Category: Senior School News
The Girls’ First Hockey team continued their positive start to the term with an impressive win in the first round of the U18 National Cup. They hosted Norwich High School for Girls; the first time these two teams have ever met. An unknown and respected opponent meant that there were some nerves but also confidence in the ability of every player and the team as a whole.
Norwich drew first blood when they were justly awarded a penalty stroke in only the second minute of the game. This was confidently converted. Going behind did not deter the Woodbridge players and they stuck to their system and plans and slowly started to dominate more and more. In the 11th minute Sophie made the score level, scoring from a penalty corner rebound. Shortly after Ella made it 2-1 to Woodbridge. Momentum had now fully swung Woodbridge’s way and they players were controlling the ball well, building great attacks and dealing with anything Norwich tried to do to stop the tide. Sophie scored three more goals to complete a double brace in the first half – one goal a superb deflection straight from the practice ground, the ball being fed in hard and accurate by Clara. Harriet also scored in the first half, another perfect execution of a training drill, and making it count on match day. The score was 6-1 at half time.
Woodbridge knew they could not get complacent and went into the second half with the right mind-set. The game was far from over. Norwich also knew this and came back strong, scoring their second goal ten minutes into the second half. Ianthe restored Woodbridge’s lead five minutes later with a perfect low drag flick. The last ten minutes of the match were action packed. Ianthe scored another field goal. Norwich responded with a goal of their own after a well worked overload. But in the final minute of the match Ianthe completed her hat trick with a good solo run, weaving through the defence, rounding off a 9-3 win. What an exciting match: 12 goals and so much more.
Well done to every player who played their part. Congratulations to Tash who made her first team debut. Joint players of the match were Sophie and Ianthe.
We’re getting a bit of a reputation at the Fringe. There again with performances as beguiling as we have put on, no wonder. And this year’s performance was outrageously good.
Fresh from a series of spectacular triumphs in Edinburgh (great audiences – perhaps the best part of 400 seeing the show over the week – and standing ovations), our players came home for a grand reprise…
A little background, if I may: Délicieux is original – written by our own Mr Williams, adapted from the book Like Water for Chocolate; staged, choreographed and developed by Miss Mayes, Mr Williams, Kathryn Clements, and the sixth formers together… from scratch. From a script. In ten days. I know – it is frankly astonishing.
A little confession, if I may: I shed a tear at the end. Was it the babies, was it the tango, was it the deaths and the tragedies; was it the happy resolution against all the odds? It was all of those things. I was swept along in the rush of emotions; I was entranced by the tiniest of movements, the stolen glances, the little characterisations all so beautifully cast towards us, understated yet all the more powerful for it. And then there was the music, the singing, the dancing – the dancing!
Manon, ah Manon – triumph over tradition, love conquers all… but only just!
A wonderful, wonderful show. Thank you cast and crew. To offer congratulations seems so insufficient.
There was a wonderful sense of community at this year’s Speech Day – even the sunshine joined in. The grounds looked wonderful; the prefects’ ushers’ carnations were in full bloom; the Dome was at its best – dazzlingly full of Mrs Mulcahy’s beautiful flowers; and the Swing Band upped the tempo and raised the smiles with its own fantastic set of joyful melodies under Mr Shepherd’s expert baton.
Mr Finbow set the scene with a perfectly judged overview of the Foundation’s aims, aims which seeks to nurture and guide young and old through its impressively diverse set of responsibilities, with our School main amongst them. Miss Norman, building on an early spontaneous round of applause to acknowledge the first female Head of the School, embraced the ideals of community and care in her inspirational vision for what a Woodbridge education stands for: young people growing into adults who understand their central commitment to others, and with a keen understanding of their responsibilities to each other and to the world around us. Of course this played well with Miss Norman’s guest, Professor Pretty, who, having enjoyed the potted biographies and admired the book choices of our prizewinners, laid out his own vision for all of our futures.
Despite the bleakness of some of his statistics, and where simple extrapolation would leave the world in as little as seventeen years, his message was full of hope. Hope, because he sees the power in small actions, and the relative unnecessariness of so many ‘things’. He exhorted us to look around, to enjoy moments, to see colours anew, to relish flavours, to preserve rather than use or destroy, to plant rather than cut. His eleven essential props, bracketed by an oak timber 8000 years old and an oak sapling no more than a year or two, each told vital stories – destruction and spoilage; but also redemption and harmony – Balinese rice fields and the Avocet, but plastic from the Arctic and avian extinction too. He called us to arms. Every little bit we can do matters. Hence the oak tree as Britain’s greatest home for biodiversity. And the richest nations must take the lead, so we should start if no one else will. So, consider your actions (or inactions) and work for the next generation (perhaps something the last few generations have begun to forget). And by way of advice, he offered the Japanese ideals: eat properly (four colours on your plate!), exercise regularly, socialise, keep on learning, and garden!; he reminded us to find value in ‘things that are not things’: a sunset, birdsong, colours, harvest and growth; he exhorted us to produce less carbon dioxide; and he left us with Mary Oliver’s poem:
Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
And then to cap a truly inspiring and uplifting occasion, Head girl and boy, Poppy and Toby, offered our thanks to Professor Pretty with a beautifully judged, and immensely sincere and touching, double act. And the day’s best joke.
Perfection: cast, setting, atmosphere, and of course one of the most delightful plays ever written. How lucky we were to be transported to Greece and enchantment at the hands of Year 9.
So here’s a play about courtship, or rivalry, or jealousy, or passion, or magic, or asses, or a talking wall (with chink); a play of kings and queens, boys and girls, wooers and wooed, masters and servants, fairies and rude mechanicals. A play like no other, cast and recast across generations and genres yet still as fresh as ever it was in its original Shakespearean clothing. And how well the cast did – all the emotion of the chase and the escape, proud conceit and terrible falls, haughty dominion and cautious mewling. But despite the confusion, the plot thickened nicely and then rose to its crisp crescendo (how now for a mixed metaphor). Had those spirits offended? No! Far from it: we gave loud applause and rejoiced at a happy ending and the happy smiles of our most confident of casts. Congratulations one and all, to those on stage and to those behind – brilliant!
So… Birmingham is to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games…. I think we should invite the organising committee over to see how to put on a show. If you want feel good and friendly, mixed with passion and high performance, look no further than Woodbridge School sports day!
It was a glorious occasion from the off (which of course was in some respects the weekend prior thanks to the middle distance race day), the ‘off’ being given by Mr Davis’s ever-dependable pistol (atop decorator’s ladder). A bright blue sky, a soft breeze, fantastic athleticism, and sumptuous refreshments wafting their aromas beguilingly towards expectant noses (calm down, Streat). We’ll give you all the statistics when we’ve had a chance to digest them all more thoroughly (I’m talking about sporting statistics now; I’ve moved on from the haut cuisine).
For now, though, and at the risk of missing one out (I hope not, though!), I must trumpet the extraordinary triumphs of our record breakers. After last year’s unprecedented spate of record-breaking, surely none were up for grabs this time? How wrong you are to think that!
It all started on the Saturday middle distance day, hardly surprising given the season our boys and girls have had this year: Ruby broke April’s Y7-9 3000m record by 28s in a time of 10:50; while April broke Amy’s Y10-13 5000m record by 15s in a time of 19:06!
And then to Sports Day itself: at Year 7 the star of the day was Ethan who secured three at his first attempt… the long jump record three times over no less! Jump one: record; jump two: bettered; jump three: best with 5.10m to raise John’s previous record by 56cm! He also broke the record in the 100m with a time of 12.98s (also bettering John’s old mark of 13.22s), and the 800m with a time of 2:26 to improve Calum Andrews’s record from 2011 by 4s. For the girls Nancy was our record breaker with her shot put of 9.80m, and astonishing 1.44m beyond Beau’s previous mark.
At junior (Year 8) Ruby continued her domination of middle distance running taking Amy’s 800m record with a time of 2:26.08 to improve the old mark by 9s, and then broke the magical 5 minutes for 1500m to win in 4:58.95, obliterating Elise McNally’s 1995 record by over 8s. Asonishing!
Fazil was equally impressive in the field events for the boys – how about these achievements? He raised the high jump mark which has stood since 1976 by 16cm to take it to 1.59m; and extended the triple jump mark from 10.76m to 11.09m… also set in 1976, also by Edward Lancaster. Wow.
At middle (Years 9 and 10) our record breaker was Issy with a flying 100m of 13.01s to top another old record, that of 13.09s set by Charlotte Spear in 1989.
And finally, at senior the new records fell to Nell who shattered Eloise Mabey’s shot put record by 100cm to take it to 10.07m; and Nathan who improved his own 800m record by 0.41s to take it to 2:02.55.
Many congratulations to these thirteen, and indeed to all the athletes for taking part with such enthusiasm and commitment (you should have seen some of the facial expressions as they sprinted by…). It was a great day – wonderful organisation, fabulous competition, and plenty of excitement for competitors and spectators alike. Thank you all!
Many, many congratulations to Chris Long who has just won first prize in the Trinity Law Essay Competition. This is an exceptionally prestigious competition, with extremely high standards, and it is a simply outstanding result on his part. His task was to write a response to the question: ‘What is wrong with bribery and how, if at all, should we deal with it?’; he was assessed by reference to a range of factors, including ‘the development of argument, the quality of expression and the appropriate use of supporting facts and material’. It’s an intimidating list, but Chris clearly embraced the challenge with his characteristic mix of intellectual rigour, enthusiasm and sangfroid.
https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/law/ – scroll down to see his name at the top of the list!
It is with great sadness that we must inform you of the death of Nicholas Garrett who passed away earlier this week. Nick was the very much loved Master of the Abbey from 1997 to 2015. He was appointed from St Andrew’s School, Eastbourne, and after leaving Woodbridge became Headmaster of a school in Abu Dhabi. He was diagnosed with cancer last year. An event to mark his life will be held in Woodbridge School at a later stage. I am sure you will join us in prayers for Nick’s widow Ruth, his daughters Anna and Lara (who are both teachers), and his wider family. Since his return from the UAE, Nick and Ruth have been living in Eastbourne, and we will forward to Ruth any correspondence received.
May he rest in peace.
What a very dignified occasion this was: our senior cadets and their officers, friends and guests celebrated a great CCF year in the finest of style. With the CCF flags, drums and trophies on proud display the setting could not have been more splendid; and with our chefs and their staff putting on a delicious feast the occasion very much matched the setting. Convivial chatter drew to a dignified close at the end of the meal as the speeches and toasts took centre stage. Major Garvie in time-honoured fashion thanked the officers and cadets for their endeavours; warrant officer Jonathan teased out some wonderful memories (and teased a few peers as well!) in a beguiling reply which showed in how much affection the CCF is held by all the cadets who enjoy its benefits; and with toasts to the CCF, the cadets and the Queen ringing in our ears the evening drew to a gentle close. Marvellous.
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!