…And when all was said, sung, and done, the glory of homeland Edelweiss inspired the Austrian hearts to defy those Nasties after all. The snow fell, the music soared, the mountains called, and Maria saved her Captain and his children! Hurrah! I confess, one or two of us in the audience wiped away three or four tears. Between us, of course.
There is something bewitching about musicals – the suspension of disbelief as the music and the songs weave in and out of the spoken word makes for a little bit of magic, and there was plenty of that on show in the Seckford Theatre. From the hypnotic opening of the nuns at prayer to the circle completed at the curtain’s call by the Mother Abbess herself, this was a story that flew along on the wings of love. Seven children in glorious rank order of size, and even more glorious harmony, looked every bit the family as they shrieked at thunder, spun the bed, learnt of musical scales and of loving, and loving again. The Captain’s staff offered a charmingly cheeky deference that belied an obvious fondness for their master. Max did as Max will do – pleasing himself and all around him, and Frau Schraeder with charming honesty did the decent thing by the Captain. What would any of us have done in those times, eh? Not, we hope as Rolf (but good for him at the end!), or the Barons and Baronesses, the Admiral or Boo Hiss Zeller.
So the innocent and Godly nuns and their Abbess saved the day, and the mountains did the rest. The Nasties were thwarted, and our finest of Captains with impeccable honour and a firm hand at the metaphorical till rediscovered his heart and his children, and took the hand of our most beguiling of postulants – our Maria, whose eyes shone with a fervour of goodness that swept all before her.
It’s a wonderful story, and the intimacy of the setting was so beautifully enhanced by the quite outstanding performance of the Band and the fabulously versatile set. On stage, the quality of the singing, as well as, of course, the acting, took us into the heart of Salzburg, and the von Trapps completely into our hearts. Thank you. Thank you, cast, Band, and crew in all your guises. And to those with the vision to bring it all together – directors of stage, music, song and dance – our most heartfelt of congratulations.
SPANISH INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING AND DRAMA WORKSHOPS
On Friday 12 January Years 3, 4 and 5 took part in an interactive storytelling workshop in Spanish. John of the Freshwater Theatre Company told two stories (Rocitos de Oro y los Tres Osos and Los Tres Cerditos) with the help of the Abbey pupils. In the afternoon Year 6 were joined by Year 7 pupils from the Senior School and took part in an interactive drama workshop on Don Quijote. Both workshops were very entertaining and helped pupils develop even further their linguistic and cultural knowledge.
Mrs Verona
‘The workshop helped us to learn some different words in Spanish. It was great! There was some fantastic acting.’ Niamh (Year 4)
‘We had lots of fun at the Spanish workshop. I had a part in Los Tres Cerditos. It was simply great and we learnt some new Spanish words.’ Tom (Year 4)
‘Both stories were extremely funny, and I found the workshop really inspiring and fascinating.’ Theo (Year 4)
‘I thought the workshop was good because I liked how we were involved in the acting’ Aston (Year 4)
‘I enjoyed Don Quijote. The actor was great at playing two parts. I loved that we were involved in the acting too!’ Polly (Year 6)
‘It was funny and educational at the same time!’ Edward (Year 6)
‘I enjoyed watching the crazy adventures Don Quijote had’ Oscar (Year 6)
‘The workshop was really funny; I learnt a lot of new words!’ Joe (Year 6)
‘The workshop was a funny, interactive and educational show. I loved it!’ James (Year 6)
Izaac reports:
‘On Sunday 21 January, thirteen teammates and I competed in the annual RAF Competition held at RAF Honington. I’m very pleased to say that we achieved 8th place in the overall standings of the competition and most notably 1st place in the Drill section of the competition and 2nd place in the fitness section. I accredit this outstanding performance to the hard work, dedication and resilience of the entire team throughout the weeks of training leading up to the competition. I am extremely proud to have been part of such a committed team. I wish next year’s cadets the best of luck, and hope they can continue to build on the fine reputation of the Woodbridge School RAF section.’
The editor could not have put it better!
On Thursday 11 January, Woodbridge School hosted the Suffolk Schools’ Series B County Championships, which was also the final trial for the Anglian Schools’ race in February and the English Schools’ event in March. The weather may not have been at its best, but the athletes weren’t to be deterred despite a muddy course and difficult footing from trying their best.
Twenty five runners from The Abbey and Senior School raced, having already gained top 40 places at the Series A championships at Culford in December and there were some outstanding results. In particular, six won medals for top-three finishes and are hoping to be selected to represent Suffolk.
Full results:
Minor Girls – Ruby Vinton 1st
Minor Boys – Ed Buckingham 8th, Moses McBride 9th, Henry Vincent 20th, Tommy Burrows 34th, John Evans Lombe 39th, Jonjo Walker 44th & George Na Nakhorn 49th
Junior Girls – April Hill 1st, Amy Goddard 5th, Bea Thomas 9th, Jess Elmer 10th, Anna Jackson 19th, Emily Whyte 20th and Ashleigh Wildbore 37th.
Junior Boys – Charlie Turner 2nd, Kit Evans Lombe 3rd, Edward Rufford 18th & Mauricio Corfe 30th
Inter Girls – Sophie Graham 22nd & Victoria Burrows 35th
Inter Boys – Nathan Goddard 1st, Alex Evans Lombe 3rd, Daniel Davies 12th, George Rufford 23rd & Chris Long 25th.
Thank you to all the members of staff and parents who volunteered and supported the event, whether marshalling, warming up, or supervising the athletes. We would not be able to host such events without all your support. Also, many thanks again to Mr Goddard for his dedication and for the time he gives.
OW Tess Bryson writes:
‘I have independently organised (not through university or via a charity), to go to Maya Universe Academy for all of July to help tutor children in English, teach them sport and help the construction team to improve the facilities of the school. The Academy, situated near Kathmandu, is for Nepalese children up to aged 15. I am seeking to raise £700 both to help fund the trip and supply the school with the kind of necessary items that we take for granted here in the UK.
I would be incredibly grateful for any support anyone can offer. My justgiving page is https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tessbrysonnepal?utm_id=2&utm_term=adQ5jYyWA. Many, many thanks.’
Suffolk Representative Honours
Many congratulations to the following who have been selected to run for Suffolk at the Anglian Cross Country Championships on Saturday 3 February.
Minor Girls : Ruby Vinton
Minor Boys : Ed Buckingham and Moses McBride
Junior Girls : April Hill, Amy Goddard, Bea Thomas and Jess Elmer
Junior Boys : Charlie Turner and Kit Evans Lombe
Inter Boys : Nathan Goddard, Alex Evans Lombe and Daniel Davies
Young pupils at Woodbridge School have been joined on stage by Lord Marlesford and the Rt Hon Sir John Waite, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, for the exciting debut of ‘The Trial of Paris’ play. Pupils in Years 7 and 8 performed the play to two audiences on Friday, 19 January, in the Science Lecture Theatre.
Written by Anne Wright, Woodbridge School’s Head of Classics, ‘The Trial of Paris’ is a crossover between Greek mythology and a courtroom drama. The play sees Paris of Troy on trial for starting the Trojan War, with pupils playing barristers and witnesses including Aphrodite and Zeus.
Lord Marlesford, President of the Suffolk Preservation Society and former Parliamentary lobby correspondent for The Economist, joined the young cast on stage in character as a judge for the first ‘Trial of Paris’ performance. Sir John Waite took to the stage as a judge for the second performance, bringing his lifetime experience as a former Lord Justice of Appeal. The play encouraged the audience to take an interactive role as jury, by deciding whether Paris was innocent or guilty.
Anne Wright said: “I am incredibly proud of the cast, who were utterly convincing, and I should like to thank our judges for their thought-provoking comments about the importance of the rule of Law.”
Latin is very popular at Woodbridge School for pupils of all ages, from Year 7 to A Level. Classical Greek is also available (both as an academic option and as an extra-curricular activity), while Classical Civilisation is offered at A Level. The school has a proud tradition of sending Classicists to Oxford and Cambridge Universities and, this year, a Woodbridge School pupil has been offered a place to read Classics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
As the final deadline arrives for applications into this year’s UCAS and with it any remaining decisions about what to study and where are committed to paper, we are delighted to report that our students have already started receiving some wonderfully tempting offers.
In particular, Oxford and Cambridge Universities have just simultaneously announced theirs, and our congratulations go to Wolff Lambert (Classics at Oxford), William Emery (Music at Oxford, an open offer underwritten by St Hugh’s College), Emily Barker (Mathematics at Churchill College, Cambridge), Abigail Crane (Natural sciences at Homerton College, Cambridge) and William Clarke (History and politics at Girton College, Cambridge).
While many of our students must continue to wait for now, some have already received offers from all the universities to which they have applied, including Pierre Blackburn, Stuart Evans, Alyssa Hedley, Abraham Hew, Jake Jay, Ben Kelly, Millie Leith, Tom Lomas, Caragh Paul, Georgie Saunders, Kieran Saxton, Will Wells and Oliver Whiting. Others have heard good news for some of the more unusual degrees, for example: Gabby Harvey has an offer for a degree at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, in singing, which is very unusual for someone so young; Harrison Perkins is choosing between music (saxophone) at Trinity or King’s London; Rachel Prowse has unconditional offers from St Andrews and Edinburgh for French; James Briggs, with his career in mind, has an unconditional offer for police studies at York St John; and Charlotte Sheehan and Nancy King have secured recalls on the long haul to drama school.
What diversity – what imagination!
Suffolk school pupils have been treated to an exciting Chemistry show.
More than 200 students from St Mary’s Primary School in Ipswich and The Abbey went to see the show at the Seckford Theatre in Woodbridge. The show was put on by Stephen Ashworth, a reader in the chemistry department at the University of East Anglia. Dr Ashworth has given lectures in science all over the world.
Ambra Calver, Chemistry Teacher and STEM co-ordinator at Woodbridge School, said: “A huge thank you to Dr Ashworth for his fantastic Kitchen Chemistry show. The explosive experiments and interesting demonstrations on household objects left pupils with a real excitement for science.”
The Woodbridge School Junior Riders travelled to the Easton & Otley College Easton Campus to contest the NSEA Grass Roots Show Jumping Regional Final on Saturday 6 January 2018.
Sasha Reid started the day off by taking 2nd place in the 40cms Championship.
This was then followed by the Team of Isla Appleby (Yr 8), Lily Waterer (Yr 8), Sophia Waterer (Yr6) and Eve Marson (Yr5) winning the 60cms Championships with Lily, Eve and Sophia taking 2nd, 3rd and 4th place as individuals respectively.
The same team then went on to contest the 70cms Championship class and completed the double by winning. Lily Waterer finished the day in Style taking the win as the individual with Sophia taking 4th, Eve taking 5th and Isla taking 6th place.
This was the first time this team had competed at any Championships level.
The riders had qualified for the Championship in September 2017 by winning the qualifying classes at the Tendring Hundred Riding Club hosted show.
