Senior School News Archives - Page 8 of 136

It was a busy summer for many of our riders, with a number of them competing in the Pony Club National and Regional Championships, and one of our riders going through in two classes to the Horse of the Year Show. We’ve also shared news this week of Year 13’s Ella winning the Junior European Eventing Championships which is phenomenal, you can read more about her in our weekly newsletter and on our socials!

Congratulations and well done to all of our riders, we’re incredibly proud of all of their achievements.

British Eventing and Junior Championships Qualification

Year 13’s Eve has been competing her mare, Opposition Vogue, at Under 18 British Eventing Novice classes successfully, moving up to compete in the pair’s first 2*S International with a top 20 result meaning qualification for the British Junior Championships. Eve and her mare were then selected to represent the Eastern Region at the National Youth Championships at 2*L level. Eve also qualified for the Chairman’s Cup eventing championships over the summer; sadly her horse Opposition Vogue was taken ill and had to miss these championships, but Eve was able to take a horse of her sister’s and did really well to jump clear rounds to help the team to 8th and 4th place in the SJ Team Finals. Congratulations Eve!

Horse of the Year Show Qualification

Year 10’s Immy spent the summer competing at various events, against adults as well as professionals, across the country. We’d like to congratulate her on successfully qualifying her pony for two classes at the prestigious Horse of the Year Show, which takes place this October in Birmingham. This is an amazing achievement, and we wish her every success at the show.

Pony Club Championships

Year 13’s Eve, Year 11’s Harry, Zac and Edie, Year 10’s Grace, and Year 8’s Tati all qualified for the Pony Club National Championships earlier in the summer; Eve in show jumping, Harry and Zac in Eventing, Grace and Tati in Tetrathlon and Edie in Dressage. Year 10’s Grace finished 23^rd (in a huge class of 90 girls) and Year 8’s Tati finished 20th. Both rode lovely rounds and finished strongly in the other phases. Year 11’s Edie was next with the dressage and she rode an excellent test to finish 8th. Year 11’s Harry and Zac followed with the eventing and both jumped very impressive rounds to finish in the top half of their sections. Year 9’s Jasmine and Year 8’s Tati and Daisy also qualified for the Pony Club Regional Championships. In the Eventing Tati finished 4^th and Daisy in 11th. Both jumped brilliant clear rounds. Year 9’s Jasmine rode in the dressage and finished an excellent 9th.

Woodbridge Cricket Club is excited to announce it will be returning to Woodbridge School, and partnering with the School’s Old Woodbridgian (OW) Cricket Club for the 2026 season.

Based in the School’s magnificent grounds, the club will take up its place in the heart of the School and town. This decision means all home matches and fixtures will take place on the School’s beautiful Cricket pitch, and the club and its players, members and visitors will also be able to make full use of the recently refurbished Cricket Pavillion.

Commenting on the club’s decision, Scott Button, Director of Cricket shared,

“Cricket is such a special sport, and certainly one I’m passionate about having joined Woodbridge Cricket Club just over five years ago. This decision to base our club at Woodbridge School, alongside our partnership with the OW Cricketers, means we can make the most of the splendid grounds at the School, as well as the beautiful pavilion. I’ve travelled far and wide playing Cricket for this club and others, and I have to say Woodbridge School Cricket pitch is one of the best I’ve played on. Not only that, but it’s so central in terms of appealing to and being part of the community – not only for players, but for spectators who will be able to wander up through the town to join us in the School for our matches and fixtures.”

He continued,

“Cricket is a game anyone and everyone can play – no matter whether you’re a seasoned player or someone who’s never picked up a bat before, everyone is welcome at Woodbridge Cricket Club.”

Commenting on the partnership and the decision, Ralph Pruden, Head of Sport, Fitness and Health at Woodbridge School said,

“We have been looking at the Cricket Club returning to use Woodbridge School as its home ground over the last couple of years and I am delighted that this has now been confirmed. We are absolutely committed to providing an outstanding Cricket programme at the School and this is another positive step forward. Woodbridge CC are an ambitious club with a desire to develop strong youth pathways into high level Cricket, we are excited to support this, including the introduction of girls and women’s teams into the club. Sharing our wonderful facilities with the community is really important and I know that this move will provide a strong focal point for Cricket in our town for many years to come“.

For more information about Woodbridge Cricket Club, past and future fixtures, visit woodbridge.play-cricket.com/home.

Woodbridge School is celebrating incredible GCSE results, the best in Suffolk, with our median grade being a grade 7, which is equivalent to an A grade.

Below are the headlines from our GCSE results 2025:

Almost a quarter of grades (26%) at Woodbridge School were grade 9
Grade 9 was once again our most common grade, and 56% of students achieved grade 9s in their results this year
60% of grades were 9–7, considered to be ‘straight A grades’
39% have their median grade as a 9 or 8
Median grade was a grade 7

The breakdown below represents grades achieved in terms of percentages:  

26% of grades were 9
42% of grades were 9-8
60% of grades were 9-7
79% of grades were 9-6
92% of grades were 9-5

Shona Norman, Head of School  

“I could not be more delighted for this fantastic group of students. The sheer breadth of their talents is seen from these excellent results across such a wide range of subjects. To see so many of our students achieving top grades is particularly impressive when considered alongside all of their achievements outside of the classroom. As always, behind these results is a wonderful community of staff and parents who I also extend a sincere thank you to for their ongoing dedication and commitment.”

Karl Hayward-Bradley, Deputy Head Academic 

“This has been a truly exceptional year group of students, with very pleasing GCSE results. Languages at Woodbridge burn brightly this year, with 20% of Year 11 students gaining a double 9 in English Language and English Literature; half of these pairing it with a grade 9 in an ancient or modern foreign language. We are proud to see large numbers studying English Literature in our Sixth Form next year, against a backdrop of declining take-up nationally. With so many pupils scoring such strong GCSE grades across the board from the Arts to the Sciences, we look forward to welcoming them into our excellent A level programme in the Sixth Form this coming year.”

Spending four days taking part in a programme of activities and events, six Woodbridge School CCF students have been competing individually and as a team, in the National Inter-Schools Target Rifle Competition 2025 in Bisley; a key event in the CCF shooting calendar. The core of the meeting involves competitions for the L81A2 Cadet Target Rifle (CTR).

An opportunity to showcase their target rifle expertise and skill, our cadets took part in a range of shooting competitions – and even had the chance to spend time amongst serving personnel, which was a real highlight of the week. Year 9’s Seth shared his experience.

Seth, Year 9

Last week, six of us travelled to Bisley, the home of the NRA (National Rifle Association), for the inter-schools rifling competition.

Staying on a camp nearby called Brunswick, we all had the opportunity to feel like soldier, as we were sleeping in our barracks and eating in the mess hall, sometimes alongside active personnel themselves!

The shooting competition took place over four days. Monday through to Wednesday were used as practice to get accustomed with our rifles and the distances. The days had to be spent well as competition day was coming up on Thursday! We shot distances of 300, 500 and 600 yards away and were graciously helped by Austin, the Rifle Team Coach.

The team also got to score other team’s performances by looking at the target with a telescope and calling numbers. There were schools from as far as Northern Ireland to Edinburgh taking part, it was a huge scale event.

On the final day, we were able to truly put every effort into our shoots, rewarded by coming in 8th place out of 10 Cadet 4s.

While there we were also able to attempt our qualification in the 7.62 Target Rifle, which will be decommissioned next year. Both Year 11’s Ernie and I managed to qualify for trained shot.

Bisley was an excellent and fun opportunity to try larger rifles and truly get a grasp of rifling in the UK.

We are thrilled to share the highlights from Woodbridge School’s Young Musicians of the Year competition, shared in our report from our Director of Music, Mr Woodley. A massive congratulations to all our finalists who performed with such poise and passion, making it a truly spectacular event!

Mr Woodley, Director of Music

“The evening was a true celebration of the exceptional musical talent within our School, with every performance demonstrating remarkable skill and dedication.

The standard was incredibly high, making it a difficult task for our respected adjudicators, Rob Rogers and Hattie Voelcker. Rob Rogers is an ex-ABRSM examiner and prominent local musician, while Hattie Voelcker is a leading performance coach. Their insightful feedback was invaluable, and we extend our sincerest gratitude to them, as well as to Andrew Leech for his wonderful piano accompaniment throughout the evening.

A massive congratulations to all our finalists who performed with such poise and passion, making it a truly spectacular event!

We are delighted to announce the results:

In the Grades 1-4 category, the winner was Year 8s Henry for his captivating vocal performance of What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye. The runner-up in this category was Year 7’s Miles, who impressed with his violin rendition of Rebecca by Neil Mackay.

For Grades 5-6, Year 8s Hexi was awarded the winner’s medal for an outstanding piano performance of Forest Gump by Alan Silvestri. Year 8’s George was the runner-up, delivering a compelling vocal performance of Radiohead’s Creep, accompanying himself on guitar.

In the Grades 7-8 category, Year’s 9’s Erin was the winner with her piano performance of Lowside Blues by Joanna MacGregor. Year 10’s Laurynas was the runner-up, impressing with their flute rendition of Monody for a Lost Faun by Adrian Connell.

The evening culminated with the overall cups being awarded to Year 11’s Lily, our Senior Young Musician, who demonstrated incredible versatility on both piano and violin with Nigun Baal Shem by Bloch and Sonetto 123 del Petrarcha by Liszt. Year 8’s George, also the runner-up in Grades 5-6, was deservedly named our Junior Young Musician for his memorable vocal and self-accompanied guitar performance of Creep by Radiohead.

Thank you to everyone who supported this wonderful event.

Having qualified for the East region team, representing them at the National Prep Schools Championships on Wednesday 2 July at the impressive Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, twelve Woodbridge School athletes competed, all having an absolutely fantastic day – of the ten events, they medalled in five, which is a superb achievement.

Congratulations to the following students on their achievements and medals:

Year 7’s Chloe – 1500m – 1st place

Year 7 4 x 100m girls team – Juno, Matilda, Katherine and Chloe – 1st place

Year 8’s Dex – 1500m – 2nd place

Year 8’s Alexandra – 800m – 2nd place

Year 8’s Tom – 300m – 2nd place

Other results from the day included:

Year 8’s India J – 1500m – 7th place
Year 8’s George – Triple Jump – 9th place
Year 6’s Sofia – 800m – 10th place

Year 8’s Imogen M – 300m – 12th place
Year 7’s Ollie – 800m – 12th place

A big thank you to the staff and parents who ensured that the students could attend and compete at these events, and for their vocal support!

Also, a very well done to all the athletes who gave maximum effort and were a great credit to Woodbridge School.

Last Friday, our traditional Field Day took place, students taking part in various activities including a trip to Colchester Zoo, Felixstowe beach, and our CCF cadets at various locations enjoying different activities.

Visit to Colchester Zoo and to Felixstowe Beach

Year 8 students made the trip to visit Colchester’s magnificent zoo! They had a fantastic time and enjoyed wandering around in groups looking at the elephants, lions, Amur leopard, monkeys, meerkats and much, much more! Lucky enough to have a talk from one of the zoo keepers about sustainability and conservation, students were able to hear about and consider the impact that we as individuals have on the world. Meanwhile, Year 7 visited Felixstowe beach, where they enjoyed playing on the sand, visited Martello Park and got themselves very wet running in and out of the sprinklers! Returning to School in the afternoon, they played a superb rounders tournament, finishing the day with a quiz. Year 7 and 8 were impeccably behaved, and they represented the School perfectly.

CCF RAF Field Day and Overnight

Our RAF cadets had a brilliant time on their Field Day and overnight stay at RAF Barnham training area, enjoying a full-scale overnight complete with an escape and evasion exercise aptly named ‘Operation Nightfall’. During the day they took part in a range of different and exciting activities, from finding the NCO in the ghillie suit, to fire and move paintballing! It was a great experience for everyone who took part, with lots of fun had by all, and many new skills acquired!

CCF Army Field Day and Overnight

The Army section also deployed to RAF Barnham for their field day exercise. On arrival cadets set up the bashas to sleep under and cooked their evening meal from their ration packs, ahead of Year 9 taking part in a night noises exercise while the Year 10 cadets carried out a patrol involving conducting a Close Target Recce (CTR), meeting an agent, contact drill & setting a snap ambush. Friday saw the Year 9 cadets go through a rota of stands; pairs fire and movement, navigation, a stalk and patrol observation skills. The Year 10s carried out section attacks. Despite the heavy rain through the night everyone stayed dry and had a great time. A special thanks for our Year 11 cadets, Ben and Huw along with Year 13’s Jack for taking part as well.

CCF NAVY Field Day and Overnight

Navy cadets travelled to Rendlesham forest on Thursday after School, where Lt Cmdr. Smith instructed them in some Bushcraft, as well as directing a night exercise. Cadets picked, stripped, bashed, dried and then wove nettles into cord, which most made into bracelets, before beginning to build two shelters and set up camp, cooking and eating ration pack food. The night exercise was held late into the evening, in a specified area of the forest, with a hide and seek enemy premise. The cadets tucked themselves into tents whilst Lt Cmdr. Smith Lt Saagi slept in the cadet prepared shelters. The drier of the two being the one prepared by the girls, which Lt Saagi slept in and thanked them for in the morning! Friday saw cadets enjoy breakfast together before returning to School for sessions of archery and canoeing on the River Deben, with lunch provided by the Schools amazing catering staff. The day finished with a session of Field Gun Run.

It’s fair to say that everyone enjoyed all of the activities; it was another great Field Day for our cadets. Thank you to our students for getting stuck in and making the most of the activities, and to all of our staff who went along with their respective sections.

Following weeks (and weekends!) of preparation and rehearsing, this year’s Shakespeare on the Lawn was performed in School on Tuesday and Wednesday evening this week; those of you who gathered on the Chapel lawn with picnics, blankets and chairs will undoubtedly agree that the performances were nothing short of superb – and a real and absolute delight.

The glorious set, props, costumes, hair and make-up transported our audiences back to the 1950s, for Year 9’s performances of Love’s Labour’s Lost. The jolly and frivolous music and dancing that introduced the play and the characters, had everyone tapping their toes, nodding their heads and smiling from ear to ear (including everyone on stage!) – as we met our characters and the comedy unfolded.

For those of you unfamiliar with this particular play from Shakespeare, we followed four young men – one of them being the King of Navarre – as they embarked on a three year oath of study, abstaining from all distractions, particularly those of the female kind. However, those plans slowly but surely begin to unravel as the Princess of France and her ladies make their way to Navarre’s court.

The ladies arrive and suffice to say, the men fall in love with them – and what follows is (not so) secret admiration and a lot of confusion over correspondence sent by each of the characters to the other – which would be all well and good had the letters been received by the intended recipient. However, the gentlemen agree to tear up the oath and woo the women, but this is easier said than done as the women play games on them to confuse and muddle, and that they do!

This game of love continues, until the Princess of France receives news of her father’s death, this in turn sees her decide she must return to France. Panicked at the thought of the ladies leaving, the men declare their love – the ladies declare that they will return after a year and if their love is still true – and if they have completed certain tasks for them in that time – they shall marry.

This simple tale of love and foolishness, was performed under the trees on the Chapel Lawn, and as the warmth of the day receded and the breeze increased to everyone’s delight (for it had been an incredibly hot last few days), the ‘stage’ came alive on opening night, as carefully placed props and lighting, along with the undoubted talent and enthusiasm of our young actors, came to life, as did the story.

It was clear how much hard work and commitment had gone into the performances, our Year 9 students were word perfect, nothing missed, in fact everything was incredibly well performed and delighted the audiences throughout. Ripples of laughter were sprinkled throughout the performances, exactly where they were intended to be, and it really felt like a partnership rather than a performance – our audience engaged and intrigued as to what might happen next.

No matter where they might be sat on the lawn, there was something to watch from every angle, as our students used the entire lawn to perform whether that be on the main stage under the trees, or behind our audience as they prepared to enter stage left or right; if felt rather like Shakespeare in the round at times, which just added to the delight of the performances.

Every student, no matter what part they played, on or off the stage, gave their absolute all – and they certainly looked like they thoroughly enjoyed themselves too; they were confident, calm, happy and looked as though they loved every second as much as those watching.

With bicycles, boats, dart boards and even beards, the stage came to life from start to finish, encapsulating not just everything about the play, but about those taking part.

From the choreographed dance scenes and perfect lighting enhancing different parts of the play and stage, to the comedy and brilliant sarcasm, Year 9 portrayed Shakespeare’s story to captive audiences, and they did so perfectly – they didn’t put a foot wrong, an admirable achievement given the complexities of not only the language but the intricate plot of the play. They did themselves and our School incredibly proud, and the roaring applause were testament to that.

We’d like to thank everyone for coming along to see Love’s Labour’s Lost, as well as our talented and supportive Drama department; alongside the work the students had clearly invested in every second of their performances, it’s clear how much time, hard work and support has gone into helping Year 9 to bring this play to life in the way that they did.

We hope everyone who came along enjoyed themselves, and that you also had the chance to pick up unique merchandise for this year’s show, produced by our Design students; as well as creating the beautiful and unique programme, they also conceived, designed and produced mugs, magnets and coasters – keepsakes from a really super evening. Selling almost £700 worth of merchandise, Design students (pictured below) were able to donate almost £200 to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices charity, after costs for materials were covered; an impressive and healthy profit happily donated to EACH, which supports families and cares for children with life-threatening conditions across East Anglia.

We’re always incredibly proud of our students, and this week has been no exception. Our audience was filled with the delighted faces of family, friends, staff and OWs, and it was wonderful to share Year 9’s performance together.

Miss Norman recently announced, confirmed and congratulated our new Heads of School for the academic year of 2025/2026. Congratulations to Year 12’s Emily and Isaac on their appointment. We recently met with Emily and Isaac to ask them how they’re feeling about their appointment, and the academic year ahead.

Emily

“I am absolutely delighted to be taking on the role of Head Girl for the upcoming academic year. The warmth of the community, supportive nature of all the teachers and countless opportunities on offer have been an important part of what has made my years here so enjoyable.

It will be a privilege to be able to act as a representative of such a wonderful school that has done so much for me.

The sheer amount of activities available to all students is incredible – there really is something for everyone. For me, though, what really makes Woodbridge stand out is the people – the sense of kindness, generosity and genuine care can be seen around the school every day.

Personally, the instances when an older student has taken the time to help me have always stayed in my mind, I hope to be able to do the same in whatever capacity I can for others; being there for students who are struggling or simply being a friendly face who is always around for a chat.

Forming connections with students in all year groups is crucial for me – my biggest goal is to be approachable to everyone as I know what a difference it can make.

I’m so excited to be working alongside Isaac as we share many common interests and I think we will make a great team. Georgie and James have been such brilliant role models to us both and have been so supportive as we step into our new roles.

Woodbridge really is such a special place with so much to offer and it means a lot to me to have the opportunity to advocate for it. The community has helped me to grow so much as a person so I hope through this role I will be able to give something back.”

Isaac

“I am so thrilled to be the next Head Boy at Woodbridge School, and can’t wait to see what the next academic year will bring.

From when I first started School here in Year 7, I knew that Woodbridge was the best place for me, the nurturing environment and caring community has helped make so many fond memories throughout my time here.

Through the many different opportunities available to you at Woodbridge from superb concerts at an incredibly high standard to our various productions in the theatre with equally great opportunities in all other academic and non-academic areas of Woodbridge.

There is so much space for development at every level of experience here and that is what makes me proud to be a student at Woodbridge.

I hope that Emily and I will take on the roles that James and Georgie had last year with the same enthusiasm and genuine care that was reflected in everything they did; I am excited to build upon what they started with the Student Council and I can’t wait to see what can be done so that as many pupils have their voices heard as possible.

Being at Woodbridge has shaped who I am today, I have learnt so much from so many different people inside and outside the classroom, helping me build essential skills that I will use more and more as I gain more independence. I have enjoyed so much about being at School here and would love to get more people involved with all of the extra-curricular activities that Woodbridge offer.”

Last week, a Drama Scholarship and Enrichment workshop took place, hosted by Annie Eddington, a familiar face in School. Year 8’s Rebecca shared her experience of the workshop, during which Annie looked at language, interpretation, movement and many other aspects of Shakespeare’s work, focusing on this year’s Shakespeare on the Lawn, Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Year 8’s Rebecca

“It was an extraordinary experience to be selected to participate. Annie was an amazing leader; she guided us through the complex, colourful and captivating world of Shakespeare, where we delved deeper into scripts and scenes, broadening our vocabulary as well as our understanding of Shakespeare’s themes and language.

Not only is the play itself sensational, but the way we investigated the language and deeper meaning beneath a myriad of metaphors, alliteration, oxymorons, hyperbole, and countless other techniques, was fascinating.

We explored different aspects and perspectives, discussing character traits, whilst creating our own portrayals of different characters.

Overall, the workshop was wonderful, enhancing our understanding of Shakespeare, as well as our Drama and English skills.