Category: Senior School News
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!
Our 1st hockey team had a massive week; learning, improving and growing – also winning for all their efforts! Here’s our match report from Mrs Rix.
Tuesday we saw the team host Norwich School 2nd team where lots of chances were created but not taken, and it’s possible some complacency began to set in after the period of dominance when the first goal was scored by co-captain Clara (Y13). But Norwich would not lie down and kept hitting back to eventually score one of their counter attacks which had been threatening all game, taking the score to 1-1 with just ten minutes left to play. Woodbridge started to up their work rate and through persistent pressure managed to regain the lead with a rebound effort from Molly (Y13). The team managed to hold on to the 2-1 score to secure the victory, but all in all they knew they could have given so much more and been so much better.
Moving on to Thursday evening under the lights and we welcomed a very strong, physical and fast team from Culford. If the Woodbridge team ever had more to give it was in this match when they delivered in bundles! A fantastic team effort, a never give up attitude, never stop running approach and skills galore saw Woodbridge take a 2-0 at half time. Libbie (Y11) scored a fantastic first team goal, before Ashleigh (Y13) made it 2-0 from a second phase play at a penalty corner. At the other end of the pitch, Issy (Y13) was in goal with defenders Ella S (Y12), Steph (Y11) and Chloe (Y11) playing very well and maintaining the clean sheet making it harder for Culford to be rewarded for their own play and chances created.
The tides changed after half time and Culford got two cracking goals back to make it 2-2 with just 15 minutes left to play. This made for very tense but action packed moments as the game came to an end. Now it was Evie (Y12) in goal keeping Woodbridge in the game, making save after save much to the delight of the growing crowd! Woodbridge showed character, desire and belief, using their chances when they came. A perfect penalty corner saw Clara (Y13) tap the ball in to go ahead 3-2. This may just have broken the Culford spirits as fatigue levels were high on both sides, but Woodbridge pressed for more.
When the final whistle went both teams were spent! Woodbridge the victor and oh so satisfying following the best performance of the season so far, and what a way to go into half term!
Joint players of the match were our two amazing goalies, Issy (Y13) and Evie (Y12).
The tides changed after half time and Culford got two cracking goals back to make it 2-2 with just 15 minutes left to play. This made for very tense but action packed moments as the game came to an end. Now it was Evie (Y12) in goal keeping Woodbridge in the game, making save after save much to the delight of the growing crowd! Woodbridge showed character, desire and belief, using their chances when they came. A perfect penalty corner saw Ella S (Y12) tap the ball in to go ahead 3-2. This may just have broken the Culford spirits as fatigue levels were high on both sides, but Woodbridge pressed for more.
When the final whistle went both teams were spent! Woodbridge the victor and oh so satisfying following the best performance of the season so far, and what a way to go into half term! Joint players of the match were our two amazing goalies, Issy (Y13) and Evie (Y12).
Year 8 visited Foxburrow Farm, managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, on their Field Day trip this week, where they took part in a variety of activities.
Students began with pond dipping where they were given identification charts to work with in order to identify the types of creatures found, and then moved on to assessing the quality of the pond water. They were also tasked with an animal identification activity which involved observing the skulls of animals in order to identify them.
Students also visited the orchard to discover invertebrates, and found a rare species of newt that lives in this area of Suffolk – the Great Crested Newt, which is now a protected species.
Next was a visit to the forest where we learnt about leaves and their distinctive features, creating a key to help find out what type of leaf and which tree leaves originate from.
The trip was great fun, a super learning opportunity as well as the chance to learn and recognise how important it is to keep safe and conserve all wildlife, not just that found in Suffolk.
The School’s climbing group, who normally climb at the AVID Centre in Nacton, spent Field Day at the exciting new climbing centre in East London (Yonder) last week, which has been described as a 900m2 custom designed climbing nirvana! The new centre is a definite step up in terms of height, complexity and new features such as cave overhangs where heel and toe-hook could be practiced, as well as a particularly steep wall which could be moved forwards by 60 degrees to increase level of difficulty.
Molly, Ollie, Mauricio, Julia, Wilf and Tom from Year 13, Ben and Niklas from Year 11 and Bruce, Phoebe and Harry from Year 10 had a great time at the new centre – it was a great adventure, and one that hopefully we can repeat in future.
Climbing is open to Year 10 and above as one of the Seckford Scheme options.
Last Wednesday Woodbridge School stepped in at very short notice to host the county round of the English Schools’ Cross Country Cup. The Cup is a team event where six athletes across two year groups compete, with the first four to finish scoring for the school. We are very pleased to announce that all size Woodbridge School teams qualified for the regionals which are due to be run in Southend on Saturday 13 November:
- Junior boys and girls – Years 7 and 8
- Inter boys and girls – Years 9 and 10
- Senior boys and girls – Years 11 to 13
Any teams making the top three against the might of Essex in November will qualify for the nationals in Cornwall in December, where only 27 schools from around the country will earn the right to compete.
We also had an outstanding day for two of our top student athletes racing for their club Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers at the National Road Relays in Birmingham on Saturday last week.
Ruby, Year 11 competed for the U17 girls, starting the second leg in fifth place before storming through to finish second! The final leg runner was able to hold that position and the team were awarded Silver medals on the national stage. A first national team medal for Ruby who completed her 3.8KM in 13:38 to run the 10th fastest leg of the day.
Henry, also Year 11, competed for the Shaftesbury U17 boys’ team, helping them to a seventh place finish against the very best clubs in the country. Most impressively, Henry was also awarded an individual gold medal for running the fastest U17 leg at the nationals, competing the 3.8KM in just 11:42.
For the record, the Shaftesbury senior men won team bronze in the national six stage relay, rounding off a very successful day for the club.
The School second-hand shop for uniform and kit has been refurbished! Our maintenance team did a superb job of sprucing up the shop itself, so it’s even more inviting for students and parents to visit.
Open every Friday during Term time between 3.00pm and 4.45pm, a variety of uniform and sports kit is always available.
If you’d like to donate to the second-hand shop, we’d appreciate it if you could make sure each bag of clothing is labelled; this is to ensure that you receive 60% of any item sold. The remaining 40% will be donated to the School and go towards supporting a variety of projects from the development of the natural areas on the School grounds to the provision of iPads for students in class.
Our uniform is an integral part of our School’s identity, creating unity and equality across the student community – please refer to the Parent Handbook for full guidelines.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for our Hockey teams, with multiple Girls’ hockey matches played – here’s our update:
For our Juniors, the season started with a block fixture against Royal Hospital School; every student in Years 7 and 8 played and it was a real highlight of the School year so far as it was the first opportunity to play competitively since the season before last. The matches saw Junior 1s and 2s secure wins in both matches which were fast and competitive, but a great learning opportunity in terms of skills and development.
The U14A and U15B teams kicked their seasons off too, with the U14 and U16 County Cup respectively. Fast and furious, the pace and competitive natures of these matches provided an excellent learning curve for our teams. The U14s and U15s both secured third place; there were some outstanding performances on the pitch, beating Ipswich High School, RHS and St Joes.
U14B and U15B teams played away matches against Framlingham College, getting in their first 11-a-side matches played.
The School’s 1st team showed incredibly character and team work at the U18 County Cup to win the event. Before this event some practice matches were held against RHS at the start of term which resulted in a 1-1 score, followed by a game played over four quarters against Ipswich School with a 0-4 result. Against St Joes the team found their full flow, securing an incredibly comfortable victory.
This last weekend saw a number of changes in the team, and despite a very good performance away against Wymondham the result was just not to be. Caught three times on the counter, Woodbridge could only pull one goal back and had no choice but to settle for a 1-3 loss.
The 2nd team also played a great game against Wymondham despite a slightly less experienced team. Although the win went to the opposition the learning process for Woodbridge was very positive with some players shining through, looking to push for 1st team selection.
Last Saturday afternoon, in the lashing rain, the U14As took on Wymondham. A brilliantly supported match despite the awful weather, the team were cheered on by parents and grandparents, which was great support for the players. The U14s put on a great display of hockey for the crowd, moving the ball wide when attacking and getting in some great positions in front of the goal. Woodbridge went into half time ahead by two goals thanks to Year 9‘s Lara and Georgia G.
Wymondham came out during the second half, really going for it, and in a slight lapse of concentration by Woodbridge the opposition scored. It was a dangerous place to be with just ten minutes to go, however Woodbridge’s Bea slipped through and scored a great goal to give that comfortable lead and the victory, ending in 3-1.
Earlier in the term the School’s 2nd team secured a convincing win against Norwich High School for girls.
Coming now to earlier this week, on Tuesday the 1st and 2nd teams played against Langley, with 3-1 and 8-1 respective match scores. Our 1st team goal scorers were Ella, Clara, Molly, Ella and Ashleigh , while our 2nd team scorers were Ada, Issy and Elsa.
Last Tuesday saw our first football match of the season played by our Senior 1st team against Royal Hospital School. Conditions were good and spirits high, the entire team excited to have its first opportunity to play competitive football for some time.
In the first half Woodbridge connected more passes, but RHS fought hard to continually clear their lines. At the beginning of the second half Woodbridge took a well-deserved lead with a goal from Tom, but the team were almost immediately pegged back. A short while later a slotted penalty put us back in the lead, but again the opposition came back hard to provide a very tense and exciting finish. Woodbridge 2 – RHS 2. It really was a solid start to the new season, a well-played match by the whole squad.
The season continued this week with our Senior team playing against Thomas Mills this Tuesday. A slightly chillier and good deal windier this week, but this didn’t dampen the team spirit. Woodbridge settled quite well into the match during the early stages, but went behind to a whipped in corner. Our equaliser came from Tom’s (Y13) dancing feet, followed by a neat finish from Reece, but we then conceded from yet another corner. In the second half we ticked the post and pranged the crossbar, but then conceded two more goals from Thomas Mills. Unfortunately it was a 4-1 loss, but the team had a great match despite the score, and a find win is surely not far away…
Having been blessed with some great (although somewhat warm at times) weather, a good number of students from Years 7 and 8 turned out to compete in the second leg of the School’s House Cross Country last Friday.
Running as individuals, contributing to overall house totals and positions, the final distance for Year 7 and 8 was 2.4Km, with students from Years 9 and 10 running 3.2Km in total.
The following students were awarded their places as detailed:
Year 7 Girls
1st Seckford
2nd Burwell
3rd Annott
4th Willard
1st Felicity
2nd Romilly
3rd Sophie
Year 7 Boys
1st Seckford
2nd Annott
3rd Burwell
4th Willard
1st Oscar
2nd Isaac
3rd Arthur
Year 8 Girls
1st Burwell
2nd Annott
3rd Seckford
4th Willard
1st Charlie
2nd Eloise
3rd Aurelia
Year 8 Boys
1st Burwell
2nd Seckford
3rd Willard
4th Annott
1st Jasper
2nd Oli
3rd Sam
Year 9 Girls
1st Seckford
2nd Annott
3rd Burwell
4th Willard
1st Rose
2nd Lara
3rd Libby
Year 9 Boys
1st Annott
2nd Willard
3rd Seckford
4th Burwell
1st Oser
2nd Andrea
3rd Jacob
Year 10 Girls
1st Seckford
2nd Willard
3rd Burwell
4th Annott
1st Amelie
2nd Phoebe
3rd Millie
Year 10 Boys
1st Annott
2nd Seckford
3rd Burwell
4th Willard
1st Jack
2nd Brucey
3rd James
During this week’s Model United Nations Club in School, which is already proving to very popular, students had the opportunity to simulate a UN press conference. Small groups were assigned a country and the activity involved researching key contemporary political, social and economic events.
This research was presented by each group from the point of view of their government, and groups were asked to answer questions about that research in a press conference format /style.
Highlights included the French government representative group being forced to justify the relatively limited ambitions of their resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees, while representatives of the Taliban government of Afghanistan were aggressively questioned regarding their claim that violence is not their policy and that women have basic rights.
It was a superb effort by all involved, well done to all that attended and presented. A particularly good activity for students in their last two years of secondary education, with universities valuing MUN extremely highly when considering applications, students can join us every Tuesday at 1.45pm in T21.