Category: Sport
Congratulations to the U14 rounders team on their excellent performance in the recent qualifiers held at Ipswich High:
The eight teams were drawn into two pools, and we played Westbourne (winning 7-6), Ipswich High School B (10½-5) and Kesgrave (8½-3), and finishing off with a strong victory in the final against East Bergholt by 6½-5.
Teamwork was to the fore during the afternoon with some fantastic rounders being scored by Issy Eaton, Emily Whyte, Molly Marshall and Erin Heffernan. There were also some brilliant catches from Elsa Trevor-Pallares and fielding from Jo Dunmore, Bea Hutchison and Ashleigh Wildbore, and some wonderfully consistent bowling from Cecily Royal-Dawson who has only just started playing in this highly pressurised position. Well done, girls! Bring on the County Finals and defence of our title next Wednesday!
A glorious day saw Woodbridge School well represented in the Suffolk team across track and field events, and the fine weather was matched by some wonderful performances. Flora Pitt competed well in the long jump; Mauricio Corfe and John Hendry in the relay; John Hendry’s duel in the 200m was probably the most exciting event of the day, even though he had to concede victory and settle for second; April Hill matched John with a fine second in the 1500m; and Nathan Goddard (third place in the 3000m), one position ahead of Alex Evans Lombe in the same race both had a strong Norfolk wind to contend with.
In the field, Tom Turner recorded a high jump PB of 1.45m and Tori McCarroll, hot on his heels was successful at 1.35m. A PB of 32.01m and a third place went the way of Chisom Oguamanam in the discus; and Sophie Graham’s double victory: in the discus and in the final field event of the day, the javelin, ended a long and successful exhibition of athletics.
On Friday 8 June, Bedford and the East Area Prep Schools’ Athletics Championships was the venue of choice for those of our pupils who had gained this season’s qualifying times and distances. With 51 schools present, every event was highly competitive making finishing in the top two to qualify for the Nationals in Birmingham quite a challenge.
First to compete for the senior school was Ruby Vinton in the 1500m. She set a new record by 3 seconds running in 4:54.8 and was way in front of the rest of the field from the start! Woodbridge now hold the best two times in the history of the event, as April Hill set the previous record two years ago. Henry Dinwiddy also qualified in the 800m finishing second in his race. Fazil Akyol did well to get to the finals of the 200m, but found rushing from the high jump competition to the 200m final and back to high jump was one obstacle too much. However he was delighted to win the high jump with a clearance of 1.50m. He also made the relay final with fellow team mates Ronald Hui, Tommy Burrows and Ebuke Ofunne. Tom Martin threw the javelin 31.09m to win his competition; and with the last field event of the day Beau Barrington-Hibbert threw the discus a magnificent 28.30m to set another new record, eclipsing OW Katie La Vergne’s mark held for the past seven years. Moments later, at 6.10pm, the girls’ relay team of Ruby Vinton, Maddie Buchanan, Libbie Brightey and Ada Marson sealed another second place, and qualification for Birmingham.
Those who narrowly missed out in 3rd place were Lexie Barrington-Hibbert, Tom Mitchell and Henry Dinwiddy in discus and Katie Norman in javelin. These amazing results are testimony to our athletes’ hard work and dedicated training under the expert guidance of coaches Mr Graham and Mr Goddard. Two new records set and a trip to the Nationals on the 3rd July in prospect! Our thanks also go to Mr Wheelhouse and Miss Sanders who were busy officiating all day.
Probably a first for Suffolk Cricket: siblings Daniel and Katie Norman, Woodbridge School Year 10 & 8 respectively, both captaining Suffolk Cricket age groups on the same day and both scoring 50s!
Daniel faced arguably the country’s leading team in Middlesex at Woodbridge School in a 50 over Royal London Cup fixture: Daniel captained, was wicket keeper and number 6 batsman. He steered Suffolk from 21 for 4 and 27 for 5 to a respectable 133 all out scoring exactly 50, though his efforts proved in vain as unfortunately Middlesex won by 9 wickets. He also scored a 50 last year against Middlesex at Woodbridge School. Very few batsmen achieve the feat of back-to-back 50s against Middlesex who boast boys from some of the top cricketing schools in the country.
Katie also captained the girls’ U13 Suffolk team who faired a somewhat better! Her team scored 237-8 off 35 overs with Katie hitting a superb 52 not out, batting at number 6. She then followed this up with 2 wickets when bowling as Suffolk dismissed their opponents Hertfordshire for 77 to earn a comprehensive victory.
This has been an outstanding first Senior School winter for young Ruby Vinton who was competing a year up in Club and Inter County events as an under 13. Ruby was ranked 6th in the UK after a winter in the mud, which is the second highest ranking by any Suffolk athlete, and she is one of only three Suffolk Juniors to make the rankings across the ages. Ruby’s impressive season included a win at the National England Schools’ Cup, victories at the South of England Inter Counties and South of England individual events, and a fantastic 8th at the UK inter Counties.
Not only is Ruby competing a year up, she is an August birthday in Year 7! What a winter; all being well Ruby has an exciting few years ahead.
It was a great day at the ESAA English Schools’ Track and Field Cup.
Our junior (Years 7/8) and intermediate (Years 9/10) athletics teams went to compete in the ESAA English Schools’ Track and Field Cup at Bury St Edmunds on 17 May. With sixteen schools entered competition was tough. Our best 13 girls and 15 boys in each division were selected to compete in two events each in a way which ensured that all the events were covered. After that, it was the distances and times which counted, gaining points for the team – with only the top school to qualify! This was our chance – a chance mirrored across 80-plus similar events for multiple schools across the country.
Our junior girls’ team did well finishing 6th. Highest scorers were Ruby Vinton and Beau Barrington-Hibbert on 38 points, and 37 for Amy Goddard. The best individual performance was Ruby’s in the 1500m, finishing in 4:57!
The Junior boys’ team finished 8th. Top scorers were Fazil Akyol with 39 points, Henry Dinwiddy with 35 and Tom Martin 33. Fazil’s javelin throw of 29.75m was the top scoring individual achievement.
The intermediate girls won with an amazing 408 points (second place RHS on 310 points some way behind). These points place them around 6th in the country as they go into the Regional round… that from 1000 schools taking part! Amazing! Top scorer was Nell Pilkington with an outstanding 54 points with a throw of 11.23m in shot (worth 35 on its own) and 100m run of 13.8s. Second was Sophie Graham with 49 points and third Emily Whyte with 44. Victoria Burrows, Flora Pitt, Isabelle Eaton, Ianthe Hill, Ella Walker, Annie Yates, April Hill, Bea Thomas and Joey Zhou all added excellent scores from fine individual performances to secure victory.
The intermediate boys also won in very fine style with RHS and Farlingaye second and third respectively. Top scorer was Leroy Okojie with 42 points thanks in part to his blistering 11.0s for 100m, second John Hendry with 40 and third Maurico Corfe.
What a season this team has had! Although a couple of their matches were cancelled, due to the inclement weather conditions, we still managed to play some extremely competitive matches. The first league match was against Ipswich High School and we knew from the tournament back in October, that this was going to be a tough game as we had beaten them in the past and vice versa. To say this game was a nail biting one is an understatement… Although we went ahead in the first quarter, the High School soon caught up until the score was level pegging. Every centre mattered as well as every goal. In the final quarter, the score was 20 all with only 2 minutes to go. Luckily, we managed to convert our centre which took us one goal ahead and then we turned their next centre over and scored…yes! A great win which was deserved. Next was another tough team: Ipswich School. Yet again, this game was nail biting until the end, particularly as we were behind going into the fourth quarter. The girls cannot be faulted for their sheer determination to ensure they came away with another win to secure a good position in the South Suffolk League. Farlingaye were next – again another team we wanted to gain success against…and we did, by quite a big margin. The last league games were against St Jo’s A and B teams.
We faced the B team first and secured a 57 – 2 win…now currently competing for 1st in the league with rivals St Jo’s. They had won all of their fixtures, so this was the match of all matches! Definitely the best game of the season, the team focused from the starting whistle and gave 100% from the off. At the end of the first quarter we were 8 – 5 up, but unfortunately we were unable to hold this lead and we were trailing behind by 1 at the end of each quarter. Going in to the final quarter, the team knew they had to continue to focus and give everything they had if they were in with a chance of winning. With one minute to go, the score was 25 all…we intercepted St Jo’s centre, but unfortunately could not convert it. St Jo’s then sneakily scored to go one up and with our centre; it was all to play for. The ball reached our attacking circle, where a shot was put up but the opposition gained possession just before the final whistle. A really emotional but positive end to the season, particularly playing a team who compete in the BUCS league every Wednesday afternoon. I am so proud of you all with how you conducted yourself against some feisty competition…an excellent game to end Year 13 on for some of you.
Thank you to all the parents and students who came to support the girls – it was amazing having such a big crowd and people to encourage the team as I was umpiring!!
U15C
This is the first time we have entered an U15C team into the South Suffolk league – which is amazing. This team in particular should be congratulated on their efforts on the netball court as they played excellently, especially against some tough and boisterous opposition. Their heads never went down and they fought until the final whistle of each match. They had some difficult matches against other schools’ B teams, but always tried their absolute hardest. Frustratingly for them, most of their matches were narrow defeats, losing by only 2 or 3 goals. Well done girls, thank you for all you have done on the netball court! Team: Lizzie Boynton (Captain), Emma Trebilcock, Petronella Powell, Iona Murland, Beth Turner, Livia Gray, Kira Sharples, Zoe Newman, Amelia Kirkham, Aimen Alvi and Arina Zhukovskaya (who only started playing netball in January).
U14A
The season has been a touch frustrating because many of the squad had commitments to other sports and so could not play for some of the matches, however this has allowed other B team players to experience A team fixtures which has been good for their development.
In defence Ariane Bilgen, Issy Eaton, Molly Marshall and Myla Hart have been very strong. Their understanding of the game and anticipation has increased significantly. In mid court Lottie Edmunds has become a key player in building the teams attack and working hard at intercepting the ball in defence. Jess Elmer, April Hill and Eleanor Wright have also worked hard in the centre court positions. In attack Ella Walker (captain) and Emily Whyte have developed a quick thinking game that has often left the opposition struggling to keep up with them. Their movement and tactics have improved dramatically over the season to end up with polished performances in the circle.
U14B
The U14B team has had a successful season, playing 7 matches and winning 5. Although the squad contained 12 players, they all should be proud of how hard they worked and how well they gelled together as a team in whatever combination they were playing. They even won against A teams(a magnificent achievement), and rounded off their season with a fine victory over Felsted. A real team effort, girls, well done! Particular mention to Joey Zhou, who only started playing netball in January and was nominated POM by most of the opposing teams. Team: Cecily Royal-Dawson (Captain), Ella Reynard, Joey Zhou, Emily Outen, Bea Hutchison, Clara Simpson, Talia Fawcett, Olivia Field, Myla Hart, Ashleigh Wildbore, Maisy Webster and Erin Heffernan.
U14C
This was the first time we have entered an U14C team into the South Suffolk Netball league – which shows the sheer commitment and depth we have at Woodbridge. I cannot fault the girls’ motivated and determined approach in their competitive fixtures, especially playing against other schools’ A teams. Although we were unlucky to lose a few games, the standard of netball they played was terrific. Well done girls for all your hard work – bring on next season! Team: Lakisha Charema (Captain), Nina Varadarajan, Julia Long, Ruby Cole, Abby Cheung, Katie Bellhouse, Jo Dunmore, Gabby McKay, Jade Soames, Etiane Cheung and Basak Kayalik (who only started playing netball in January!).
Well done to the U12A team on their success this season. Not only did they win their South Suffolk Tournament (playing against the league teams), but they won their league as well! The team had some fantastic victories, and some extremely nail-biting games – particularly against Ipswich School where they came from behind in the last quarter to triumph. Their commitment, dedication and desire to do their best cannot be faulted…thank you! Well done to the team; Libbie Brightey (Captain), Steph Gifford, Maddie Buchanan, Esme Ball, Ruby Vinton, Beau Barrington-Hibbert, Ada Marson and Maggie Nicholson. Thank you also to Izzy Mitchell for stepping in during the tournament due to injury. A superb season girls, and one of which you should be very proud.