Category: Senior School News
Many congratulations to all our certificate winners in this year’s senior maths challenge. In particular the loudest applause go to John X who scored a magnificent 106 to earn the right to sit the fiendishly difficult British Mathematical Olympiad paper 1 (the first selection test for the International Olympiad team). Wow! Also gaining gold awards, and Senior international Kangaroo qualification, were Year 12 Jake P and Brendan B. Silver awards went to Year 13 Harry H, Daniel H and Jude A, Year 12 Erina K, Oliver S, Nathan G, Denis A and Tong Q, Year 11 Saif T and Year 10 Nina V, Molly M and George W; and bronze to Year 13 Mary G, Jessica B, Callum S, Tara H, Sophie L, Archie T, Fei Y, Lingyu L, Dominic E, Chisom O, Daniella E and Andy X, Year 12 Alex E, Toby C, Freddie W, Gaia R, Oliver P, Natasha D, Sarah B and Rayan S, Year 11 Max A, Year 10 Katie B and Ariane B.
On Tuesday the last of this terms Crotchet and Cake recitals was held in School Hall. Thank you to all those who have performed in the four recitals and shared their music making with the other students, staff, parents and visitors who have attended. These small recitals are important ways in which students can play and sing in an informal setting and gain valuable performance experience (as well as eat some delicious cakes!). Please do look out for the dates for next term’s recitals and support the students who sign up to perform.
The King is dead, long live the King!
And so the story ended for Nell, and for us, at least at the Seckford Theatre. But Nell had delighted her King and Country… and her audience!, in the meantime. And so it proved here, too, some 320 years later, give or take (something one gets the sense she did rather a lot). In a magnificent restoration of her reputation, a reputation founded on the opportunities a Nation’s restoration afforded, Jessica Swale’s take on the Nell Gwynn story was brought gloriously, sumptuously, and most wittily to light by our Sixth Formers. Wigs and bodices (mostly for the females), feathers and flounce; hats and dresses (and here – a first for Woodbridge School – I must mention the extraordinary work of Matilda Royal-Dawson in her design and making of Queen Catherine’s costume: quite the most beautiful on stage), waistcoats and buckles. Visually stunning, but theatrically also: a wonderfully entertaining, slick and witty first half gave way to a surprisingly moving denouement. This was no simple bit of fun, but a proper exploration of fame, favour and fortune tinged with loss, alienation, competition and redemption. Nell won and lost in the extreme while all about her measured their takings in life more evenly, but no less enthusiastically and passionately (particularly the King, oh suave man of low principle and high cunning). There were the good and the foolish, the proud and the fallen; there was song and dance. And in the end I felt that, yes, for all the trials, there was the sense of a happy ending. Well done Nell! You lived for the ‘now’, indeed! And well done all around you too, carried in the wake of your story but giving it the buoyancy it warranted. A brilliant cast, fabulous setting, glorious costuming, and expert direction – what more could one ask? Encore!, of course!
For the first time ever, the National Schools Cross-Country Cup is coming to Suffolk with Woodbridge set to host this highly competitive sporting event next Saturday 24 November. This is a huge honour and we are very excited about such a large and prestigious event being hosted in the school grounds.
Organised by the England Schools Athletic Association (ESAA), the competition final will include pupils from some of the top sporting schools across the country. The national final is an incredibly competitive event and a highlight in the cross-country calendar; any of the 8000 secondary schools in England can enter this competition and after a County and Regional round of elimination it is only the top 27 schools left to battle for team honours. Woodbridge has two teams competing in the event- the inter boys and the inter girls. It is an amazing achievement for them to have got this far and we very much hope the school community will come along to support our teams on the day! The first race starts at 1pm. Parking will be available on the school site until 12.30pm, but St Mary’s school will open their field opposite the Senior School top gate to accommodate late arrivals.
Pictured here are our two competing teams- the inter girls (minus Bea Thomas) and the inter boys. Good luck to all competing!
On Saturday 10 November we had the immense privilege of taking part in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem at Snape Maltings. This deeply moving work was written to celebrate the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral in 1962 after it was destroyed by German bombers in World War II. Britten was a pacifist and his music combines a setting of the Latin requiem mass with the searing poetry of Wilfred Owen – it is an overwhelmingly powerful work which commemorates those lost in the pity of all wars and asks big questions about humanities desire to fight. A group of dedicated performers from Cantabile took on the challenge of singing the off-stage children’s’ choir parts and were not only exceptional in their performance but also in their concentration and commitment. To be part of this piece, at Snape, the day before the centenary of the end of World War One was a truly special event (Mr Milton cried many times from his chamber organ!) and the haunting silence at the end of the performance before the inevitable applause was something to remember forever.
Kesgrave village was fortunate only to lose one person during WW1: RN Able Seaman Upson. This year, as part of Kesgrave’s centenary Remembrance, we were asked to provide a Royal Naval presence if at all possible, and were delighted to send eight RN cadets to the Kesgrave Schools’ Act of Remembrance held at the Kesgrave War Memorial this morning. We paraded with their local Army cadets, and Callum placed a wreath on behalf of Woodbridge School CCF Royal Navy Section.
Christopher reports from the Royal Albert Hall: This weekend I was honoured to represent the CCF in the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. It was an incredible event drawing people from across Britain’s services to remember those who have given their lives for our freedom. We started the ceremony by marching with the other national standard bearers through the Hall to the stage. From there we could watch the rest of the festival, seeing phenomenal performances from the Royal Marine Drum Corps and Joint Services Band. The most poignant part of the ceremony was when the parents of soldiers who had died in combat walked out across the Hall.
The energy in the Hall was indescribable. I feel very honoured to have been part of such an incredible Act of Remembrance made especially important due to the 100 year anniversary of the armistice.
Our enormous thanks must go to the Venerable Ian Morgan, Archdeacon of Suffolk, for leading this year’s Service of Remembrance, and in particular for his deeply moving address. His grandfather, Sergeant David Morgan, eighteen, fought across the fields sweeping down from what is now the Tyne Cot cemetery. He did something virtually none of his peers managed. He survived. And in so doing he gave life to Ian, and a deeply grounded sense of indebtedness in remembrance that, in Ian’s words, only really found true voice and understanding three years ago when Ian stood with his back to Tyne Cot, and in front a landscape of freshly ploughed fields as far as the eye could see, under which lay so many young men like David, but who were not so fortunate. Ian wept then; I think many of us joined him on Sunday. Ian’s message, made all the more poignant by Mr Smith’s readings and reflections and Mrs Davis’s poetry: Remembrance is so important – to help understand the present and guide our own choices and behaviour; that peace is made not bestowed; and that the blessings are given by God to the peace-makers, not the peace receivers. Today’s elderly may be (nearly) beyond use, but the young are not – and to you falls the challenge of creating that lasting peace we all crave.
The sun came out as we stood together at the School Memorial – cadets and staff, parents, friends, OWs, servicemen and women; the bugle sang so beautifully; the cannons fired; words of remembrance were cast to the Autumn breeze; and the leaves fell into the silence, to carpet the ground like the memories of the OWs we honoured.
It is an astonishing testimony to the care and energy that Mrs Brown and her team have given to our Careers Fair since she brought it into being just a few years ago that it is now considered the best East Anglian venue for many of our stallholders. Exhibitor numbers continue to rise, with some 10% new this year, and a further, sometimes overlapping, 10% or more with direct Woodbridge connections (often OW employees keen to return a favour!). Over sixty companies helped teenagers from all over the county research their futures, and the Dome was buzzing throughout the four hours with a wonderful sense of purpose and possibility. Universities, colleges, professional institutes, companies, charities and more all were delighted to offer advice, and could not have been more pleased with the constant footfall of those keen to listen. I wonder how many futures will prove to have been influenced by this opportunity? I wouldn’t be surprised if it proves to be hundreds. Our thanks go to all the exhibitors for joining us, and our congratulations to Mrs Brown, Mrs Kneebone, Mr Edwards, the catering and caretaking staff, and all the teaching staff and prefects who ensured it ran so perfectly on the day.
We are excited and delighted to announce that there will be a Christmas Fair taking place on Saturday 8 December so please do put the date in your diaries!
Christmas is a wonderful time for us to bring the whole Woodbridge School community together, and our Fair offers the perfect opportunity for a marvellous afternoon of fun. There will be plenty to entertain everyone, including a fabulous Santa’s grotto for the younger children, fun and games, arts and crafts, delicious food and drink, as well as some fantastic stalls for Christmas shopping.
We would love to hear from you if you would like to take a stall at the Fair, to sell your products or run a fun festive activity. Please email samanthaihenacho@gmail.com or contact your year group rep if you would like to get involved.
We will be delighted to see you there!