Category: Senior School News
Woodbridge School has recently been featured on the Suffolk Schools Athletics website, celebrating the three Suffolk trials that students took part and competed in between October and January. The coverage is further testament to students’ commitment, hard work and success in the trials, and we’re delighted to be featured. Below we have shared the coverage as well as the link to the site.
Athletes selected to represent Suffolk Schools at Anglian Schools Cross Country
Woodbridge School athletes competed in three Suffolk trials between October and January and we are pleased to report that 17 of our cross country athletes are to represent Suffolk Schools at the Anglian Schools Cross Country on Saturday 05 February 2022. A further 2 athletes are included on the reserve list, to compete should selected athletes withdraw due to injury or illness.
Woodbridge School are to host the Anglian Schools event on behalf of Suffolk Schools with the first race starting at midday. Spectators are welcome to come and cheer on some of the very best young athletes in the country. Anglian Schools is an annual regional inter county event with athletes from year 6 to year 13 competing across eight races. The counties competing are Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk.
Congratulations and good luck to the following athletes who will represent Woodbridge School in the Suffolk team:
Minor Girls:
Alice Year 6
Romilly Year 7
Sophie Year 7
Felicity Year 7
Minor Boys:
Digby Year 6
Junior Girls:
Eloise Year 8
Aurelia Year 8
Charlie P Year 8
Rose Year 9
Junior Boys:
Angus Year 9
Reserve: Oser Year 9
Inter Girls:
Eloise Year 10
Isobel Year 11
Ruby Year 11
Reserve: Ellen Year 10
Inter Boys:
Henry Year 11
Senior Girls:
Amy Year 12
April Year 13
Senior Boys:
Kit Year 13
When it comes to putting on a whole School performance, you might be forgiven for thinking mostly of the hard work, commitment and rehearsal time the actors and directors put in – but there’s so much more to putting on a production of the scale, nature and wonder that will be Grease!
Behind the scenes (again, pardon the pun, if you’ve been following our series of reports and news on the production you’ll know we just can’t help but use it, it works in so many ways!) you will find students and staff delivering every other part of the show that’s needed – without which the show just couldn’t go on.
We’ve recently met with, interviewed and profiled two of the show’s actors; and now we meet with Year 11’s Ben who is providing technical support as a sound engineer in the performance.
Let’s face it, without the sound engineer in a musical performance, it would be a very different production, a completely and utterly different experience for the audience, and that after all is what it’s all about. The sound engineer is a huge part of bringing any performance together, working actors and other people supporting the performance, to make sure that all the senses are stimulated in the way we expect them to be when we watch theatre.
Sound engineers use and apply a range of skills and knowledge of acoustics to produce and manage sound; working with a mixing board, adjusting the sound that the audience hears and experiences (known as mixing the front-of-house sound), is just one element of managing sound on any production.
Ben explained what he’ll be doing during the show, “Part of my role is not only to be responsible for fitting the actors with radio mics, but for making sure they’re working, sound checking them and everyone using them.” He continued, “The audience just wouldn’t hear what they were saying or singing without a mic, the theatre is a huge and very open space; their voices would be lost, particularly to those sitting towards the back and far sides of the theatre. I’m also responsible for managing sound effects, working with the mixing board, something I’ve done a lot in the past and I really love – and the fact that we have an amazing theatre and technical kit, means everything’s modern and easy to work with, we’re really lucky.”
Ben isn’t studying Drama at School, which isn’t unusual for many of the students involved with the production, behind the scenes particularly, as the show is open to the whole School. Ben has a lot of admiration and praise for the actors, and admits he wouldn’t want to be on the stage despite having been part of Stage Coach and involved in productions at The Wolsey Theatre in the past. He thinks that he has, in his opinion, “…the best seat in the house!” as he gets to see and hear everything as it happens and enjoy every second. “It’s always great fun and there’s so many opportunities to learn different skills and improve on others because we put on so many shows at School. I love working on sound and behind the scenes, it’s a great experience and I’d encourage everyone to get involved whenever they can.”
Anyone working on the show will undoubtedly need to employ skills such as team work, organisation, commitment, accountability and loyalty; skills that also translate to studying and working beyond School. A huge part of working on performances at School is to ensure those involved have the opportunity to learn or improve skills, as well as having lots of fun. The quality and number of performances at Woodbridge means everyone has the chance to get involved – in any part of the show.
At the time of writing this we have now sold out all evening performances of Grease, but tickets remain for our Friday matinee and are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/seckfordtheatre
After a twenty month absence due to Covid restrictions, boys’ hockey fixtures made a stunning return to the sporting calendar this week on Wednesday.
The Junior Boys Teams (combining Year 7 and 8 students to make up the teams) started their competitive season with a bang, playing some superb team hockey and achieving a very good set of results. But over and above this, they also had a huge amount of fun playing for each other and developing not only as individuals but as a team.
The five Woodbridge teams who faced up against RHS scored 12 goals and conceded only one. Well done to each of the players for their contribution to their team and the matches.
Junior 1:
Won 3-0.
Goal scorers: Harry T (Y7), Oscar P, Charlie L (Y8)
Player of the match: Charlie L
Junior 2:
Drew 0-0.
Player of the match: Theo (Y8)
Junior 3:
Won 2-0.
Goal scorer: Oscar R (2).
Player of the match: Tibo (Y8)
Junior 4:
Drew 0-0.
Player of the match: Henry P (Y8)
Junior 5:
Won 5-1.
Goal scorers: Toby (Y7), Lade (Y7), Joshua (Y8), Noah S (Y7).
Player of the match: Toby C
In the absence of a competitive fixture against RHS the Junior 6ths and 7ths were split into the Lions, Sharks and Eagles to play a mini tournament. In a very spirited competition, full of tough tackling and a goalmouth incident, the Lions and Sharks went through to the final to play out a very exciting 1-1 draw. On countback the Lions were announced as winners. Well played to all the boys who took part!
With rehearsals in full swing, we’re a little over three weeks from the first performance of Grease at Woodbridge – and there’s still plenty to do as you can imagine.
But you might be surprised to know what it really takes, what is needed and what goes into putting on a whole School production like Grease, because most of us only ever see the finished product – the performance.
What does it take to put something like this together? How many people are involved? How much time, commitment and hard work is needed? How many props are needed? How many hours are used rehearsing? How many people are needed backstage? How many musicians are involved?
Putting on a performance of this size and quality is no mean feat, and absolutely every minute spent rehearsing and every person involved works tirelessly to make sure that the audience has a fabulous time.
But as teachers at Woodbridge it’s also our job to ensure that the students involved in the production are not only enjoying themselves too, but learning and applying new skills which enable them to develop their knowledge and understanding of acting, performing, supporting, organising and participating in a production. Seven months of rehearsals will go into Grease, beginning last September and finishing literally the night before the first performance.
From collaboration to commitment, it’s all there at each and every rehearsal, in each and every person taking part – and we’re not just talking about the actors on stage; behind the scenes (pardon the pun!) there’s an army of technicians, dress makers, assistants, musicians and many more people without whom, the show really couldn’t go on.
There are so many facts and figures we could share with you about Grease, but for now enjoy and consider these!
- More than 150 people are involved in the production of Grease – on stage, in the band and behind the scenes.
- Over 200 hours of rehearsals will go into performing Grease, that’s over 12,000 minutes!
- Over 150 meters of wood has been used in the construction of the bleachers – the tiered seating – used in the show.
- A total of 19 songs are performed in the show, we bet you know the words to all of them so make sure you sing along on closing night!
- Over 1,200 lines are learned, rehearsed and delivered in the performance.
- 24 radio mics and over 250m of DMX light cable are needed for the show.
- The set takes three weeks to construct (and three days to break down!)
The last two weeks has been full of netball matches and even a tournament. Settling back into play very well, the U12A, U14B, U12C, U13A, U13C and U14B teams have been performing extremely well and setting the level we can anticipate as we continue throughout the season.
U12 A Netball Tournament
Having won the first-round of the U12 netball tournament in November, the team, who have been practicing hard since their win, were pumped and ready for the next stage of the tournament which took place last Tuesday.
The U12A team travelled to Chantry High School where their first game was against St Jo’s B team. A solid start, effective centre passes and consistent shooting meant the team came away with an impressive 19-0 win. Playing against the same school’s A team in their second game, our defenders picked up lots of interceptions and our centre court players delivered the ball well to shooters. Demonstrating consistency in not only shooting but in picking up any rebounds, we took away a win of 11-1.
It was East Bergholt up next and Woodbridge team players swapped around a little to make sure every player had the chance to play in different positions; this worked just as well as our previous games as we came away again with a win, 10-1.
We’d already played our next opponents Farlingaye during a friendly match last term, so the girls knew they had to pull out all the stops to make sure they came away with a win. And win they did, with a score of 12-1.
It was another 12-1 win against Ipswich High School in the team’s last match of the tournament, with Amelie and Izzy in the shooting circle, Felicity, Georgia, Annie and Rosie in centre court with Eva and Pip in defence.
Scoring 63 goals in total and only conceding three during five 12 minute matches, it’s clear to see how exceptionally well the team played throughout the afternoon; a fantastic effort and achievement demonstrating their sheer strength and depth in terms of both defence and attack.
A massive well done to all the girls who took part! Your performance bodes extremely well for the netball season, and we all look forward to the start of our future matches. Thank you also to all the parents and grandparents who spectated and supported the girls, as well as Mrs Gray for umpiring so that Miss Sanders could coach (and shout!) on the sideline!
U14B Woodbridge v Copleston, 13 January: 7-18 final score
The U14B team had their very first league match last week, a league which includes all the A teams for all schools. Unfortunately the score didn’t reflect the game – the difference being that Copleston had two very tall and accurate shooters.
A shaky first quarter saw the team then settle in and behind by just two goals per quarter from that point onwards. Poppy started to get her eye in and scored three goals in the last game, while Lily worked hard in centre court, passing some super balls into the circle.
Supported well by Lilianna and Ella, our player of the match was selected by the opposition and went to our team captain Tabitha who had worked tirelessly in defence, never giving up and deserving her recognition completely. Rose, Eve, Martha and Nancy all played their part in this strong fixture too – well done to everyone who played.
Our next match would be away, against Chantry on 20 January.
U12C/U13C Woodbridge v RHS, 19 January: 14-9 final score
It was a truly impressive first match of the season earlier this week as Woodbridge took on RHS. Captaining the game was Amelia, who led the girls demonstrating some great defensive work, reading the game extremely well and being dynamic in her movement.
Newcomer to Woodbridge having very recently joined the School, Francesca made some super timely passes, while Olivia in GK position showed tenacity in her role. When it came to the opposition, to choose who they thought should be player of the match, having impressively scored all 10 of the 14 match goals, their selection of GA Teddi was really no surprise!
Isabelle scored a further three, while Mila also scored one. Laura, Jemima, Evie and Ella all played their part in the match too, with the final winning score 14-9 – well done girls!
We look forward to our next match which takes place next Wednesday, 26 January.
U13A Woodbridge v RHS, 19 January: 23-14 final score
An outstanding display of netball set the U13As off on their season yesterday v RHS. Their very, very tall GS gave us a real task, but in all areas of our court play the girls rose to the challenge.
With some great shooting by Eloise and Millie, and centre court interceptions and play by Lily, Charlie, Margot DD, and Aurelia, we were ahead going into half time, knowing the third and fourth quarter dominance would be key.
Lyrah, Liya, Bea and Scarlett played amazingly well in the defensive third and although we were outdone in the air due to the height of the RHS GS, the girls battled well and did themselves proud, especially when winning the turnover ball.
A great start and thanks to all the support from the side-line!
U14B Woodbridge v Chantry, 20 January: 21-11 final score Player of the match Tabitha
Playing Chantry U14A team, the U14B netball team started as they meant to go on, with a 10-0 first quarter in their second league match.
The squad of ten rotated to allow development of all players; Caoimhe and Martha shared the GK role and defended well, and our shooters Poppy, Nancy and Ella had lots of opportunities to get goals in, as the squad worked really hard to intercept passes and gain control of the ball.
Player of the match, again selected by the opposition, was Tabitha whose interception as GD was instrumental in the successful result. Ella played in C position for half the match and stamped her authority around the court while later scoring several goals as GA.
All players played really well and deserved the final score of 21-11. The next match takes place on 3rd February against Holbrook.
Woodbridge had the privilege and honour of hosting the Suffolk Schools Cross Country Trials final in the School grounds on Thursday 13 January 2022. The School was buzzing with runners from all across Suffolk and of course students from Woodbridge. It was a perfect bright and crisp day, and certainly a sight to see around the School as runners competed throughout the morning and into the afternoon.
The event was well attended with around 400 runners, supported by their parents, family members and teachers.
Woodbridge had 37 runners taking part, all of whom ran with maximum effort, it was a delight to see and to hear them cheered on so well by the spectators.
11 runners finished in the top ten, three 1st places, three 2nd places and one 3rd place:
Senior girls:
1st – April (Y13)
3rd – Amy (Y12)
Minor girls:
1st – Felicity (Y7)
2nd – Alice (Y6)
Inter girls:
1st – Ruby (Y11)
2nd – Eloise (Y10)
Inter boys:
2nd – Henry (Y11)
A huge congratulations to those winners, and to everyone who took part including. Thanks also to those who attended to cheer on the students, as well as all those involved in the organisation and management of the event, ensuring the day was the success that it was.
Last weekend was incredibly busy for our cross country athletes, starting with Henry (Y11) racing his way to win the Essex U17 Cross Country title. In doing so, he secured his selection to compete at the UK Inter County Cross Country in Loughborough on Saturday 12 March as well as a place on the East of England team to compete in the London Mini Marathon in October.
Not to be outdone, Ruby (Y11) also did amazing well, achieving exactly the same by becoming Suffolk U17 Champion at the Suffolk County race last Sunday. Considering both students are in Year 11 and competing in a Year 11 and 12 race, they can both be extremely proud of themselves and their achievements.
Year 6’s Alice took gold in the U11 girls race at the same event, and as this was then combined with the U11 boys race, she became the overall winner, which was also a superb achievement – and really something special to watch. Marina (Y6) also achieved a top 10 place, finishing 7th overall.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came in the U13 girls race where Felicity (Y7) ran a great race to take bronze in 3rd place; closely followed by Charlie (Y8) in 4th place, both girls are now guaranteed selection for the UK Inter Counties taking place in March. Two others who might still be considered for selection were Aurelia (Y8) and Romilly (Y7) who came in 8th and 9th place respectively. Four in the top 10 meant a clear win for Woodbridge in the team competition at a club event, truly something to be extremely proud of as overall the U13 girls team took gold, beating all other running clubs in Suffolk!
Competing a year up in the boys U13 race, Year 6’s Digby continued his excellent winter, finishing 12th.
It really was a very good couple of days for Woodbridge School athletes, with their next race now being the Suffolk Schools Trial which is being hosted at the School on Thursday 13 January.
The Woodbridge Equestrian teams took a trip to Forest Edge on Saturday 27 November for the County and Hickstead Show Jumping qualifiers.
The team were able to field riders across all the heights from 70 to 110cm, and the day began with Harry (Y7) competing as an individual in the 70cm, finishing in an excellent 3rd place out of what was really a rather large class.
The 80cm team comprised of Phia (Y10), Harry (Y7) and Zac (Y7), who rode fantastic rounds finishing in 3rd place.
The 90 com team consisted of Katie (Y12), Lois (Y8), Eve (Y9) and Oscar (Y11) who finished in 3rd place overall with Lois finishing in 4th place individually.
Our 1m teams competed next. The first team, which included Eve (Y9), Ada (Y11), Lois (Y8) and Oscar (Y11), finished in 3rd place, the highest placed Suffolk team meaning qualification for Hickstead! Eve also took 6th place individually, qualifying as the highest placed Suffolk rider. Katie (Y12), Oscar (Y11), Ada (Y11) and Eve (Y9) also competed at this heights, and were lower placed.
The second of our events recently took place on Saturday 11 December, at Lime Kiln. On what was an incredibly cold, if not freezing day, the riders were up early to travel to Norfolk and ready to ride by 9.30am.
Jazzy from Year 5 was first up, kicking off the day in the most positive way by winning Class 1. Next up was the Prelim 7, and it was a Woodbridge one-two with Phia from Year 10 coming in 1st and Year 7’s Edie in 2nd.
The Prelim 14 was won by Oscar (Y11), Eve (Y9), Ada (Y11) and Issy (Y11) meaning qualification to represent Suffolk at the County Finals. Oscar just missed out qualifying as the top individual, finishing in an exceptionally close 2nd instead.
In the Novice, Woodbridge had an excellent set of results with Oscar (Y11) achieving 1st, Issy (Y11) 3rd, Katie (Y12) 4th Ada (Y11) 5th and Eve (Y9) coming 6th.
It was such a long day that Ada had to finish her test in the dark! But despite this, and the very cold weather, the team’s spirits remained high, and it was a successful day – huge well done to everyone that took part.
The School’s Head of Biology and European women’s Rugby team player, Lou Rickard, was recently presented with her first cap (having received her 50th and 100th previously but never her first!). Joining a group of Welsh players that had never received their first cap, she was presented hers by Thomas Davies CBE DL, a Welsh former Rugby Union wing and British Lions player. Having played international Rugby for Wales between 1966 and 1978, Thomas Davies is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams including Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Ryan Jones, Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Alun Wyn Jones – so it was quite an honor to meet the man and the player!
Following this presentation, Dr Rickard also attended an Inspirational Women’s event recently, where she was presented with and received her 100th cap from the Centurions. Only eight women in the world have received over 100 caps for their country, and four of them presented caps during this event. On the cap it states that Dr Rickard is centurion number 10, meaning she is the 10th centurion male and female (second female) to have got to 100caps. What an achievement!
The U12A netball team travelled to Northgate to play in a tournament against four other schools last Thursday afternoon, and despite the freezing cold weather spirits were high!
Their first match was against Orminston where Woodbridge took the match with 15-0. The next game against the B team from St Jo’s was also won, 12-0 and then the team faced Copleston. The temperature was starting to drop rapidly by now, so the team’s hands were getting colder and stiffer, and so it was inevitable that the team started making a few mistakes. Copleston went ahead and scored the first goal, but we soon regained our team structure, and the goals were converted; we were lucky to come away with another win 8-1.
With one match off, the team were sure to keep warm ahead of facing Northgate in the final game for that day. Keen to make it four out of four wins, the girls knew they had to continue playing how they had been, and making sure they stayed warm so that the ball wasn’t dropped. Straight off the first whistle the team played really well, coming away with a 10-0 win, meaning Woodbridge won the tournament overall, which was simply amazing!
45 goals scored in four, ten minute games is just phenomenal, showing how consistent the shooting was. With just one goal conceded in the entire tournament clearly demonstrates how strong the U12As are as defenders – a superb effort by all the girls, huge well done to everyone who took part; a particularly proud achievement given how very cold it was!
The team now looks forward to a second round tournament, playing against different teams (including the top two teams from the other two tournaments) on Tuesday 11 January 2022.
Another cold winter’s night saw the U12B team’s tournament being played, hosted by Farlingaye but luckily it was indoors at home in the Dome.
Going into the tournament the team knew the competition was going to be tougher than the last friendly match played against Farlingaye, but they were absolutely up for it!
In the first match the team were losing 3-0 at half time, but in the second half the girls stepped it up a gear and prevented Farlingaye from scoring, managing to score one goal themselves resulting in a 3-1 defeat unfortunately.
St Alban’s was next, another tough game with very tall players, but the team managed a 1-1 draw. Unlucky in the second half not to score two more goals like the opposition, the game finished 3-2 to them.
It was during the team’s next match against Claydon that they really found their shooting power! Sitting rather nicely at 7-1 by half time, the goals just kept coming, with an amazing final score of 13-1 to Woodbridge – what a win!
That solid win spurred the team on and into their next match against East Bergholt, and again the shooting was on form, alongside the defending. Coming away with yet another win, 7-3, the final results were in. East Bergholt came 1st, Farlingaye 2nd and Woodbridge got 3rd place – what a superb effort, the girls demonstrated the depth of the School’s Year 7 netball and the team are excited for the season to begin in January.
The team now have second round tournaments to play against the 3rd and 4th placed schools in the other two tournaments, which take place on Wednesday 12 January 2020. These tournaments are friendlies, and from them the U13 leagues are set for next September 2022.