Category: Sixth Form News
Our Senior Hockey teams went into their mid-season half term break with some great wins over Langley, capping off a very positive first half of the season. Our report from Mrs Rix, our Head of Hockey, shares details of matches, players and scores.
The 2nd team dominated from start to finish, scoring two goals in each half. Taking a positive lead allowed the team to try different positions and self-manage their coaching points, under the guidance of Mr Pineo and they did so very well. Goals on the day were scored by Year 12’s Lily, Phoebe R and Phoebe D, and Year 11’s Eloise. Player of the Match was Phoebe R with another strong performance, making a real impact in her first season at Woodbridge School.
The 1st team joined in the winning smiles, having fought hard for a three-goal victory over their opponents from Norfolk. Woodbridge had great build-up play, moving the ball with confidence all over the pitch, and being positive and vocal in their communications. Chance after chance was created and there too many near misses in the first half, really, building frustration and pressure for Woodbridge. But, finally a classy near post deflection by co-captain Year 13’s Millie broke the deadlock. A technical pep-talk by Year 11’s Bea about how to make the most of our goal scoring chances, sent the team out with new determination. Langley had more counter-attacks and Woodbridge had to be at their best to reduce their chances, while at the other end the Langley goalkeeper was getting better and better, doing well to keep everything thrown at her out. But a great reverse stick shot, well placed in the bottom corner, by Year 12’s Nancy, took the game away from Langley before Year 13’s Sophia scored another cracker – this time an undercut front stick shot into the top corner! A complete and dominate team performance with so many things to celebrate, also showing in a three-way share of the Player of Match award – Year 13’s Sophia, and Year 12’s Georgia and Lara.
Well done to these two teams who have worked hard so far and deserved their success for the progress and purpose they have shown.
Photo below of our 1st team after 3-0 win against Langley.
The U15A team proved too strong for their counterparts from Ipswich High School. Playing this fixture away is always tough, with different pitch conditions to get used to and our team adjusted well to make sure the pace of their game remained the same. Year 9’s Ella and Jemima joined the team and made an impact with their positive communication, distribution and defending. Midfield play through Year 10’s Eve, Rosa, Harper and Year 9’s Annabelle kept the Ipswich High defence moving from side to side before releasing quality passes to the forwards who worked super well together. Great rotations between Year 10’s Frankie, Amelie and Izzy confused their markers and allowed Woodbridge to set up great chances, and score goals at regular intervals, despite outstanding play from the Ipswich High goalkeeper. Goal scorers, Year 10’s Amelia and hattrick hero of the day Year 10’s Amelie P, brought lots of smiles, celebrations and high fives. Our Year 10 goalkeepers Eva and Emma also made their mark with a clean sheet, good communication and concentration to make important saves when called upon.
Well done to each of the team who played so well on the day. We look forward to seeing what the second half of the season will bring.
Photo below of our U15A team vs Ipswich High School 4-0.
As rehearsals continue for this year’s Sixth Form production of Frankenstein, we met up with Year 13’s Finlay and James, along with Year 12’s Isaac to talk about their characters and looking ahead to performing. Catching them mid-scene, they were rehearsing the part of the play where we see Dr Frankenstein searching for body parts with which he would later create his creature.
As well as rehearsing their lines, our students were working with Miss Mayes our Head of Drama, considering props and suggestion of scene; in particular for this scene it’s not going to be practical to show grave digging and body parts, so discussions took place around how our young actors might suggest different elements and moments that are important parts of the story.
It’s a pivotal part of the play, Dr Frankenstein is thoroughly excited to be retrieving body parts for his creature, whilst also pretending to be saddened at the thought of the person or persons those parts might belong to, having died in order for him to realise his dream. There’s a certain art in terms of acting as though you are pretending to feel an emotion – quite a challenge for Year 13’s James who plays the part of Dr Frankenstein, but one he’s thoroughly enjoying, as he explained when we spoke to him.
Year 13’s James, Dr Frankenstein
“This is probably the most complex, nuanced production and character I’ve ever taken on – it holds far more depth than many of the other characters I’ve played in the past School productions I’ve been lucky enough to be part of, but I’m absolutely thrilled to be taking it on!”
He continued,
“As an English A level student, I’m particularly enjoying being able to really analyse the character, certainly more than I might have in the past, it’s a fascinating character – and production. A story known by many, but an interesting adaptation, our production focuses on the Creature’s point of view rather more than Dr Frankenstein’s. The audience will realise very quickly that our production is very different to the novel, and that we’re not trying to replicate Mary Shelly’s story.”
Year 13’s Finlay, Ewan, Orkney Islander
Talking about his character Ewan, an Orkney Islander who is, in this particular scene, assisting Dr Frankenstein with the retrieval of body parts from graves, Finlay shared,
“Ewan is in charge of a little section of the island, he manages it alongside his nephew Rab, played by Isaac, who he likes to control! He’s mostly interested in money and seems to have little conscience about the fact that he’s digging up bodies for Dr Frankenstein – he’s mostly interested in the money he’s making!”
Explaining his biggest challenge, he said,
“This character has a very strong accent, but I’m working really hard to perfect it, I want to make sure he comes off as authentic in the play. He’s got lots of humour, well, this particular scene has – even though in essence it’s quite dark, as we’re digging up graves, and he’s been a real change in character compared to others I’ve played in the past, and a complete contrast in terms of the level of seriousness and depth of this character, in comparison to that I played in Jack Absolute! That in itself has been exciting, I’m enjoying embracing a more masculine character, with a very different dimension in that he’s extremely self-centred – there’s so much darkness in Frankenstein, and if you look closely enough you’ll see it in almost all the characters!”
Year 12’s Isaac, Rab Ewan’s Nephew
Carrying on from Finaly’s interview, Isaac shared,
“I too am finding the accent to be my biggest challenge – but it’s great fun trying it out and I’m looking forward to offering the audience an authentic character in the performances.”
Talking more about his character he said,
“Rab is great fun to play, he’s very simple minded with a drive for food, and food alone, but that in itself is joy to play, and he offers small moments of comic relief in a dark and gothic production. I’m really looking forward to performing and I especially enjoy when we begin to rehearse in costume with full stage props and set – it’s so exciting and absolutely brilliant as the play starts to come together when we’re all on stage acting together. I’ve had smaller roles in past productions, so this is a big character for me to play with some big and important scenes – and I can’t wait!”
Designing Frankenstein
As well as rehearsals in School, other elements of the production have been in progress – in particular the design of the programme which our audience will receive upon arrival to the theatre on both nights of the performance.
Design students Year 11’s Lexi, Laura and Selena, along with Year 13’s Lola and Alina, have been working hard behind the scenes – literally – on a rather intricate design. Briefed a few weeks ago, they’re progressing extremely well, now meeting to share their individual elements of the design with one another and with Mrs Cracknell, Head of Design. She shared,
“The students have been working hard on individual parts of the overall design – each designated a body part to create which will come together to create one body – the emphasis being on each of those body part designs being individual since this echoes the Creature, made up of different parts of different people. As the designs have been shared it’s been interesting to see how they’re all unique yet have one common element, quite by coincidence – they’re all rather mechanical designs.”
She continued,
“It’s uncanny really, but it has meant that the overall design is coming together beautifully and easily from a structure purpose, as they all come together to create one overall image for the programme. Our next step is to create that singular image and design text to sit in the design, something we’re going to be focusing on next.”
From the students’ point of view this has been a great exercise in receiving a brief and discovering for themselves how to deliver what is needed within the dictated timeframe. Mrs Cracknell shared,
“This project offers them a real-life scenario in terms of what it is like to work with a client, in that our Drama department has requested this design be produced and delivered, setting them requirements and deadlines. The project clearly demonstrates the importance of meeting a brief and delivery of different elements, as well as relying on other people’s support and involvement – It’s a great example of a real-world project that they might be involved in beyond School. They’ve met every part of the brief so far and I’m excited to see the next stage evolve.”
Frankenstein will be performed in our Seckford Theatre on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 November 2024.
As part of Field Day last week, our Director of Music, Jonathan Woodley, encouraged students from Years 10 to 13 to consider what they might like to do, rather than dictate the session himself.
Ever enthusiastic and highly ambitious and creative, these young musicians decided they would like to record cover versions of songs by Etta James and Nina Simone.
Mr Woodley commented on his decision to hand the power over to his students for their Field Day activity,
“By giving students the freedom to make these kinds of choices it empowers and motivates them, as well as creating desire, interest and broadening their approach to making music – it’s the perfect storm!”
He continued,
“I explained to each of them that I wouldn’t be writing the music for them, they would have to figure out the chords for themselves and work together to put on a performance ahead of recording it. I take a similar approach with all of my students – encouraging them to learn to play with sheet music as well as without – playing by ear is just as important a skill for young musicians, and one that is often overlooked. Every lesson, rehearsal and even this Field Day is an opportunity to learn, to improve and to realise what they’re able to accomplish with hard work and focus.”
Talking more about his approach to teaching music in general he shared,
“Even when we have a band or an orchestra, I have an expectation of each musician taking ownership of the part they play – pardon the pun – and ensuring that they have a learning opportunity each and every time. There’s little point giving them a piece of music they could easily perform, the purpose of learning more about themselves, their instruments, playing together and music in general is to stretch them, taking them out of their comfort zone slightly and most importantly give them the opportunity to improve – which they always do!”
He continued,
“I’ll often hear students share their concerns that they can’t play the piece they’ve been given in an orchestra, worried it’s beyond their current capabilities – but that’s the whole point, and by the end, when it comes to the live performance, they can always do what they worried they couldn’t. Because they’ve learned to!”
It’s clear to see the students thoroughly enjoyed Field Day, and by all accounts they recorded some super music. Well done everyone!
With news from our Junior 4, Junior 1, U14A, U14B and Senior 2nd teams, this week’s Hockey report holds details of matches, players and highlights in terms of development and outcomes.
Hockey Team in the Spotlight: Junior 4s
Our Junior 4s have had a great start to the Hockey season – unbeaten so far and scoring lots of goals. Eleven goals have been scored in their four matches at time of writing and only three conceded.
This team is learning how to grind out positive results, with a good mix of Year 8 experience and composure, and Year 7 enthusiasm and desire to learn. After a big win over RHS and a satisfying draw against Fram College’s 3rd team, the team took confidence into two matches last week. These two games were contrasting wins but proves how a good team gets it done.
Against Ipswich High School U13C, our team grew in confidence throughout the game and started to play nice attacking patterns. This confidence came from solid defending and distribution from our left and right back, Year 8’s Mazie and Isabella, and saves from our two goalies, Year 7’s Nina and Najma. Goals came at regular intervals, two by captain and Player of the Match, Year 8’s India, and one each by Year 7’s Georgie and Year 8’s Amber who made an immediate impact when she came on the pitch with strong passing and a great set piece play at the short corner. Year 8’s Jemima worked tirelessly in midfield and forward positions and was a real play maker for the team. A very nice win to go into the tough game against Norwich School the next day.
This time the team scraped and battled for their win, but so they did. The only Woodbridge team to get a win against the tough Norwich opposition on the day, Jemima continued her spirited play and scored both Woodbridge goals!
Well done to the 4s for such a great half term. Miss Sanders loves coaching you and we love how you play with such good team spirit and enjoyment.
More Hockey Highlights
After the amazing success of Woodbridge School Prep U11’s winning the U11 County Cup, the Junior 1 team was determined to leave their mark on the U13 County event.
Strong performances and mature game management under pressure in their three pool matches, saw the team qualify for the semi-final. This game against Ipswich High School was a great tournament knock out game. Woodbridge executed their plans well but could just not build as much attacking momentum as in the previous two games. A great PC strike was the thing that beat us.
Not deflated, Woodbridge approached their battle against Barnardiston for the third place with their usual search for excellence. After a great power goal by captain India, we played the game out to secure the 3rd place in the County.
One of the many magic moments of the day was a sublime diving stick save by Year 8’s Clem against OBH to keep our lead, a well taken quick free hit and solo goal by Year 7’s Chloe and a all-round Player of the Day performance by Year 8’s Alexandra. Goals on the day were scored by Year 8’s Ella (2), India (2) and Chloe (Y7).
The U14B team of Year 9 girls, are also showing how much they are learning and enjoying playing together. A completely dominant performance against RHS last week, saw them only come away with a draw, but deserving so much more. Lovely passing hockey and good decision making, combined with strong defending allowed Woodbridge to make so many chances. It was just the last touch eluding them, or the GK getting in the way. Imogen was a star up front and deservedly voted as Player of the Match by our team. Marina was dominant in midfield as was captain, Isabel. Mr Wheelhouse will be very proud of the way the team executed their “3 x SPEED” (ball… thoughts… feet). Freya in goal was a game changer at the end too, having to make important saves when there were dangerous breakaways. Well done to this team; such a great group of players and people.
Mr Brous reports
The U14A team also had an end-to-end game at Rushmere, playing against an Ipswich School U14B/A combination team. Mr Brous reported on the match.
This match was a fiercely competitive, and well-balanced in terms of match-up. We dominated the first 10 minutes, but their keeper was outstanding and made several great saves. As the match progressed Ipswich gained in confidence and began to make in-roads into our defence. With fatigue setting in, we began to lose control and started making passes that were intercepted, allowing for Ipswich to counter-attack. However, the defence remained strong, and several impressive saves by Bay kept us in the match. We held on through some strong attacks by Ipswich in the last five minutes to draw the game. Special mention must go to Lottie, who worked incredibly hard up and down the pitch, and was the teams’ Player of the Match.
Our Senior 2nd team made the long journey to Wymondham, to take on their U16A team. It was a journey well worth making as all reports from the match were about how well our team played . A solid win with goals from Year 12’s Lily as well as Year 13’s Amelie and Millie.
Well done to these teams and all the others who represented our School so well last week and over the whole half term.
Last Thursday, the first Drama Vocal Masterclass of the academic year took place for our scholarship and enrichment students. Year 11’s Ed shares his experience of the Masterclass below.
Year 11’s Ed
I was intrigued by the idea of a vocal workshop, and I really enjoyed exploring in depth the different ways you can improve the diction, clarity, tone, and professionalism of the human voice.
Mrs Lockwood got us to find out where we hold the most tension in our body, so we could learn and adapt to let go of that tension in a vocal warm-up, or before delivering a speech or going on stage.
Personally, I never knew how much tension I held in my jaw, and just letting go and relaxing it by using a technique of gently massaging the jaw hinge was very helpful and I could really feel the difference in the clarity and clearness of my voice.
Throughout the workshop, we experimented with different vocal techniques which all helped improve our voices dramatically.
I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and recommend it very highly. Mrs Lockwood uncovered parts of my voice I never knew I had. Five stars!
It certainly was a memorable week for Hockey last week, with so much progress and many magic moments. Read our reports below, from Mrs Rix, our Head of Hockey.
The start of last week saw the best so far from the 1st Hockey team, playing against Ipswich High School after School on Monday, followed by an enthralling battle against Ipswich School 2nd team on Tuesday. Both matches saw Woodbridge go behind but come back to secure very satisfying draws! Which felt like wins.
The context of these games is important. Both opponents achieved convincing victories last year in the same fixture, but this Woodbridge team is special and has shown discipline, winning attitude, desire, work ethic, togetherness and attacking confidence which will continue to push them forward.
Woodbridge went into the match against Ipswich High School with a specific tactic to nullify the opposition’s strength. This was executed perfectly; Year 11’s Charlie H showing endless energy, discipline and mental application in this job. The team’s defending work, from front to back, with Year 13 co-captains Millie and Charlotte leading the forward and back lines respectively. Loads of chances were created at both ends, year 13’s Freya in goal doing her bit for Woodbridge while Year 11’s Bea and Year 12’s Nancy came agonisingly close to scoring, being denied by the IHS goalkeeper. Bea got the goal we needed to draw level and push for more. A massive credit to the character and desire of the team to defend a penalty corner well at the death to keep things level. Well done to Year 13’s Lola who made a confident debut for the team.
On Tuesday there was no sign of fatigue as Woodbridge got out the blocks fast against Ipswich School. Our half backs, Year 13’s Rose and Year 11’s Lily had a great day, attacking up the flacks and helping to feed the forwards. Woodbridge created numerous goal scoring chances, much to the excitement of those watching on. Year 12’s Eve was back to top from in defence for Woodbridge, making sure Ipswich School’s attacks were snuffed, well supported by excellent left-hand-low tackling from Charlotte H. One did sneak through but Woodbridge still looked the stronger team and matched fast runs by the Ipswich attackers, not giving them an inch to attack direct. The game was end-to-end and Woodbridge must be commended for their discipline and professional approach to the attacking and defensive structure, and how they executed set pieces. Rose scored for Woodbridge from a penalty corner, just deserves after getting close from open play. It looked like Charlie’s reverse strike in the dying seconds was going to get the win for us but the goalie stuck her left foot out and denied the bottom corner goal. Although every member of the squad must be credited with outstanding play the two player of the match candidates were Charlie and Rose, with Rose taking the honors on the day.
Late afternoon saw the heavens open up, as well as the goal scoring floodgates for the 3rd XI. The Tuesday after School match saw a replay from the draw the previous week, this time Woodbridge hosting Fram College. The team’s spirits were high despite the delayed start and relentless rain. The girls worked hard moving the ball around playing a passing game and were rewarded with four goals. The scoreline of 4-0 may sound one sided, but this was not the case. It was end-to-end but Woodbridge School goalkeeper, Year 11’s Poppy, proved the difference between the sides. Poppy was our Player of the Match, keeping everything out which Fram threw at her. A very positive performance, keeping the clean sheet and setting our team up for the win. Our Captain, Year 13’s Bee, also had an influential performance in the middle of the pitch, distributing well and excelling in one-on-one defending.
Juniors Make History
Four Junior teams (made up of Year 7 and 8 students) played against Fram College. Our Junior 3 and 4 teams showed true Woodbridge School values, in how they hosted and supported our visitors. Arriving without a goalkeeper for their team(s), Woodbridge GK’s Nina and Najma, both Year 7, were roped in to help the opposition out, and doing so very well. The Junior 4 team played an adjusted game and achieved a draw, while the Junior 3s dominated in a convincing win. Well done to the goal scorers for this team, Year 8’s Elle and Bella, and Year 7’s Katherine. Miss Hinton was very proud of this great team performance.
On the other half of the hockey pitch, the Junior 2nd team played out a closely contested draw, getting the equaliser close to the end. Year 8’s Imarah in goal, made plenty saves to keep the scoreline down and Woodbridge in the game. Year 8’s Imogen M got Woodbridge’s goal in the last few minutes, after battling hard. A lesson to learn for this team is to stick to their patterns and plans and not adopt those of the opposition. A strong performance from Year 8’s Rebecca in the second half, and drives from Year 8’s Issy helped Woodbridge build more attacks, attacking the opposition’s left foot, and create chances.
The Junior 1 girls made history in a dominant performance from start to finish, beating Fram College for the first time at this level! Every player delivered a clinical performance, executing the game plan to perfection and the opposition had no answer. When they tried to change Woodbridge was still too good. Captain, Year 8’s India, scored a hattrick of goals, playing her central midfield role perfectly on the day (also winning the Player of the Match award). Year 8’s Lottie played with class and confidence, executing all of her skills and her position to perfection. Year 7’s Martha scored her first goal for Woodbridge School, with Year 8’s Ella completing the scoring. Year 8’s Jasmine at forward was outstanding in pressing and attacking. Well done to this team on such a great performance and achievement.
The U15B team topped off the week with a well-earned draw against Norwich High School.
Well done to each of our players, who are working so hard in lessons, practices and matches. Thanks for all the support and hard work from staff too, who guide these teams and players to be their best.
It has been a busy start on the Netball front (even though it is not the netball season yet!).
The U15As played their first league tournament at home and won all three of their matches, a week later, they played St Joseph’s College in the Sisters ‘n’ Sport Cup competition at home, in the newly refurbished dome, and put on an incredible performance, where they won 51 – 25. The team worked superbly together and turned over several loose balls in order to gain an advantage, which they converted into goals. A great performance! They are looking forward to their next round match.
The U14As had their first league tournament at home, and after a slow first half of their first match, the team realised they had to set up a gear and played some really good netball. Although they lost their first match by one goal, they won the other three matches and luckily, came out on top, on goal difference. Well done!
The U19s travelled to Norwich School last Friday to play their first-round match in the Sisters ‘n’ Sport competition. Although we came away with a 45-35 loss, our girls should be proud of their performance, especially against a performance side where a number of the opposition play regional for their local teams.
The team’s grit and determination cannot be faulted as they never gave up trying. Year 10’s Georgia C was drafted in to help with the shooting and Year 11’s Millie B and Lyrah B also joined the team, as we had some players who were absent, and Year 11’s Lyrah received Player of the Match.
Charlotte worked superbly in the shooting circle with her new teammate and Georgia, Millie and Phoebe fed the circle perfectly, always backing up on the circle edge. Georgie along with Lyrah and Juno worked tirelessly in defence, applying pressure as much as they could to an extremely tall shooter (who was so hard to defend!). Meanwhile, Issy and Marina worked well both with our defence and attacking players to bring the ball down. A superb team effort and performance – one which the team should be proud of!! Well done!
Georgia and Lyrah
As you may have read in the Woodbridgian Weekly or seen on our socials this week, Year 11’s Lyrah has been selected for the England Netball Pathway, following her selection for the London Mavericks U19 Professional Development Pathway squad, placing her as one of the top netballers in the East Region, including Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Lincolnshire. Lyrah’s selection was slightly unusual, yet demonstrates her level of skill, since she was trialing for the U17 squad.
Year 10’s Georgia has also been celebrating, having been selected for an Essex U15 hub. Competing against over 1,000 U15 players in a trial for the London Pulse Super League franchise, including others from across London, the South Coast and Home Counties, this is an incredible achievement, as from this hub, London Pulse then screen for girls to move up into the Player Development Pathway or into the Academy.
Congratulations to both of them.
On Monday, Woodbridge School hosted the Suffolk round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup, and we had five teams competing across the age groups. Our Junior runners were from Years 7 and 8, our Inters from Years 9 and 10, and our Seniors from Years 11 to 13.
Junior Girls Team
With the top three teams in each race progressing to the Regionals, we are excited to report that all five teams qualified in style, with five team victories!
Senior Boys Team
We had individual winners in three of those races with Year 8’s Dex winning Junior Boys, Year 10’s Romilly winning Inter Girls and Year 13’s Iwan winning Senior Boys.
A special mention for the Junior Boys, with all six Woodbridge School athletes finishing in the top seven. Some achievement!
Junior Boys Team
The top four athletes’ finishing positions of each school are added together in each race and lowest score wins:
- Junior Boys : Woodbridge 12, second school 58
- Junior Girls : Woodbridge 16, second school 32
- Inter Boys : Woodbridge 20, second school 34
- Inter Girls : Woodbridge 17, second school 26
- Senior Boys : Woodbridge 15, second school 35
Congratulations to every athlete and good luck to our teams racing Regionals in Essex, at Felsted School on Thursday 7 November.
A huge thank you to all of our staff and parents for assisting with the hosting of the County round!
Last week was a very busy one for hockey indeed, with no less than 10 fixtures played and two County Cup events competed at! There was lots to celebrate and performances developed and built on.
While the 1st XI took part in the U18 County Cup, the 2nd and 3rd XI travelled to Framlingham College for late matches. Mr Pineo and Mrs Scahill report from these matches respectively:
Woodbridge School 2nd Team
The first seven minutes, Woodbridge played fantastic hockey and worked to be defensively strong. However, despite an early goal, the team didn’t carry on with what was working and we became our own worst enemy! Framlingham took advantage of our lapses in and made several good attacks. Half-time was a good reset, with some promising hockey played after the break, but the team unable to convert possession and chances. Despite the narrow loss, lots of learning and a game which will ultimately see the team become stronger for it.
Senior 3rd Team
The first outing for the senior 3rd team was he proverbial ‘game of two halves’. Woodbridge were rusty and getting used to playing together in the first half, going two goals down. A much improved performance followed in the second half, pressing better and controlling possession better with good passing. There were promising attacking runs and through balls, breaking the defensive lines, which created opportunities to score. Goals were scored by Year 11’s Libby and Year 13’s Phoebe to level the scores and give the team a deserved draw in their first match.
Junior 1st Team
Wednesday saw our Year 7s and 8s play their first matches of the season. Five teams were able to play against RHS, matching the five teams they could field. Lots of excitement followed in the afternoon, with good performances and outcomes.
At RHS, the Junior 1st team achieved a come from behind draw, despite being the superior team. Woodbridge showed their skill and tactical structure, playing some very attractive hockey. Some good saves in goal by Year 8 goalies, Clem and Imarah, kept things at bay, but RHS still managed to score two goals against the run of play. Not deterred and sticking to their process and systems, Woodbridge continued to push and were rewarded for their efforts. A well-taken penalty corner goal by Year 8 Lottie closed the gap, before Year 7’s Chloe slotted an excellent team goal into the net to draw the game. Chloe and team captain Year 8’s India were voted Players of the Match by the opposition and Woodbridge teams. A shout out to Year 8’s, Ella, Alexandra and Lottie who showed their experience and skill with influential performances.
Junior 2s: Mrs Johnson reports
A good sound game with lots to work on in our first game versus RHS. We started working well as a team, putting our press together and putting RHS under pressure. They took the lead in the first half and after half time we applied the pressure with Imogen scoring our equaliser; a clinical receive in the D and clever reverse push past the GK. Clem secured the draw with an awesome save in the dying seconds!
Junior 3s: Miss Hinton reports from the convincing win against RHS
An excellent display of moving the ball down the right and winning the ball up the pitch, the Junior 3 team started strongly. Year 7s linked up on the right, Daisy and Issy to get the ball down to the baseline and fired across for a tap in from Katherine. The next goal was a piece of art; a team passing it with purpose on the short corner for Year 8’s Bella to fire in at the post, perfect example of Tuesday’s deflection practice!
In the second half, a strong run into the D from Year 8’s Ellie and a powerful shot from the top was enough to surprise the goalie and a final goal from Year 7’s Issy capped off a wonderful team performance where every player contributed wonderfully, and captain Mariella was voted our player of the match.
Junior 4, 5 and 6: Miss Hinton reports
The Junior 4 and Junior 5 teams completed the afternoon of wins for Woodbridge School. The 4s ran away with it and dominated and camped in the RHS half. Year 7’s Georgie and Year 8’s India B each scored a brace, while Year 8’s Lilia was the players’ Player of the Match. The Junior 5s, playing at home, competed well and came out the winners by narrow margins, each player putting in their best effort and learning fast, including Year 7’s Emily in goal, playing well. The deciding goal was scored by player of the match, Year 7’s Sarah.
The Junior 6 group hosted a team from the Prep School, getting match practices before a first fixture. Year 7’s Nina was the star of the afternoon, playing super well in goal.
U15A Match: Mrs Johnson reports
At the end of the week two U15 teams travelled to Magpies to play against Greshams. Traditionally a strong opponent, Greshams proved a real test. The U15B team learned loads from the game and have identified areas to improve to become a challenging opponent themselves.
A physically strong Greshams side put us under pressure from the beginning of this game and although we went two goals down within the first 10 minutes, we rallied and started to work better as a team. A slow start in the first half for our Year 10 players, took the game out of reach but there were some positives and sound performances from a number of players, including Rosa, Eve, Amelie in the outfield, and Eva and Emma our two goalkeepers were kept busy in goal!
A strong second half performance from Woodbridge saw them match their tough opponent and the scoreboard unmoved, until right at the end when Greshams scored at the final whistle from a penalty corner.
Lots to learn from and lots to build on. Well done to all the Year 10 players on the day, for their resilience and determination.
U14A County Hockey Cup
Our U14A team of Year 8 and 9 players had a productive and successful day at the U14 Hockey County Cup last week. The first match against Ipswich High School proved frustrating, with Woodbridge unable to score half chances, and just allowing the key playmaker for the High School too much space and time. Goalkeeper, Year 9’s Bay, reached top form so early in the season and made powerful save after powerful save. She was finally beaten by an unfortunate deflection off a defender right in front of her – nothing could be done. With Woodbridge pushing they conceded two more penalty corner goals and there was not time to get goals back.
With the first game out the way, so were nerves and worries, and great flowing hockey followed. Woodbridge outplayed RHS in terms of skill and tactics and walked away worthy winners; goals scored by Year 9’s Amelie and year 8’s India. The last line of defence of Year 9’s Bay, Ella, Charlie, Jemima D and Tabby showed so much composure which gave our team confidence to attack – this lasted all day. Great individual defending and distribution forward, sideways and back helped Woodbridge have a lot of possession to play with.
A change of pitch left little time to talk before the third game on the trot against Culford. Woodbridge created chance after chance and entertained all those watching. The “oohs” and “aahs” were many as Woodbridge game agonisingly close to scoring too many times without making it count. Year 9’s Eirann snuck an important chance to secure the win, but Woodbridge would come to rue all those missed chances.
Going into the final game against Finborough, Woodbridge knew they needed to win by at least five goals to progress to Regionals. The team worked so hard, and peppered the Finborough goal; saves, near misses, hitting the posts, and goals! Year 8’s India scored two in the game, Year 9’s Tabby scored a cracker from a PC to set us off and Year 9’s Eirann scored her second of the day. In the end the clock ran out and Woodbridge was one short.
Sharing top of the table, it all came down to the goal difference, we needed one more goal in one of those matches – so close but so great too. A very promising display of hockey by the team, whom everyone watching named as the best team on the day and best team they played against.
The defenders have already been mentioned, but special mention also to our co-captains, Year 9’s Jemima B and Annabelle who controlled the midfield and ran endlessly, Amelie who led the forward line. Special mentions also to the three Year 8 players, Ella, Lottie and India, who made such a positive impact.
The future is bright with our young Hockey players.
Last Friday, A level Drama students were treated to an all-day London theatre trip where they were lucky enough to catch a matinee and evening performance. Hear from Year 12’s Phoebe and Emily, as they share their thoughts and feelings about the productions in their reports below.
Viola’s Room – 1 Cartridge Place, Woolwich
Reviewed by Phoebe
Punchdrunk has re-defined immersive theatre with Viola’s Room, a haunting exploration of innocence, womanhood and growing up; themes which connected the group, as well as feelings of awe and anticipation! From shadow puppets, to handcrafted life size popup books, it felt like Daisy Johnson had whisked us back to our childhood, propelling us through a whirlwind journey of nostalgia, chaos, and comfort.
On this audio-described journey, we delved into the fantastical world of the young princess; held under the trance of the ballet slipper she escapes reality, losing herself to the freedom of dancing, freed from the rules of the palace. From beginning to end, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, the suspense and tension of each unfolding event making us feel as though we were losing control, compelling us to grab hold of whoever was next to us!
Guided only by light and sound, we found ourselves travelling around a complex set of tunnels and meticulously detailed rooms – directed every step of the way by the familiar voice of Helena Bonham Carter. It was the attention to detail that put this above anything else I have experienced; it truly was an unforgettable experience!
The Other Place – National Theatre, South Bank
Reviewed by Emily
Directed by Alexander Zeldin, The Other Place is a contemporary reimagining of Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy, Antigone. This modernisation was expertly handled, and the production did everything we want Greek drama to do; explore weighty themes, such as familial feuds, whilst introducing the audience to complex characters who developed over the course of the play.
This production had a stellar cast but one performance that stood out to me was that of Alison Oliver who played Issy, one of the two sisters at the forefront of the story. Oliver brilliantly captured the essence of the character portrayed in the original tragedy whilst bringing a new grit that only elevated her performance.
The tension created on-stage was palpable and rippled throughout the audience, not only during the climax of the performance but in a range of moments that permeated throughout the production. This left us with a real sense of catharsis as we left the theatre, making The Other Place such an enjoyable watch.
