Category: Senior School News
We start our rugby round-up reporting on our U12A match against Colchester Royal Grammar School last Friday afternoon where the team celebrated their first win of the season with 10 tries to 8. It’s fair to say that having been on the receiving end of some losses this season, it was important for everyone that the game started strongly, so it was disappointing to miss two tackles from the kick-off and concede a try literally within seconds (eight!). But credit to the team who began to tackle, kept a high defensive press, turned over a few balls in the ruck and then found some space and form with ball in hand. Tries were scored at both ends of the pitch and the travelling support was treated to a very open game of rugby that was well handled by our host referee. Woodbridge squeaked home by 10 tries to 8, hopeful that spirits will now have received a boost for the rest of the season.
Last Wednesday saw our U13A team play Orwell Park, where the score was 8-3 in favour of the competition. In very wet and windy conditions the team were faced with, quite frankly, a group of giants to play against. However, even though the team went three tries to nil down, they worked extremely hard, focusing on tackling and moving the ball away from contact as quickly as they possibly could. This resulted in two excellent tries ahead of half time, leaving the score at 5-2. With simple messages given to the team to focus on being aggressive in defence, tackling and moving the ball away from contact, the first ten minutes saw a strong attack, moving successfully from one side of the field to the other. It was only down to some desperate defending that more tries were stopped successfully, however, after the longest period of play in U13 history the team eventually scored making the game 5-3. But there were three late tries from Orwell Park, ending the match in 8-3. Great effort from all players and some valuable lessons learned.
This U13A team also faced Colchester in a match on Friday after a long trip on the team bus. There were three of four phases of attacking play ahead of losing the ball, and unfortunately the opposition had several enormous players playing two man rugby which quickly saw three tries in a matter of minutes from the opposition. However, having realised what was happening pressure was applied quickly through tackling before any pace was gathered; this meant they could be stopped in their tracks! The next 40 minutes saw some superb play with domination from Woodbridge, by passing and using phase play – three tries to their one, being stopped several times on the try line. Sam (Y8), Jasper (Y8) and the entire back line were particularly impressive, creating attack after attack and making several quick counter-attacks all whilst defending like trojans. Theo (Y8) and Rowan (Y8) also made several outstanding and brave tackles during the match, and with only 30 seconds left on the clock, Colchester scored their last try as Woodbridge coughed up the ball pushing for a final try. With tenacity and determination in bucket-loads, the team put in an impressive effort.
Meanwhile the U12B team beat Culford 7-2 in their latest match at home this week, a much-needed victory having lost earlier in the season to this team and a far better account of themselves was needed given they were on home turf. The match saw what can only be described as a definite increase in intensity, physicality and ability – from both sides. One might describe the match as looking and playing like ‘big boy’ rugby, with no quarter given! Stong and agile running from Lade (Y7) and Monty (Y7) gave Woodbridge a lead by half time, but it was an aggressive and heroic display by George (Y7) that really caught everyone’s eye. A well-played match on both sides in a combative game of B team rugby.
Other matches included the U13B team who left with a win against Culford 9-8 after what was clearly a very close match, and the 1st XV team played Kings Ely bringing home 8 tries for 6 and take that win too.
Regional round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup
Six Woodbridge School teams competed in the regional round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup which was held in Southend on Saturday 13 November. It was an extremely exciting competition, with three of our teams qualifying and going through to the nationals due to be held 4 December in Newquay, Cornwall.
Team results were as follows:
The Junior girls finished an incredible 3rd at their first ever regional event. Congratulations to Aurelia (Y8), Charlie (Y8), Eloise (Y8), Felicity (Y7), Romilly (Y7) and Sophie (Y7).
Our senior girls won the regionals and congratulations go to Ruby (Y11), April (Y13), Amy (Y12) and Izzy (Y11) – with Ruby taking individual 1st and April 2nd.
The senior boys team were also crowned regional champions with congratulations to Henry (Y11), Kit (Y13), Charlie (Y13), Jonny (Y11) and Obi (Y11) – with Henry coming in 1st and Kit in 2nd place.
Our junior boys, inter girls and inter boys all came 10th place celebrating the amazing achievement of competing at the regionals in great spirits.
Cornwall will mark the fifth national cup final in succession for Woodbridge School cross country athletes, all of whom should be congratulated on their achievements.
English National Cross Country Relays
The English National Cross Country Relays took place in Mansfield on the weekend of 6 November, with Y11’s Henry a key member of the silver medal-winning team.
Competing for his club, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, and competing against the very best cross country athletes in the country, Henry won the first leg and in doing so ran the fastest U17 leg of the day. Henry is now the fourth student from Woodbridge to medal with the club at a national event in the last two years.
Year 11’s Ruby was less fortunate in that her team had no runner for the final leg of their relay, however, she still ran the second fastest U17 leg of the day and would have finished third if she had run the first leg of the U20 women’s race – going to show just how fast the younger athletes were running.
Shaftesbury’s U20 men’s team won gold, adding to the club’s national collection, with Kit (Y13) and Nathan (OW) competing for the second team. Kit ran the second leg moving the team from 35th to 26th position, while Nathan ran the final leg taking the team from 26th to a competitive 17th.
It was a similar experience for Year 13’s April, whose team finished 14th in the U20 women’s race, running a brilliant leg to record the 9th quickest U20 second leg of the day.
The day was rounded off nicely with the Shaftesbury senior men’s team taking gold in the final race!
Mr Davis reports on this week’s football, celebrating the game despite the defeat:
There’s no disgrace in losing to one of the best school football teams I’ve ever seen, and our 5-0 defeat by Norwich last Tuesday at Redmayne Fields was testament to that. Every man knew their job, but Norwich made the pitch huge in attack with willing runners everywhere making the pitch tiny when defending, with sharp tackling and snapping all over the park.
Yes, Woodbridge were slow to start after a long coach journey, but we played with courage and determination, and we had goalkeeper Sam to thank throughout the match for protecting the goal and keeping the score line down.
Despite our disappointment at losing the match, we played well, observed some great tactics and will certainly learn and develop from the experience, which is what playing is about. The game was superbly refereed by former England International Dean Ashton, a member of Norwich coaching staff and we all left the match agreeing – life is always better with football than without, no matter what the score!
Dr Lou Rickard, the School’s Head of Biology reports on her recent selection to play for the first ever W40 (Women’s) team in Europe.
In common with many sports, the international touch rugby match calendar was suspended for two years due to COVID.
It was therefore fantastic to be selected to play for the first ever W 40 (Women’s) team in Europe. Other than our European team, Australia and New Zealand are the only other two nations able to field teams in this age category. Our multinational Eurostars team was entered into the European Touch (Rugby) Seniors Tournament in the Women’s 27s division taking place in Coimbra, Portugal. There were eight teams, including our own, in the championships: Ireland 27s & 35s; Scotland 27s; Portugal 27s; Switzerland 27s, France 27s and Eurocomets 27s.
Playing in a European team was an incredible opportunity. It was a privilege to play alongside individuals against whom you normally compete. It was exciting to perform in a team that plays in a totally different style to our English team. Since the European team had not trained together, playing provided a significant challenge, compounded by the obvious language barriers.
Altogether, this was a wonderful occasion to meet old friends and meet new players from around the world. Portugal was beautiful in autumn and the hosts very welcoming – a very worthwhile experience.
With the boarders returning last Sunday, it was only right to celebrate with a cooked breakfast at the house; it was also Halloween so there was also a spooky Trick or Treat event.
For those students experiencing their first UK winter, the change in temperature was a hot topic of conversations, which prompted a wider discussion about climates and the importance of the COP26. Suggestions were made, including those which the boarders could put in place at the house to help reduce their own emissions, recognising that everyone has a responsibility to support efforts to reduce the impact on our environment.
This week there have been a number of Year 9 students trialing boarding at Woodbridge, it’s been great to spend time with them, hear their feedback and see our current boarders integrate them into the house and the community. Current boarders shared their experiences with those trialing, explaining the advantages it can offer and the value the boarding community has within School.
As the second half of term began, boarders Andrea (Y9) and Lucas (Y9) represented Woodbridge in the U14A rugby team, both scoring a try making important tackles and line breaks throughout the match. Andrea bringing a real flair to the team’s play and Lucas delivering strong play and reading the game extremely well. As the boarders head into the weekend they have plans to see the new Marvel film ‘Elements’, as well as some Christmas planning to get underway for the end of term celebrations.
The first of three Suffolk Schools’ Cross Country trials took place on Thursday 14th October, with nearly 50 Woodbridge School cross country athletes travelling to RHS to compete.
It was a cracking day, the students’ performances were exceptional with over 90% of our athletes finishing in the top 50 of 150 runners, qualifying for the second trial which takes place on 27th November.
Full results can be seen at www.suffolkschoolsathletics.info (using the download button and not the view button, on the cross country page).
Although largely an individual event, our team performances were noteworthy indeed; more than 60 Suffolk schools entered the competition, which for the first trial is competed in two halves to cater for the number of students racing.
Assuming there are 30 schools in our South East competition, for the ease of analysis, the team results were as follows, looking at the top 4 finishers from each school in each age group.
Minor Girls : 1st
Junior Girls : 1st
Inter Girls : 1st
Minor Boys: 4th
Junior Boys :4th
Inter Boys : 3rd
We did not enter full teams in the Seniors.
Eight medals were won for top three individual finishes as follows:
Minor Girls: Felicity (Gold) and Alice (Silver)
Junior Boys: Angus (Bronze)
Inter Girls: Ruby (Gold) and Eloise (Bronze)
Inter Boys: Henry (Gold)
Senior Girls: April (Silver)
Senior Boys: Kit (Silver)
From the first trial we estimate that over 15 athletes are in contention for the Suffolk Schools Country Team, to compete at the Anglian Schools Cross Country Championships which we’re thrilled to be hosting in February 2022. And between 7 and 10 of those athletes being in contention for the reduced Suffolk Schools Team to compete at the prestigious Englis Schools Cross Country Championships in Kent next March.
Huge congratulations to every athlete that took part, and a huge thank you to staff and parents for attending and giving such fantastic support on the day.
Cross Country athletes have a busy November ahead of them, with a number of them competing at the National Cross Country Relays in Mansfield on Saturday 6th November. We can also look forward to all six Woodbridge School age group teams competing at the regional round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup in Southend on 13th, followed by the second Suffolk Schools Cross Country Trial on 27th.
Over half term our equestrian teams were competing at the National Schools Equestrian Championships, held at Keysoe, Bedfordshire over the weekend of 22nd to 25th October, with schools from around the country attending. The students were kept busy taking part and competing in dressage, show jumping with style, eventers challenge and the regional points league.
The School had one team and two individuals qualify in dressage, although Ada (Y11) couldn’t compete as an individual as she had changed horses, and you are only able to compete on your original horse. Lily (Y?) competed in the novice category, and achieved a smashing 9th place with 68.75% out of 34 starters.
The mixed team were riding at prelim level with Katie (Y12) and Phia (Y10), whilst Lily (Y12) and Ada (Y11) were riding at novice level. Katie (Y12) rode a super test for 63.52% (although we all felt it should have been higher!), and Phia (Y10) gained a whopping 73.33%!
Up next were Ada (Y11) and Lily (Y12); although she’d had very little warm up time as she was jumping just 20 minutes before, Ada rode a calm test for 64.04% while Lily gained 62.12%.
The majority of the team had been jumping prior to their tests but managed to get their heads back to dressage and behaved in a calm and professional manner, something we can all be very proud of.
With 24 teams in total, Woodbridge came in 11th overall, the team can look forward to the next competition.
In show jumping with style two teams competed over two high and technical courses; riding really well and all coming away with rosettes. Both courses had tricky lines and fences that the team hadn’t seen before, but they all did a fantastic job, especially stepping up to that level of competition.
The 70cm team came in 9th place out of a strong field – well done to Phia (Y10), Zac (Y7) and Harry (Y7).
The 80cm team which comprised of Phia (Y10), Lois (Y9), Harry (Y7) and Zac (Y7) finished in a great position of 7th place.
Our show jumping team did equally as well with Oscar (Y11), Katie (Y12), Ada (Y11), Eve (9) and Lois (Y9) riding fantastic rounds on some very technical and up to height courses.
A great experience for all the Woodbridge riders, competing on a higher level of course than they do locally; they look set to continue to qualify for many more Nationals to come.
Well done Woodbridge!
This week we started the CREST Award in Science Club, and completed the first challenge – Crafty Rafts!
A scheme that inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers, CREST offers students the opportunity to learn through hands-on challenges, exploring the world around them.
Students from Years 7 and 8 worked towards achieving their SuperStar CREST Award by attempted to build Crafty Rafts with a range of very simple materials. The young engineers were provided with sellotape, masking tape, staples and just one piece of A4 paper, all of which had to be transformed into a raft that would be capable of holding marbles – without sinking! Students weren’t allowed to cut the paper, so creative folding…unfolded (sorry)!
Through the very clever use of sellotape as a waterproof material, one particular group build a raft capable of holding 148 marbles; a single piece of paper, waterproofed and folded to create a raft able to hold this enormous amount of weight. Not only was this a magnificent creation and achievement, but it was about double the weight last year’s best raft was able to hold.
Two other teams got well over 50 marbles in theirs, and another one got nearly 120, but alas the goalposts had been shifted!
Did you know? The first rubber raft was made by Lt. John Fremont and Horace H. Day believed to be built it the 1840s. They planned to survey the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. Although invented back then, it wasn’t until the turn of the century that the first commercial rafting trip took place.
We’ve had an explosion of activities in the English department this half term, it’s been incredibly busy and the department has been buzzing.
Our Poetry Now group has met each Monday, a chance for intrepid poets to explore reopened spaces around them and pledged new commitments to personal goals. Students have been inspired particularly by Theresa Lola’s 70th anniversary poem for the Royal Festival Hall, William Carlos Williams and Glyn Maxwell’s ‘Sorrynotsorry’ work, and Lauren Zuniga’s personal manifesto.
Twilight sessions have brought students together to discuss thoughts and feelings about Paradise Lost, with our ambitious sixth form students wanting to explore the ultra-curriculum alongside their A Level studies. The students are also making their way through Milton’s astonishing epic poem, considering themes that speak to us more, or less, readily in the 21st Century; acknowledging our current distance from the religious knowledge so familiar to so many other readers.
Our Finding Your Voice sessions have proven to be both entertaining and thought-provoking, with students experimenting with techniques to build confidence in speaking in public. By analysing their own body language, speech behaviour in conversation and explored techniques, students have learnt how to keep discussions moving forwards. Topics discussed have ranged from gender to the needs of individuals in society – landing on a passionate debate on whether footballers are paid too much! Finding Your Voice meets regularly each week on Wednesdays at 1.15pm.
The School has been buzzing on Thursday lunchtimes with the excited exchange of ideas about favourite books and recommendations in our Book Share, all led by students from Year 7, 8 and 9. Mr Lawley, Ms Gardner and Mr Maxton could barely be heard above the brouhaha each week – which is just how it should be! Students are welcome to join the Book Share each week on Thursdays, all that’s needed is a book to swap, recommend or read from. As Lemony Snicket said, ‘Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.’
The Essay competition has launched! Copies of the titles have been available for students to pick up; those that have wished to participate have been encouraged to practise some of the skills they’ve been developing in School, and encouraged to write about something they feel passionate about. The competition is open to all students in Year 10 or 11, and closes on Monday 22nd November 2021.
And finally, students applying for University and taking the ELAT exam have been supported with both group and individual teaching which has taken place in School since August.
With a variety of co-curricular activities and opportunities for all students, we always encourage students to look out for upcoming activities and events they can get involved with.
Last week both the U14 and U16 netball teams had their respective South Suffolk netball tournaments. These tournaments lead on to a County round then on to Regionals, and finally to the biggest schools competition in netball, the National Schools Competition – so there was everything to play for.
It’s been a long time since some of the students have been on the netball court playing School netball, so there was a great deal of excited anticipation in the air, for the players and the teachers.
In the U14A tournament six matches lay ahead before play offs and then the final, despite playing a round robin format. The afternoon started brilliantly with 9-0 wins against RHS, followed by a closer match against Farlingaye which was won with a final score of 10-6.
Ipswich High School was next and the girls kept their winning streak alive with a 7-0 win. Next up it was Ipswich School, probably the toughest match of them all, particularly as when the School played them last at U12 level the match ended in a draw. The game was end to end which was well fought by both teams, but with only ten seconds left on the clock unfortunately Ipswich managed to sneak one more goal taking them one ahead in the final score of 7-6 to the opposition. The team felt slightly deflated it’s fair to say, as they really had given their all in this game, but that didn’t stop them in their quest to win the remaining matches.
Playing against St Joesph’s College and Ipswich School B team in the last two matches resulted in two wins of 8-3 and 13-1 enabling them to gain second place overall.
The team faced Ipswich High again in the semi-final (even though they had come second) and played their absolute hearts out to ensure the School came away with another win, which they did nicely with a 12-5 final score.
With a place in the final against Ipswich School A team (and a place already secured in the Country round on 13 November), the team wanted very much to take the pressure off and enjoy the final match. The decision was made to play the game in different positions, something they really enjoyed and had a lot of fun with, knowing they’d had a tough but very successful afternoon.
And what a tournament for the U16A team, the girls did themselves and the School extremely proud; there were only four matches, but also play offs and a final to content with to ensure a top three place was reached in order to gain a place at the County tournament.
The first match was a tough one to start with, and it was RHS who were the team’s opposition. Both teams put in 100% effort into the first game of the tournament and the match was end to end. With luck on their side Woodbridge managed to go ahead by one goal in the last 30 seconds, preventing RHS from catching up against our 12-11 win.
Chantry Academy were next after the team had sat off for two matches, so a warm up game was needed in preparation for the last two matches which were predicted to be tough. The students truly connected as a team and played some great netball to come away with an 18-2 win.
Feeling tired as a team but knowing what needed to be done to win the last two matches, another end to end game felt a little frustrating with some of the decisions made, but the girls kept their cool and heads up to secure a draw of 15-15.
Last to play in the round robin was Ipswich School and the team started strong with accurate passing and incredibly consistent shooting. At half time the team were one goal ahead and so the team needed to play their hearts out if they were going to keep the lead – and indeed they did. What came next was just amazing, superb interceptions made by the defenders excellent centre court play bringing the ball down, with the most incredible shots from the edge of the shooting circle that didn’t even touch the ring as they shot through.
The team were in the lead and stayed there for the rest of the second half, and although they were tired the girls knew they had to keep going and fight with everything they had. The final whistle blew with the score at 16-11 to us, and the knowledge that we had come first overall (before the play offs) in the tournament!
A semi-final match against Ipswich High saw the team lose unfortunately so the last attempt the team had to secure a place in the next round was against RHS. Sitting on 2-2 at half time, then 5-5 at full time resulted in an extra two minutes of time each way on this match. It was a nail biting game because although the team had won overall they still needed to win this game to go through to the County round. As the final whistle blew Woodbridge were 9-5 ahead and celebrated their win in the knowledge that they were on their way to the County round.
Despite training having been sparse due to the team having many commitments, both the students and School are extremely proud of the achievements in these tournaments. It’s clear how passionate the girls are and how much they want to succeed; it seems they never give up and always give it their all.
So we’re off to the County tournament on Saturday 13 November, be sure to have that date in your diaries.
Fantastic work Woodbridge, and great team spirit as ever!
