing as a team took place this week – the first hard ball game some had ever played!

It was an afternoon of amazing bowling with Daisy taking two wickets, and Sukie and Annie taking one each.

Some outstanding wicket keeping from Emma with three catches and nimble fielding especially from Sophie meant that we kept their run tally at bay.

The batting was dominated by Eva and she was joined by Sophie at the crease, who was also voted player of the game by Ipswich. They both ran brilliantly and communicated very well.

Cleo R batted well for the first time in a helmet, pads and gloves!

It was a fabulous afternoon in the sunshine and huge well done to the girls who all played incredibly well together. We won by eight wickets after Ipswich gave us 89 to chase.

Woodbridge U14A Girls vs. Kings Ely

Our Year 9 U14A Girls team met and played cricket against Kings Ely last week, winning by 82 runs. Woodbridge scored 154 for 3, while King’s Ely scored 72 all out.

After a long trip to King’s Ely the team won the toss and decided to bat. Our openers of Eloise and Lyrah set the platform, seeing out the best bowlers at the start of the innings and running well between wickets (a run rate of 7 an over from the first 5 overs).

Woodbridge lost 3 quick wickets but then Bea and Lily steadied the ship and constructed an amazing 123 run partnership, with Bea scoring 51 not out and Lily 34 not out, for a team total of 154 for 3.

Our opening bowlers of Eloise and Lily (1 for 6 off 4 overs) bowled superbly, and with classy fielding, 2 superb run outs including a direct hit by Lily, we put pressure on the opposition early.

Aurelia and Bea (1 for 9 off 4 overs) then backed this up with further tight bowling. Lyrah then set about finishing it off with her spin-bowling, taking 5 for 7 off 3.4 overs (being on a hattrick twice).

Lyrah was voted player of the match by the opposition, but both Bea and Lily’s batting was superb and must be commended, as this set up the win by way of a commanding total. Well done to the team on an excellent win and everyone must be congratulated for a total team performance in the field.

U12A Cricket Reports

Year 7 girls have been working hard on their cricket skills so far this term. We are blessed with talented and motivated players who have made co-curricular practices full and fun. It has been a pleasure so far to see those with lots of experience in the game and those completely new to cricket learn, try, support and encourage each other.

U12A Girls vs. Ipswich School

The U12A Girls team got their matches underway with a flying start, playing Ipswich School and Langley on successive Wednesdays. The team was a little bit nervous to take on Ipswich School in their opening match, but the nerves soon subsided as the team set out to dominate in the field with their bowling, fielding and communication skills. Captains Jemima and Freya rotated the field and bowlers well, limiting Ipswich School to 90 runs from their 20 overs.

The fielding effort got off to a flying start when our opening bowlers, Freya and Ella, bowled both Ipswich openers in their first overs. Further wickets were taken by Jemima, Goergia, Annabelle and Taaliah – Taaliah also achieved a sharp run out. Best bowling figures came from Georgia – getting 1 for 2 from her 2 overs, conceding only through one wide delivery and also bowling the only maiden over of the match.

In response, Woodbridge got off to a flying start when Jemima and Freya scored at 6 runs an over in the opening overs. Both openers played shots which resulted in being caught out, but they set the tone and a good base to build from. Taaliah and Annabelle batted with composure to steady the innings and allow Woodbridge to steadily creep towards their target, also helped by some wayward bowling from Ipswich. Woodbridge achieved the winning runs with 5 balls to spare and 5 wickets in hand. A well-deserved win from a professional performance.

Woodbridge U12A Girls vs. Langley

Next the team travelled to Langley on a sunny Friday afternoon, where they dominated the match from start to finish. Competent bowling on a difficult pitch saw Woodbridge restrict Langley to 57 runs from their 20 overs. Two run outs kept the pressure on – direct hits by Tabitha and Annabelle. Tabitha and Ella added to their wickets tally for the season, each clean bowling their victim.

Each player had fantastic bowling figures, conceding very few runs off the bat. Georgia again produced a maiden over, as did Taaliah.

Woodbridge was confident coming into bat but knew it would be tricky contending with the slow and low pitch. Jemima and Freya again got us off to a good start before Jemima was run out. Freya, Abigail, Amelie all batted well before being retired, steadily knocking Woodbridge closer to their target and playing some nice shots on the off-side to milk singles.

Woodbridge achieved the winning runs in the 13th over with 7 wickets in hand, but kept batting to make fully use of their 20 overs. Wicket-Keeper, Eiran, who has been brilliant behind the stumps so far, also came in and batter with confidence, also scoring our fourth boundary 4 for the innings.

Well done to everyone involved with the team so far.

Woodbridge U13C vs Framlingham Prep School

An excellent afternoon of cricket was played at Framlingham Prep School, with some brilliant bowling by Honor who took 2 for 10, Phoebe 2 for 11, Annabel M 1 for 9, Frankie 1 for 12, and Layla taking 1 for 13.

Our highest scoring batting pair was Olivis and Philippa with 31 – a great example from our Captain and Vice-Captain. Erin and Honor came in a close second scoring 29 off the four overs they faced. The match was won by 2 runs scoring 323. Very well done to all the girls who played in such a tight match!