Category: Woodbridge News
It is with great sadness that we must inform you of the death of Nicholas Garrett who passed away earlier this week. Nick was the very much loved Master of the Abbey from 1997 to 2015. He was appointed from St Andrew’s School, Eastbourne, and after leaving Woodbridge became Headmaster of a school in Abu Dhabi. He was diagnosed with cancer last year. An event to mark his life will be held in Woodbridge School at a later stage. I am sure you will join us in prayers for Nick’s widow Ruth, his daughters Anna and Lara (who are both teachers), and his wider family. Since his return from the UAE, Nick and Ruth have been living in Eastbourne, and we will forward to Ruth any correspondence received.
May he rest in peace.
With one week left before the European elections, the Woodbridge School candidates have been campaigning hard with posters, manifestos and flyers liberally distributed throughout the school community. On Thursday Evelyn, Oliver, Chase, George and James delivered their respective messages with powerfully emotive speeches to a crowded quad. Inevitably we heard primarily about the arguments for and against a second referendum, and desires to remain in the EU or to maintain the course set out following the electorates’ decision of June 2016. However, we were also treated to some wider political issues such as combating climate change and the promotion of human rights, just the kind of topics that will undoubtedly be discussed by the real MEPs. Well done to all participants and good luck next Thursday.
On London Marathon Sunday, 28 April 2019, three Woodbridge School athletes were selected to represent the East of England team at the London Mini Marathon. The London Mini Marathon takes place over the final three miles of the actual marathon course, just one hour before the start of the main event.
Each region in England selects a competitive team as do Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This means that around 100 of the top athletes from across Britain compete in each age group. On top of this, each London Borough enters a team so on race day around 200 athletes take part in U13, U15 and U17 races. Each race also serves as the British three mile age group road championship.
April competed for the East in the U15 girls, her third race in four years, completing the race in just over 18 minutes for 45th place and as third scorer for the East. April will now switch her attention to the track where she will attempt to qualify for English Schools 1500m, an event where she made the final last year finishing a magnificent 12th.
Nathan had achieved selection for the third year in succession, finishing in 54th place with his three mile time at 15:34 (5:11 mile pace) was a 22 second improvement on last year and a full minute ahead of his first attempt. Such is the quality of this event that the European 1500m champion, Kane Elliot from Scotland finished in 55th, one place behind Nathan. Nathan was 4th scorer for team East and thoroughly enjoyed his final London Mini Marathon.
Ruby was competing in the U13 girls’ race and gave a spectacular performance… which saw her win the U13 girls’ London Mini Marathon title! Ruby competed for the first time last year and finished in the top 20 a year young. After her amazing winter we felt a top 5 finish was within Ruby’s grasp. As we watched the athletes run along the Embankment, just after the half way point, Ruby was tucked in the lead bunch in about 6th place and everything seemed to be going to plan. Supporters then made their way to the finish to find out the eventual result. Unbelievably, Ruby had made her break from the bunch in the final kilometre to forge ahead and win by a clear six seconds and in doing so she also helped Team East to Bronze. Her time at 17:14 (5:45 per mile for three miles at the age of 12) was the 14th quickest of all of the girls competing on the day irrespective of age and remember, just the very best in Britain get selected to compete!
Ruby from Woodbridge School is British three mile road Champion.
Congratulations to all three athletes; and what an inspirational performance by Ruby!
Our Young Enterprise team this year goes by the name of Durable, Organic, Green, or D.O.G. for short. They have developed a business from scratch making and selling dog leads and accessories which are made from hemp. Earlier this week they travelled to Norwich to compete in the Norfolk/Suffolk showcase and for a chance to go through to the regional final later this year. After a long drive the team was in good spirits and happily set to erecting their trade stand beautifully designed by Lily. Meanwhile the presentation team prepared for their big moment on stage. Oli, Manging Director, led the presentation with a rousing call to arms to fight the influx of plastic leads and buy British hemp. The presentation was slick, and amused the audience with one or two funny lines alongside its very professional main script. Following the trade stand interview the field was whittled down to six teams who promptly performed their presentations again. The Judges took little time to decide the top four to go through to the regional final. However they kept us on tenterhooks right till the end as Woodbridge was the last to be told they had a place in the regional final on 5th June in Cambridge. The team returned to Suffolk and celebrated an excellent win over a little light repast.
80 former Woodbridge School pupils have stepped back in time for a special reunion at the school, after leaving more than 50 years ago. The alumni pupils, known as Old Woodbridgians, travelled far and wide to return to their secondary school for the memorable event, including 83-year-old Major Nigel Lewis OBE who arrived in style on a helicopter.
Many of the Old Woodbridgians were returning to Woodbridge School for the first time since leaving between the 1930s and 1970s. Jack Seagers, aged 101, was the oldest pupil at the reunion, having left the school in 1934.
The group enjoyed reminiscing of days gone by during a tour of the school’s new and original buildings and modern facilities, as well as marvelling at the modern ‘home comforts’ in the boarding house where many of the former pupils had lived over the years.
The Old Woodbridgians also enjoyed lunch at the school and a talk on the history of the school’s Combined Cadet Force, given by local cultural historian and former Woodbridge School English teacher, Mark Mitchels. The school’s chamber orchestra also played a special rendition of the original school song which the former pupils enjoyed singing along to.
Melanie Chew, development director at the Seckford Foundation, organised the reunion event for the Old Woodbridgians. Melanie said: “We were thrilled to have such a terrific response to this special event and we loved hearing the fond school memories of our alumni. The history of the school is so important to us, so it was fantastic to capture these memories and hear stories of our school from years gone by.”
This was a truly marvellous culmination of an astonishing fortnight of music making.
The individual competition, in its new guise, was a fantastic success: musicians excelling; extraordinary variety; and the full panoply of instruments on display, from drum kit to voice via woodwind, brass, keyboard, percussion and strings.
It takes a brave person to stand, alone, in front of your peers and elders, and perform. To perform brilliantly adds an impressive twist! To be judged… is intimidating, or could be. But under the wonderfully sympathetic, positive and watchful eye (and ear) of our expert adjudicator Mr Ben Parry (thank you, sir, for your skilful and heartfelt judgments) every one of our contestants must have felt appreciated, guided, and enriched.
But winners there must be, and, acknowledging as he did that on a different night, with a different choice of piece, in front of a different adjudicator things might well have been otherwise, Mr Parry chose the following for particular commendation:
Beginner Class:
1st place: Charlotte (flute – No Dice – Paul Hart)
2nd place: Esme (marimba – Menuet in G – J S Bach)
3rd place: Isaac (drum kit – Barracuda – Heart)
Intermediate Class:
1st place: James (cello – The Gadfly – Shostakovich)
2nd place: George (double bass- America – Bernstein)
3rd place: Ellen (oboe- Gavotte – Boyce)
Advanced Class:
1st place: Lewis (tuba – Concerto for Bass Tuba – Vaughan Williams)
2nd place: Jenny (violin – 3rd Violin Sonata – J S Bach)
3rd place: Billy piano – Sonata No. 4 – Beethoven)
Writing this, I notice only now that nine instruments and eight composers are represented, five boys and four girls – how’s that for diversity and a true reflection of the glorious spectrum music offers at Woodbridge?
Mr Parry was full of praise for the performers; and Mr Turner added his thanks both to them and to their near-hundred peers who took part in the competition, to all the staff who have supported them on the way, and of course to Mr Parry. What an evening. What a finale!
Last Tuesday I and three others went on an exciting chemistry trip to Cambridge. Here, alongside many other schools in the region, we took part in a series of practical experiments and produced a sample of the drug Paracetamol. The sample was then tested for purity using a variety of techniques including Thin Layer Chromatography, TLC, and infra-red spectrometry. The practical was followed up with an exhilarating talk on the periodic table due to its 150 years anniversary. This talk consisted of a short history lesson followed by flames, bright and coloured lights, explosions and other thrilling chemical reactions. It was a captivating and inspiring experience that I would recommend to anyone interested in chemistry.
James, Year 9
The competing voices within a psychotic mind were brought into stark relief by this year’s A level drama students. Sarah Kane’s personal descent into oblivion was presaged in her own writing, and the staging of such an inner tragedy is not to be undertaken lightly. Indeed, there was little of brightness in this harrowing production, although a dark humour leered and smirked around the odd corner. Movement – extraordinary, complex, and balletic – underpinned the sense of shifting mental sands; and the actors’ overlapping voices the quasi-schizophrenic nature of the psychosis. Devastatingly portrayed; difficult in the extreme; mesmerising – in the way of things ‘one would rather not have been party to’.
My goodness, well done our cast of five – you are the survivors and can take your release from the straitjacket, and your other more troubling bonds, with… relief! Phew. Anyone know a good joke?
I arrived at 7:29pm… too late, it transpired, for the welcoming jazz quartet!! But they sounded great from the path outside…
And just as they had played with charm, pace, zest and variety, so did all their peers throughout an enthralling and richly entertaining two hours thereafter.
A showcase is many things: a chance to demonstrate snippets, a chance to roll out grander works, a chance to hint at the future, and a chance to celebrate: St Mary’s played host to all these elements and more. The Seckford Sinfonia summed it up: a hint of Spring followed by a hitching of the metaphorical whites for cricket, football and more as lots of us played spot the theme. Impressive already, how good will these musicians become over the next few years? Judging from the Senior Brass – very good indeed! And so it continued: Just Jazz and the Junior Flutes played with a passion and poise which belied their years; the Saxophone Ensemble and the Concert Band wowed with terrifically accomplished playing parenthesising the spectral ends of law enforcement (Clouseau versus 007!).
Refreshments secured, we delighted in Cellisti (including Etiane’s elegiac world premier), Cantabile full of smiles and excitement, the soaring Senior Flutes, delightful Junior Brass, charismatic Clarinets and, by way of the grand climax, the utterly fantastic Swing Band featuring a garland of mini solos which would have graced the grandest of stages. What an end to a wonderful concert. Our thanks, as ever, to all the performers, to Mr Turner and his team of inspirational teachers and conductors, and to you in the audience for your generous and enthusiastic support.
This was the final match of the season and the league decider. Ipswich School had won the South Suffolk Tournament so we were particularly motivated.
The girls started very well. With a slight change to our usual formation with Georgie at GD and Nancy at C we held Ipswich well for the first half of the match, playing some patient and well thought through netball, coming infront, passing effectively and keeping the strong Ipswich attack in check in defence with Selena, Georgie, Isabel and Nancy turning over the ball a number of times. Up front, Charlotte H and Charlotte C moved and shot well in the circle, and at half time we were still very much in touch at 7-10. Unfortunately the 2nd half saw a number of errors creep into our game, allowing Ipswich to get into their stride and tease out a greater advantage. Our girls’ work rate was excellent throughout and this was a performance with some real areas of strength and positivity, but in terms of victory it wasn’t to be as Ipswich took the honours by 12-27.
This squad has been a pleasure to work with over the season with great work rate and desire to learn. They have a huge amount of promise for the future; well done girls.