Category: Woodbridge News

Won 41-25

We were delighted to come out on top in this high-scoring game: but it was a close run thing at first!  Annie and Victoria  fed some fantastic balls into the circle, and Saffron and Flora defended our defensive third brilliantly.  Nell and Libby worked well in their usual partnership to score a goal after goal – so important for the league position –  and Sophie H, and Amber held their nerve in the defensive circle.  Well done, on a great afternoon…  one more game to go!

Miss Norman reports: The splendour of P G Wodehouse’s ‘World of Blandlings’ was brought to life for the annual Reading Aloud competition which took place in the Seckford Theatre. Under the careful eye of Dr Renshaw, George and Guy took to the floor to introduce the group of pupils in Years 7-9 who had been carefully chosen by their class and teacher to represent their group. Few see the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to nominate a reader and so all of the participants are worthy of praise for their skill at characterisation in bringing Wodehouse to life.

7A Finlay

7B Zander (winner of Year 7)

7C Charlotte

7D Rose

8A Oliver (winner of Year 8)

8B Isobel

8C Evie

8D Jasmine

9E Chase

9F Lizzie

9G Elise (winner overall)

9L Maddy

The student judges (a perfect mix of Emma, James, Myles and Poppy) were impressed by the confidence and assurance which each of the readers brought to the stage. It was a challenge to choose year group and overall winner but the judges were able to determine that Zander (Year 7), Oliver (Year 8) and Elise (Year 9) just had the edge with Elise taking the overall title.

I was delighted to co-judge with my sixth form team and extremely impressed by the high standards that were in evidence. A wonderful evening for everyone.

This was semi-finals week… my goodness Mr Ben Parry, our adjudicator for the forthcoming final, has a tough job!

Many, many congratulations to all those who have competed in this term’s competition.  Our juniors have set the standard with exuberant and talented performances which hint of things to come; our intermediates have shown the flowering of genius in all its variety; our seniors have simply astonished us with their virtuosity, musicianship and courage.
Three stellar afternoons.

And now for the super-nova evening to come (I hope that’s an appropriate astronomical analogy… it’s a good thing, be sure!)

So, welcome all:

Thursday 28 March

School Hall

6pm for Junior and Intermediate classes, and their adjudication; an interval to draw breath, and then

8pm for the Senior class and a final adjudication

Be there and be bowled over!

We are delighted to welcome Mr Parry to make all the difficult decisions: he is supremely well qualified – artistic director of the National Youth Choir, erstwhile director of music at St Paul’s Girls’ School London, and now assistant director of music at King’s College Cambridge – and his wisdom will, I am sure, add enormously to what augurs to be a marvellous celebration of the many and varied talents of our wonderful musicians.

On 18th March 2019 we attended the preliminary round of the 2019 ‘Have Your Say’ competition at Copleston High School, Ipswich. The competition is organised by the Essex and East Anglian Branch of the Association for Language Learning. It gives linguists across East Anglia an opportunity to speak and read in a language that they are learning. With over 120 participants from eight different schools, competition at the regional preliminary round was fierce. Congratulations to the following pupils who represented the School: Isla and Sophie (Year 8 French) and Amy and Evelyn (Year 8 Spanish). Amy and Evelyn did very well and gained a place in the final in May. Special thanks to Mr Morton for accompanying the group.

Lily reports: Despite extremely windy conditions at UEA, the Seconds netball team had tremendous success against both Norwich and Framlingham at the tournament on Saturday 9th March; winning both matches. Tension brewed as the goal difference was consistently small during the Norwich match, yet thanks to Izzy and Ella’s shooting prowess, we prevailed with a final score of 17-15. Although we were missing numerous team members, Hannah and Evelyn valiantly stepped up, and became invaluable players who alternated on the wing and kept their opposition under pressure. The disruption caused by the wind was immense, yet with Mrs Scahill’s encouragement, we persevered.

Issy and Lucy’s defence against the Framlingham team was robust, and consequently they found it increasingly difficult to score, whereas we scored in any few seconds we had under their net. Against some strong opposition, Sarah’s impressive stamina maintained a steady pace as the Framlingham players began to flag, and the final score was 14-10.

Overall an enormously encouraging success. Congratulations to all players.

Everyone’s a winner!  Records set! Marvellous new categories (gender neutral, though bear-centric on occasion)… and no speeches of thanks – or nearly none!

What a great evening it was – our thanks to the fab hosts, the sparkling performers – the happy, the sad, the confused, the angry, the musical, the tragic, the thoughtful, the modest, and the opposites of all the above.  For that is the beauty of LAMDA – variety in a nutshell: a nutshell containing a cornucopia of delicious theatrical treats in miniature.

Congratulations one and all to the ‘junior’ showcasers – you have set the bar splendidly high for yourselves and your futures; and congratulations to Mrs Lockwood and Mrs Franklin on all that you help our budding Oscarators achieve.

…And the search for enlightenment, or for knowledge of the unknowable.  Or just for a happy ending?  With charming and beguiling grace our five players set the scene: a family full of love and hope but few prospects seeking solace in each other and in storytelling.  And what a story… the separated talents left searching fruitlessly without ‘sight’; the sightless searcher succeeding through unshakeable belief.  One may fail, one may be thwarted; but with belief comes the courage to continue, to be resilient, and ultimately to find.  The story’s end saw its family reunited and the philosopher’s stone secured; the story’s message saw the storytellers’ hopes renewed, and a feeling that their prospects are on the turn.  Here’s to their success, to their prosperity, and, ultimately, to their love for each other!  Hurrah!

Many congratulations to our Sixth Form quintet on their beautifully wrought rendering of this uplifting folk tale – they brought wit and warmth, and a glorious burst of springtime to a chilly March evening!

Sophie reports:

On the sunny morning of Wednesday 13 March, the Year 8s went on an amazing trip to BT Adastral Park in Martlesham as part of British Science Week.

After introductions and a brief safety talk we were straight off to the Innovation Centre, where companies owned by BT had setup a small mock shop to demonstrate futuristic technology and examples of electronics and wiring in everyday life. We visited a bank with a hologram for a worker; we went to BT Pulse where we met Double, a mobile iPad on wheels which allows workers across the world to be in the same room and work together; and we learnt how drones are currently being used and what businesses are having to consider in terms of security and flight space. It was fascinating to find out about the products and systems that already make jobs easier, as well as those we can expect to see soon in stores, hospitals and more!

After the tour we headed back to the main hall to explore a huge variety of exhibits. Opportunities abounded, from Space Race challenges, to the Adastral Park’s Ambulance Team’s heart rate machine! I had a go on quite a few of the wonderful exhibits, but my favourites were the Explorer Robots, where you had the chance to program the Bee Bots to complete a challenging course. I also loved the Learning in 360 Degrees exhibit, and wearing the Virtual Reality headsets to see around a virtual workplace – it was a lot of fun, even if I did come out feeling a little dizzy! There was something for everyone.

Then it was back to the main hall for the presentations. Loads of people from Woodbridge School won prizes for taking part in the various activities, including a first place for ‘The Lears’ team who managed to reach the Sun in the Space Race. Sadly, and all too soon, it was time to say goodbye and head back to the buses after a lovely, inspiring morning at Adastral Park. The staff were helpful and kind and were always suggesting great activities for us to take part in. It was a great trip and a fantastic way to celebrate British Science Week! Thank you to Mrs Calver and the teachers who took us on this trip! I really enjoyed it!

For the first time in 30 years, Woodbridge CCF has reached the CCF National Competition, and for the first time ever the school team has become the top CCF RAF drill team in the country out of 220 schools. 15 Schools took part in the the National Competition.

The School will now represent the RAF Air Cadets as the only CCF team in the Air Cadets National drill competition at RAF Honington in November. This competition is formed out of the 900 ATC units in the country reduced down to 6, meaning that out of 40,000 cadets across the country, Woodbridge CCF is not only the best CCF RAF drill team, but in the top 7 out of over 1000 cadet units as a whole.

The children’s World Book Day costumes have turned The Abbey into a wonderfully vibrant celebration of their favourite reading books. The day started with a fun filled assembly in which the winning costumes were announced and prizes awarded. The children watched the staff share their favourite stores and a scene from George’s Marvellous Medicine was acted out on stage. Mr Fernley was very convincing in his role as Grandma! Many exciting reading themed events took place during the day and at break and lunchtime the children took part  in a reading treasure hunt within the school grounds. Happy World Book Day everyone!