Category: Senior School News

Forty enthusiastic and confident Woodbridge and Abbey boys and girls travelled to compete in this huge event… over 250 running from over 30 schools in each of the six races on the day.  Our team was a credit to the school and further enhanced our reputation as an excellent cross country school.

For the senior school races, the Year 7 girls started impressively with Ruby Vinton continuing her recent run of victories with a confident performance to win by some 100m.  But these races were as much about teamwork, and so six had to score well: Madeline Buchanan (29), Ada Marson (58), Esme Ball (63), Chloe Macmillan (70), and Kitty Frith (101), Maggie Nicholson (103) and Libbie Brightey(107) running together to push each other, all fought through the pack and the cold to give themselves a chance of glory.  Eight place overall was a fine reward.

The Year 7 boys were also on fine form: Ed Buckingham (4) chased down the initial leader and worked hard in the front group, while Moses McBride (11) and Tommy Burrows (17) forged their way up the field into the second group.  Jonny Evans Lombe (33) and George Na Nakhorn (39) showed excellent support for the front runners and with Erwan Gouedo (67) and Albie Smith (102) working exceptionally hard right to the finish, the boys took a deserved third place overall.

The Year 8 girls feared they would be a runner short, but Isobel Mitchell agreed to run a year up to ensure that the team would be able to gain a score. The team was ably led by Amy Goddard (3) who ran with the front runners from the start and worked extremely hard throughout the race and she was well supported by her entire team of Ann Jackson (10), Willa Cole (19), and Isobel Mitchell (37), Iris Morton (40) and Ella Pitt (41) whose triumvirate approach brought the very best result out of them. The girls won as a team – a brilliant performance.

The Year 8 boys now knew we were in with a shout for the overall competition. Ed Rufford (14) and Tom Martin (26) set the pace with Tom cleverly biding his time and slowly moving through the field throughout the race; Samuel Bolus (47) worked as hard as he ever had, digging impressively deep, as did Oliver Doole (64) and the pair of Archie Sjoberg (83) and Max Hutchinson (85) who pushed and pushed right to the end.  Seventh for the team: another great result.

In the end in the overall results our girls’ team and our boys’ team both finished third (the only school to feature on both podiums).  It meant the grand total would be close… and so it proved as we were pipped into second behind Lincroft Academy by 1462 to 1476 points, and well over 100 points clear of third placed Bedford Modern.  A brilliant day!  Many congratulations to all the runners who performed admirably in freezing cold and windy conditions.

Despite freezing conditions at The Jays, Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 9 December; the Woodbridge School riders excelled at all levels to land three County Titles in Show Jumping.

The younger team of Sophia, Eve (9) with team mates Lily and Alex did faultless rounds to be narrowly beaten into 2^nd place in the 70cms Show Jumping NSEA Suffolk County Qualifier. Lily, however, produced a super round to win the class and be crowned Suffolk Champion and qualify to represent the school and Suffolk at the NSEA County Show Jumping Championships. Eve was also placed 3^rd individually.

The next level caused problems with no single School finishing on a zero score; but the Woodbridge School team of Ada, Perdi, Lily and Alex  completed on a score of 4 to win, be crowned Suffolk Champions and qualify for the NSEA County SJ Champs next April. Alex was also placed 4^th individually.

Woodbridge had one team to compete in the 90cms competition of Ada (11), Alex (12), Perdi (11) and Olivia (12). This is a new height for this team and they all rode with excellent skill to produce 3 out of 4 immaculate clear rounds. The Class finished with Woodbridge taking the win on a zero score and again be crowned Suffolk Champions and qualify for the NSEA County SJ Champs in April 2018. Ada was also placed 5^th individually.

The children are very lucky to receive two training sessions a week provided through the School. This gives the opportunity for every child to train at least once a week if they have other school commitments. The training is geared around practice for competing as well as technical improvement. The children work really hard and this is really paying off, producing such consistent results. They also have a lot of fun.

The NSEA County Championships are held at Bury Farm, Bedfordshire in April 2018. The Woodbridge riders will be representing the School and Suffolk at the Championships.

Full results:

70cms
Individual winner Lily on Annabelle
Eve on Big Ben was 3^rd
Team of Lily, Eve, Sophia and Alex were 2^nd

80cms
Team of Ada, Lily, Alex  & Perdi won and qualified
Team of Eve, Lily, Sophia and Lolly were 5^th
Alex riding Faith the Third was 4^th

90cms
Team of Ada, Alex , Perdi  and Lolly won and qualified
Ada was 5^th individually

ESAA National Cup Champion – Ruby Vinton!

On Saturday 25 November, Amy Goddard, Anna Jackson, Willa Cole, Iris Morton, Ella Pitt and Ruby Vinton travelled down excitedly in the school minibus to Sevenoaks to compete in the ESAA National Cross Country Championships.  This was the 2^nd year in a row for Amy and Anna to compete at the Nationals (as last year we were in Formby, Liverpool), so they knew what to expect. This team of Junior Girls had worked hard in the previous rounds both at the County and Regional competitions, so to make it through to Nationals was a superb achievement. 27 schools throughout the UK made it through to the finals, out of 580 school entries.

After a gentle walk around the course, the girls were ready for the challenge. With the teams all lined up in their pens waiting patiently for the starting gun, shivering due to the frosty and cold conditions, the girls knew they had to have a good start – especially as 100metres into the course, there was a slight incline which narrowed so needed to ensure they were in a good position. The girls tried to fight their way through but found it tough, however, they continued to battle and fight as hard as they could. Throughout the race, the girls were each picking off other competitors, to try and ensure we had four good scores (as four out of the six runners placing counted towards the final position). In the last 400metres, what happened next was short of a miracle. Ruby Vinton (who was competing a year young – as well as being one of the smallest runners!) was in 7^th place. The determination on her face and pure grit was phenomenal. In the last 200 metres, Ruby was on fire, overtaking 6^th place, 5^th place, 4^th place, 3^rd place and then 2^nd place to ensure she was in a medal winning position. Millfield’s runner was approaching the finish line in 1^st place, although had slowed down, thinking she had won…all of a sudden, Ruby sprinted straight past her to take 1^st place…what an achievement! Not even out of breath! Tears were flowing as what had just happened was barely believable. Definitely one of the best finishes of the competition. This spurred the other team members to push hard for the last 400 metres and so they did. Amy finished in 67^th position, Anna in 115^th, Willa 146^th, Ella 150 and Iris 152. An excellent team effort, girls, well done! The team finished 23^rd overall out of 27. We look forward to next year as the National Finals will be at Woodbridge when we play host.

Thank you to all the parents who travelled down to Sevenoaks to support the team, and to Mark Goddard for geeing the girls up and preparing them so perfectly for the race.

…And virtually no idea about what was going on, and why, or between whom. But it hardly mattered, because the beauty of farce is that a tightly wrought plot, though essential, is also, counterintuitively, almost irrelevant. I think it all made sense; I even think I worked out how the miraculously beguiling Francis (Henshall – can’t be dealing with first names) came to have two such eminently captivating guvnors in Rachel and Stanley and why it mattered they each in their own turn didn’t know; I know that I sat there laughing and sniggering, and occasionally worrying for Alfie’s wellbeing. Brighton in 1963 was clearly quite a complicated place, and gangsters and their molls, being often more interested in brawn than a brainier alternative struggled with … higher order skills. Unless they’d been to boarding school. Or were budding ACTORS.

Our cast captured their confusions, pretensions and delusions with a wonderful lightness of touch, and delivery so slick it was truly professional. It’s a fantastic script, laced with running gags that get funnier through repetition, and visual gags that take the breath away – and to deliver them so well, while maintaining a ferocious pace, and yet give the plot the space to breath at least some semblance of a reality over its audience was masterful. The players gave their all, having earned every second of the rapturous response as the curtain fell.

So what actually happened? Well, in a nutshell… um… Charlie and Harry wanted Pauline to marry Alan, despite Stanley killing Rachel’s brother meaning that Rachel had to dress as the man Pauline had to marry, despite Lloyd spotting the deception from the start. This in turn meant there was money owed, and Dolly needed to make sure it got paid, but not before she and Francis (the ham in the sandwich, as served by Gareth, obviously) had their holiday thanks to Alfie’s trip to Thomas Cook’s. Not forgetting the Mashed Potatoes. Got it?

Our thanks, admiration, and lengthy applause go to the extremely fine cast, crew and directors on a wonderful, wonderful tour de ‘farce’.

‘Peace is not simply the absence of war’
It is fragile. It needs work and constant tending. And the agony of our School’s contribution, and of the contribution made by so many was poignantly and thoughtfully brought home to us by Padre Cook’s reflections. It had never occurred to me before that the soldiers of the Second World War would have struggled past the huge French graveyards of those from the First, and that some of those soldiers may even have been walking the same ground they trod as youngsters. The war to end all wars was nothing like, and the naivety of the generation that hoped as much should not be repeated, though the hope for peace is still our best hope.

This year’s service was also marked by the display of a remarkable Standard laid between those of our School’s at the altar: OWs Chris, Lucy and Anna Silovsky’s great grandfather, their mother Lucy’s grandfather, Lt Col LS Henshall DSO and Bar was one of the tank pioneers in WW1 and specifically at the first battle ever fought with tanks, at Cambrai, which started on 20 November 1917 (almost 100 years to the day). He it was who a few days prior bought up some of the last silk in the area to stitch together standards to be borne by his ‘B’ Battalion of the Regiment (it was so new it had no history and no traditions): brown (for the mud), red (for the blood) and green (for the future fields). And here was one of those standards, wearied by conflict and a century, fragile like the peace we must fight to maintain, but still with us and recognisable in its faded delicacy.

We honoured the memories of so many fallen (every family will have its own history), and we thought of the lives affected. With this tangible reminder of the First War to focus our reflections, and with Ianthe Hill’s trumpet call and the laying of wreaths (the salute given by Gabby Zins, representing this generation’s CCF, to those honoured at the Memorial quite the most potent symbol of our shared responsibility), we remembered.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.

Well done to the 55 runners who competed in the South Suffolk Cross Country championships at RHS on Thursday 12 October. With unsurprisingly warm temperatures and a slight breeze, these were some of the best conditions this race has ever seen, and ideal for those running this course for the first time.

Our team performed magnificently across all categories and against hundreds of other runners: the minors in particular had around 200 competitors (if not more) in their race. It was great to see so many participate and a special mention to the 39 athletes who made it through to the County round on Saturday 2nd December at Culford. A superb effort – well done!

Congratulations to Ruby Vinton, Charlie Turner and Nathan Goddard who gained 1st place and April Hill 2nd and Kit Evans Lombe 3rd. An astonishing nine runners gained a top 10 place, and well done to the Inter girls’ team who all came in the top 30. Overall results meant that amongst Mid-Suffolk schools we came first in Inter Boys, Junior Girls and Junior Boys, and second in Inter Girls and Minor Boys: amazing!

Thank you to all the parents for their continued support and Mark Goddard for his excellent leadership and coaching of the runners both in their preparation and on the day.

Results:

• Minor girls: Ruby Vinton 1st, Esme Ball 29th, Ada Marson 59th, Libbie Brightey 113th & Kitty Frith 114th.
• Minor boys: Edward Buckingham 10th, Moses McBride 20th, George Na Nakhorn 25th, Tommy Burrow 35th, Jonny Evans Lombe 47th, Erwan Gouedo 66th, Albie Smith 105th & Thomas Blackmore 168th.
• Junior girls: April Hill 2nd, Amy Goddard 4th, Isabelle Eaton 16th, Emily Whyte 18th, Jess Elmer 22nd, Cecily Royal-Dawson 23rd, Anna Jackson 28th, Ashleigh Wildbore 34th, Willa Cole 55th, Ella Pitt 65th, Ella Reynard 66th, Iris Morton 69th , Isabella Hyde 88th, & Charlotte Gibbon 116th.
• Junior boys: Charlie Turner 1st, Kit Evans Lombe 3rd, George Wharam 10th, Edward Rufford 20th, Mauricio Corfe 26th, Ruben Kill 38th, Tom Turner 39th, Tom Harper 49th, Archie Sjoberg 54th & Tom Martin 83rd.
• Inter girls: Sarah Barker 4th, Sophie Graham 16th, Milly Buckingham 17th, Victoria Burrows 23rd, Poppy Fletcher 27th & Grace Childs 29th.
• Inter boys: Nathan Goddard 1st, Alex Evans Lombe 4th, Daniel Davies 11th, George Rufford 17th, Nathaniel Gunn 19th, Hal Ottley 50th, Hugo Thomas 51st & Miles Fry 55th.
• Seniors: Olly Wroe 21st, Georgina Fulcher 23rd & Rachel Prowse 35th.

• A third of grades in all subjects awarded at A*
• 6 candidates secured 10 or more A*
• over half candidates secured the equivalent of straight A grades in their best 8 subjects
• Out of 86 GCSE pupils in total, 95.3% achieved at least a Grade C in English and Maths

Ella achieved an astounding 12 A* and an A (the top grade) in further maths. Ella will stay on at Woodbridge for Sixth Form to study English, Spanish, French and Maths with a view to studying languages or law at Cambridge University.

James also achieved fantastic results, gaining 11 A* grades at GCSE. James will also stay on at Woodbridge where he will take English, History and Latin at A Level. James said:

“I’m very pleased with my results. After I leave Woodbridge School I’m aiming to study History or Classics at Cambridge University.

Neil Tetley, Headteacher of Woodbridge School, said:

“We are thrilled to achieve our best results ever this year with one third of grades in all subjects being awarded A*. Well done to pupils and teachers for all their hard work and dedication.”

The Y6 Team travelled in high excitement with Year 7 and Year 8 to compete at Bedford Stadium. When they arrived they marvelled at the size of the stadium and the number of competitors. Over fifty schools had entered, so competition was high. Notable results are as follows:

• 1^st – 1500m – Ruby V
• 1^st – 200m – Lara
• 1^st – Discus – Beau
• 3^rd – Girls’ Relay – Beau, Ruby V, Maddie, Chloe
• 4^th – Shot – Beau

We congratulate all competitors and wish Ruby and Beau all the best of luck when they compete in the Nationals at Birmingham Stadium on Tuesday 4 July.

A great way to finish the team athletics this season. The year 9 boys and girls having qualified at Northgate earlier this term, went onto competed at the Suffolk Schools Athletics County Finals at Bury yesterday. Both teams were crowned County Champions!

Points were awarded for placing’s and the girls finished on 111 points, ahead of second place Northgate on 104, County Upper 3rd, RHS 4th St Benedict 5th and Thurleston 6th. The Boys scored 95 points with Westborne second on 90 points, County Upper 3rd, Farlingaye 4th, King Edward 5th and Castlehill Manor 6th.

A special mention must go to those who stepped into an event they were not expecting following absence or injury, without you we would not have won. Too many firsts to mention but all looks good for a few records to be broken at this year’s Sports Day.

Played 5
Won 4
Lost 1

V Hartismere won 7½  – 2½
V KEGS won 6½ – 5
V Chantry lost 5½ – 6
V Ormiston Academy, Sudbury won 8½ – 5
V Thomas Mills won 6 – 5

We travelled to Sudbury feeling confident but knowing that anything can happen during a tournament! We knew we had to try and score on every ball as there were only 20 good balls per innings. It was a very hot day but the girls were concentrating well and understood the tactics involved. Olivia Buchanan’s bowling was exceptional, the ball had very little pace and came in at a steep angle so the competition had real problems connecting with the ball so they were unable to hit the ball any distance. Clara Simpson made some excellent catches and was quick to cover 3^rd post. On second post Molly Marshall was superb, flinging herself at every ball so she could stump multiple people out at second. At fourth post Ariane had good catches and managed to stop rounders being scored. As backstop Jess Elmer threw accurately and closed the game down quickly. In the deeps the girls covered any decent hits effectively, fielding the ball into second post or third post to prevent rounders being scored. Once in bat the girls were ferocious. Olivia, Clara, Ella Walker, Molly, Olivia Bedford and Emily White sending the ball miles. It was a very exciting competition with some interesting moments, but the girls deserved their victory.