Category: Senior School News

Mr Garvie, the Woodbridge School DofE coordinator, was delighted to have been invited to the DofE Gold Presentation event at Buckingham Palace on Monday 13 May 2019, as a special regional guest.  Around 3000 young people received their awards at this prestigious event. 

Woodbridge School pupil, Saxon, joined our elite band of Woodbridgians who have received their Gold Award while still at school; demonstrating once again that endeavour, commitment, generosity and challenge are well worth celebrating – and what finer place to celebrate than Buckingham Palace!  Saxon was joined at the Palace by three recent OWs who have also completed this tremendously worthwhile journey. Well done Imogen Bacon, Will Martin and Georgina Saunders.

Many congratulations to our very impressive quartet.

On London Marathon Sunday, 28 April 2019, three Woodbridge School athletes were selected to represent the East of England team at the London Mini Marathon. The London Mini Marathon takes place over the final three miles of the actual marathon course, just one hour before the start of the main event.

Each region in England selects a competitive team as do Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This means that around 100 of the top athletes from across Britain compete in each age group. On top of this, each London Borough enters a team so on race day around 200 athletes take part in U13, U15 and U17 races. Each race also serves as the British three mile age group road championship.

April competed for the East in the U15 girls, her third race in four years, completing the race in just over 18 minutes for 45th place and as third scorer for the East. April will now switch her attention to the track where she will attempt to qualify for English Schools 1500m, an event where she made the final last year finishing a magnificent 12th.

Nathan had achieved selection for the third year in succession, finishing in 54th place with his three mile time at 15:34 (5:11 mile pace) was a 22 second improvement on last year and a full minute ahead of his first attempt. Such is the quality of this event that the European 1500m champion, Kane Elliot from Scotland finished in 55th, one place behind Nathan. Nathan was 4th scorer for team East and thoroughly enjoyed his final London Mini Marathon.

Ruby was competing in the U13 girls’ race and gave a spectacular performance… which saw her win the U13 girls’ London Mini Marathon title! Ruby competed for the first time last year and finished in the top 20 a year young. After her amazing winter we felt a top 5 finish was within Ruby’s grasp. As we watched the athletes run along the Embankment, just after the half way point, Ruby was tucked in the lead bunch in about 6th place and everything seemed to be going to plan. Supporters then made their way to the finish to find out the eventual result. Unbelievably, Ruby had made her break from the bunch in the final kilometre to forge ahead and win by a clear six seconds and in doing so she also helped Team East to Bronze. Her time at 17:14 (5:45 per mile for three miles at the age of 12) was the 14th quickest of all of the girls competing on the day irrespective of age and remember, just the very best in Britain get selected to compete!

Ruby from Woodbridge School is British three mile road Champion.

Congratulations to all three athletes; and what an inspirational performance by Ruby!

Our Young Enterprise team this year goes by the name of Durable, Organic, Green, or D.O.G. for short. They have developed a business from scratch making and selling dog leads and accessories which are made from hemp. Earlier this week they travelled to Norwich to compete in the Norfolk/Suffolk showcase and for a chance to go through to the regional final later this year.   

After a long drive the team was in good spirits and happily set to erecting their trade stand beautifully designed by Lily. Meanwhile the presentation team prepared for their big moment on stage. Oli, Manging Director, led the presentation with a rousing call to arms to fight the influx of plastic leads and buy British hemp. 

The presentation was slick, and amused the audience with one or two funny lines alongside its very professional main script. Following the trade stand interview the field was whittled down to six teams who promptly performed their presentations again. 

The Judges took little time to decide the top four to go through to the regional final. However they kept us on tenterhooks right till the end as Woodbridge was the last to be told they had a place in the regional final  on 5 June in Cambridge. The team returned to Suffolk and celebrated an excellent win over a little light repast. 

Many, many congratulations to our cohort of nearly 50 candidates in last term’s LAMDA exams. Between them they secured a stunning 34 distinctions and 12 merits further to burnish the Woodbridge School tradition of fantastic public performance in all its guises!

Grade 1

• Caitlyn: Musical Theatre (Distinction)
• Poppy: Musical Theatre (Distinction)
• Phoebe: Acting (Distinction)
• Alexander: Acting (Distinction)

Grade 2

• Mae: Acting (Distinction)
• Lala: Acting (Distinction)
• Nancy: Acting (Distinction)

Grade 3

• Eloise: Acting (Distinction)
• Oliver: Acting (Distinction)
• James: Acting (Distinction)
• Isobel: Acting (Distinction)
• Esme: Acting (Distinction)
• Charlotte: Acting (Distinction)
• Maggie: Acting (Merit)
• Chloe: Acting (Merit)
• Rose: Acting (Merit)

Grade 4

• Alice: Acting (Distinction)
• Amelie (Distinction)
• Isla: Acting (Distinction)
• Madeleine: Acting (Distinction)
• Evelyn: Acting (Distinction)

Grade 5

• Phoebe: Verse and Prose (Distinction)
• Etaine: Verse and Prose (Distinction)
• Ruben: Acting (Distinction)
• Lakisha: Acting (Merit)

Grade 6

• Amber: Acting (Distinction)
• Hope: Acting (Distinction)
• Amelia: Acting (Distinction)
• Petronella: Acting (Merit)
• Tom: Acting (Merit)
• Sophie: Speaking in public (Merit)
• Felix: Speaking in Public (Merit)
• Alexander: Acting (Merit)
• Oliver: Verse and Prose (Distinction)
• Ella: Acting (Distinction)
• Emily: Acting (Distinction)
• Beatrice: Acting (Distinction)
• Tom: Acting (Distinction)
• Lily: Acting (Distinction)
• Arthur: Acting (Distinction)
• Alfie: Acting (Distinction)
• Thomas: Speaking In Public (Merit)

Grade 7

• Toby: Acting

Grade 8

• Daniella: Acting (Merit)
• Madelaine: Acting (Merit)
• Sam: Acting (Distinction)
• Isabelle: Acting (Distinction)

This was a truly marvellous culmination of an astonishing fortnight of music making.

The individual competition, in its new guise, was a fantastic success: musicians excelling; extraordinary variety; and the full panoply of instruments on display, from drum kit to voice via woodwind, brass, keyboard, percussion and strings.

It takes a brave person to stand, alone, in front of your peers and elders, and perform.  To perform brilliantly adds an impressive twist!  To be judged… is intimidating, or could be.  But under the wonderfully sympathetic, positive and watchful eye (and ear) of our expert adjudicator Mr Ben Parry (thank you, sir, for your skilful and heartfelt judgments) every one of our contestants must have felt appreciated, guided, and enriched.

But winners there must be, and, acknowledging as he did that on a different night, with a different choice of piece, in front of a different adjudicator things might well have been otherwise, Mr Parry chose the following for particular commendation:

Beginner Class:

1st place: Charlotte (flute – No Dice – Paul Hart)

2nd place: Esme (marimba – Menuet in G – J S Bach)

3rd place: Isaac (drum kit – Barracuda – Heart)

Intermediate Class:

1st place: James (cello – The Gadfly – Shostakovich) 

2nd place: George (double bass- America – Bernstein)

3rd place: Ellen (oboe- Gavotte – Boyce)

Advanced Class:

1st place: Lewis (tuba – Concerto for Bass Tuba – Vaughan Williams)

2nd place: Jenny (violin – 3rd Violin Sonata – J S Bach)

3rd place: Billy piano – Sonata No. 4 – Beethoven)

Writing this, I notice only now that nine instruments and eight composers are represented, five boys and four girls – how’s that for diversity and a true reflection of the glorious spectrum music offers at Woodbridge?

Mr Parry was full of praise for the performers; and Mr Turner added his thanks both to them and to their near-hundred peers who took part in the competition, to all the staff who have supported them on the way, and of course to Mr Parry.  What an evening.  What a finale!

Last Tuesday I and three others went on an exciting chemistry trip to Cambridge. Here, alongside many other schools in the region, we took part in a series of practical experiments and produced a sample of the drug Paracetamol. The sample was then tested for purity using a variety of techniques including Thin Layer Chromatography, TLC, and infra-red spectrometry.

The practical was followed up with an exhilarating talk on the periodic table due to its 150 years anniversary. This talk consisted of a short history lesson followed by flames, bright and coloured lights, explosions and other thrilling chemical reactions. It was a captivating and inspiring experience that I would recommend to anyone interested in chemistry.

James, Year 9

This was the final match of the season and the league decider. Ipswich School had won the South Suffolk Tournament so we were particularly motivated.

The girls started very well. With a slight change to our usual formation with Georgie at GD and Nancy at C we held Ipswich well for the first half of the match, playing some patient and well thought through netball, coming infront, passing effectively and keeping the strong Ipswich attack in check in defence with Selena, Georgie, Isabel and Nancy turning over the ball a number of times. Up front, Charlotte H and Charlotte C moved and shot well in the circle, and at half time we were still very much in touch at 7-10. Unfortunately the 2nd half saw a number of errors creep into our game, allowing Ipswich to get into their stride and tease out a greater advantage.  Our girls’ work rate was excellent throughout and this was a performance with some real areas of strength and positivity, but in terms of victory it wasn’t to be as Ipswich took the honours by 12-27. 

This squad has been a pleasure to work with over the season with great work rate and desire to learn. They have a huge amount of promise for the future; well done girls.

The run in to the finish for the league is proving exciting for the U13A team!

Against Ipswich High things could hardly have been closer: it was always going to go to the wire and we knew we had to win to give ourselves a chance in winning the league.  We were down at quarter time 4-7 with the High gaining the early advantage but with some great attacking play and determination from Maddie, Steph and Esme we pulled our way back to draw level at half time. Libbie gained the measure of her GA and Ada was brilliant as GK.  Ruby was, as ever, active around the whole court and did a fantastic job feeding the circle along with Izzy, Maggie and Chloe, helping them get the ball up the court.  We went into the last quarter four goals up… could we hold our nerve?  Yes, thank goodness and victory was secured by 22-20!  It was a close run thing with only two goals in it but there were huge sighs of relief on the sidelines.

Next was Ipswich School… and another thriller…. full of pressure… and nerves.  Although we were always chasing the game we had some fantastic periods of play and the girls did themselves and the school, (and Mrs Johnson!), (and all the parents on the sidelines!) really proud.  Maddie showed her utter determination and worked well in the attack with Ruby, Esme, Steph and Izzy.  The defence of Maggie, Chloe, Ada and Libbie showed that they work indomitably well together too – indeed no one’s effort ever flagged.  In the end, though, Ipswich squeezed out the win by 15-14, so our A team now have to play our B team and score lots of goals to win the league.  Now there’s a prospect!

The annual Staff vs Leavers football match is always an eagerly awaited contest and the large crowd on Tollers were treated to a gladiatorial epic. The Leavers took an early lead when Chisom outjumped everyone at a well delivered corner to powerfully head home from close range; was a thrashing on the cards? The Staff showed great resolve to thwart the early running of their much younger counterparts; Messrs Denvir, Capjon and Patten were strong at the back while Messrs Wright, Simpson and Walsh provided the steel in midfield. With half-time approaching a terrible mix-up in the Leavers defence led to a catastrophic own-goal and the sides went in at the break all-square. The second half saw a number of good chances at both ends but it took a very good goal to break the deadlock: Joe turned neatly on to his favoured right peg and unleashed an unsaveable shot into the far corner. Once again the staff came back as Mr Walsh fired one in-off the post to bring the score back to 2 – 2. The Staff were then awarded a penalty kick with some sections of the crowd accusing Mr Smith of simulation. Up stepped the “Inbetweener” – Mr Cotton – who saw his penalty well-saved by the excellent Ali. It wasn’t long before the Leavers found themselves in front again when the unlikely footballer Oliver W pounced upon a defensive error. But once again the Leavers were pegged back as Mr Denvir forced home a scrappy third after a goalmouth scramble. More chances came thick and fast at both ends with fatigued bodies (mainly Staff) being pushed to their limit. With time seemingly up, a Leavers’ long throw was not dealt with and Seb slammed home from close range with what turned out to be the last kick of the game. This was a game fought in excellent spirit and was superbly refereed by James; the final result 4 – 3, well played the Leavers!

On 18th March 2019 we attended the preliminary round of the 2019 ‘Have Your Say’ competition at Copleston High School, Ipswich. The competition is organised by the Essex and East Anglian Branch of the Association for Language Learning. It gives linguists across East Anglia an opportunity to speak and read in a language that they are learning. With over 120 participants from eight different schools, competition at the regional preliminary round was fierce. Congratulations to the following pupils who represented the School: Isla and Sophie (Year 8 French) and Amy and Evelyn (Year 8 Spanish). Amy and Evelyn did very well and gained a place in the final in May. Special thanks to Mr Morton for accompanying the group.