Category: Woodbridgian Weekly

Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Noel Coward meets Noel Fielding, Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us World War II.

The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler?

Year 11, 12 and 13 Drama students travelled to London to see this star-studded musical at the Fortune Theatre, and Year 11’s Toby shares his review.

Year 11’s Toby

“Some were born to follow” but the Operation Mincemeat team were born to lead.

Operation Mincemeat is an incredibly fast paced, hilarious, moving and gripping musical interpretation of a World War II ruse by British Intelligence, fooling Hitler in the midst of the war. Director Robert Hastie, along with the star cast, managed to portray both the light and shade of the operation, creating the perfect balance.

We were entertained both by the hilarious and slightly bonkers Spanish skits, as well as the touching falsetto solo of Danny Becker showing the hardships women faced during war. It is also wonderful to see the character progression of our protagonist Charlie throughout the play, from initially seeming weak, timid and feeble, not fitting in with the brash and arrogant other members of the MI6, to becoming almost a complete foil to his previous self, a figure willing to speak out and stand up strongly for his own beliefs.

Hastie’s use of multi-role really adds to both the comedic effect of the musical along with creating the sense that everyone is together suffering in times of hardship as one. Personally, this lyric really struck me as something we all need to take into our lives ‘If it’s down, it’s down together. If it’s up, it’s up as one’.”

Ahead of our exciting new venture and production for students, A Night at the Musicals, which takes place in School next week, we caught up with Year 7’s Elisabeth, Year 8’s Elodie, Year 9’s George and Year 10’s Lola, to find out more about how they feel about taking part and why they love musicals.

Students from across the School will be working together, on and off the stage, producing and performing songs and scenes from some of their favourite musicals. The performances will be the results of a thrilling 72-hour intensive workshop where students will work with our Drama team, Head of Singing Miss Weston, singing teacher Miss Barnes and choreographer and OW, Kath Clements. Together they will learn and stage a full slate of dazzling musical numbers; an intense collaboration of singing and dancing showcasing our students’ raw talent and passion which promises to light up the stage!

The show will be performed in our Seckford Theatre next Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 February! If you haven’t done so already, be sure to book your tickets at ticketsource.co.uk/woodbridge-school-drama/e-dlordr.

In the meantime, let’s see what our budding young performers had to say.

Year 7’s Elisabeth

It’s incredibly exciting to be part of something so amazing, I love performing, and I’m really glad I’m going to have the opportunity to do so with my friends. My favourite musicals are probably Hamilton and Mean Girls. I love the music and creativity of Hamilton, and love the characters in Mean Girls. It’s quite a unique experience, as obviously we can only prepare so much before the 72-hour workshop, but I do a lot of dance and singing outside of School, so that will really help I’m certain. This is the first production I’ve been part of in School, and I really hope to be cast in lots more throughout my Woodbridge journey – I can’t wait for it all to start here!

Year 8’s Elodie

I haven’t been part of a School production since I was in Year 6 when I played a chimney sweep, a small part but I absolutely loved it! I’ve seen so many amazing and incredible plays at the Senior School, The Trial, Frankenstein, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, they were all brilliant, so professional, and that makes me even more excited to be part of this. I think my favourite musical has to be Mamma Mia, I’ve been lucky enough to see it on the screen and in the West End, it was so much fun and the music very catchy! In terms of preparation for A Night at the Musicals, I think I’m looking forward to the intensive workshop as much as I am to performing on the nights! Everyone in the Drama department at School is so nice and friendly, and super encouraging and supportive – it’s going to be great and I feel very lucky to be part of it.

Year 9’s George

I love being on stage and being part of any production, so I know I am going to enjoy this experience. It will be great to broaden my skills on stage – I think some of the music styles will be different to what I have been focusing on and I have never been involved with a dance production before. It will also be a great opportunity for me to work with others and make more friends in different years; I’m looking forward to spending time with other students who also like being part of a production and putting on a mega show! I think I’m most excited about the whole process – everything from rehearsing to the show nights themselves. I think it will be a great experience and will develop me as a performer. It’ll be my first production at Woodbridge School and I’m looking forward to the pre-show adrenaline buzz, the lights and the massive sense of achievement. It know it’s going to be intense and hard work as we’ll be fitting a lot into just three days, but I know I’ll enjoy every minute. I’m preparing by familiarising myself with musical songs, in terms of my own favourites and ones I hope might feature in the show, I am big fan of both Grease and The Greatest Showman, as both have an iconic storyline and amazing songs, showing diversity and brilliance that leaves an uplifting moral.

Year 10’s Lola

I’m so delighted to be a part of the A Night at the Musicals cast as it means that I’m going to be doing something I love so deeply for a whole weekend, with lots of others that all feel the same way (all while learning new things together!) In preparation I am broadening my musical knowledge by watching and singing my way through as many musicals as I can; I’m hoping that this will give me a head start when we find out the chosen musical numbers we will be performing, because of course, we won’t know until the weekend itself. My favourite musical is without a doubt Grease, the combination of music and acting is so carefully thought out, in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming but gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Looking ahead to performing, I know this experience will not only be beneficial for me as a performer, but also as someone that just wants to have a weekend of pure fun. The experience will enrich my ability to think outside of the box with my own work (especially in my current GCSE Drama practical work). As a teenager, it will also encourage me to create friendships with others that I might not have got to know had it not been for this opportunity.

Last week our Year 10 Hockey players took on RHS in their first match of the season.  

This squad is small in numbers but very mighty in terms of the commitment they put into their practices, and the heart they show on the pitch; and this first match delivered the rewards the team deserved for the way they have approached the start of the term.  

From the off our team proved physically the stronger unit and dominated the match.  This allowed for lots of positional rotations to gain maximum learning and experience.  Team captain, Alex, was a force to be reckoned with using his pace and power up the right flank, while Harry showed no end to his work rate.  

Goals were scored by Pranav, Harry, Alex (2) and Arthur (2), showing his versatility going from goalkeeper in one half of the match to double goal scorer in the next. Player-of-the-Match was awarded to Harry.  

Year 9 players in the U14B team travelled to Framlingham College, eager to get going! 

The team learned about their structure fast, with and without the ball in what was for most, their first 11-a-side match.  It was a great way to start their campaign with a win and clean sheet. Goals were scored by Tom C and Alex W, while Lewis was awarded Player-of-the-Match from Mr Flatt.  

The boys are working very hard at practices, with all the Year 9s pushing each other for selection into the U14A and B team.  

We had a fantastic day with our Year 11 and 13 artists and photographers at Tate Britain and the V&A last week, rounded off with a great meal at Pizza Express; huge kudos to the team there for serving 42 pizzas in just 15 minutes!

The trip was designed to spark new ideas for the Externally Set Task, with the resulting work on show this summer.

Big thanks to Mrs Chapman-Ross for organising the trip, and to Year 13’s Angus, Mrs Parker and Mr Hutch for their support – and of course, thank you to our students for their brilliant enthusiasm in the galleries.

Two of our students share their experience of the day below.

Year 13’s Sophie E

“In the morning, we went to the Tate and experienced two exhibitions: Lee Miller and Constable and Turner. Lee Miller’s retrospective exhibit mainly focused on women and friendship; as well as this, there was an exhibit on the Holocaust which showed us a heart‑wrenching side to the tragedies that occurred. Constable and Turner let us experience a fascinating labyrinth of detailed paintings which many of us took interest in and admired for the full hour.”

Year 13’s Isobel

“In the afternoon we went to the V&A. It was incredibly inspiring to see so much original artwork in person. The wide range of art definitely helped influence new ideas and techniques. We left feeling motivated and excited to create new work.”

Last Tuesday, A Level Drama students had the absolute pleasure of taking part in a workshop with Gecko’s Associate Director Helen Baggett. Helen spent three hours with students, taking them through Gecko’s various devising techniques, and encouraging them to create bold and exciting work within an ensemble.

Year 12’s William shared his experience of the workshop.

“I found the workshop incredibly useful and very enjoyable. It gave me an excellent insight into the world of professional theatre and taught me a wide array of devising techniques.

Applying some of these techniques to my A level devised practical has already greatly heightened the quality of the work, and as time goes on, I’m bound to use even more of what I learned in the workshop.

Beyond its educational value, it was also extremely fun. I found that doing such intensive activities with my peers brought us all closer together and allowed us to get to know one another better.

Overall, it was a brilliant and has definitely improved my A level Drama experience.”

Year 7 to 9 Drama Scholar and Enrichment students were lucky enough to take part in a workshop in School last week, hosted by Old Woodbridgian Jamie Saul. He created a fantastic session where participants were asked to explore the process of adaptation, and tasked with writing, rehearsing, and performing short scripts based on Lord of the Flies.

Working together, it was a thoroughly enjoyable workshop during which they collaborated and supported each other, being creative and having great fun!

Sharing more about the workshop, you can read Year 8’s Miles’ report.

“Working with Jamie was an amazing opportunity. He showed us a range of warm-ups and talked through each one.

The novel we were working on was Lord of the Flies by William Golding; it was a very interesting novel to adapt and perform, because although there are many serious moments, there are also lots of very funny ones – which helped release the tension.

I really enjoyed how Jamie sent us off in pairs and gave us different genres of performance, such as radio presenting, silent performance, or using the audience as a ‘jungle’.

As a Drama student at Woodbridge, this workshop has been an amazing opportunity to advance my skills in preparation for upcoming shows.”

The Boys’ Hockey fixture program got underway this week with much anticipated matches against Fram College – no better way to test yourself in the opening matches of the season.

Woodbridge U14A vs Framlingham

A big U14A squad (made up of Year 9 players) showed their intent from the moment they arrived at the astro for their pre-match prep. Excellent skills and decision making in the warm-up continued into the opening minutes of the game – one in which the boys would relish playing against a newly selected England U16 squad member. Woodbridge put all their new principles into action, building beautiful attacks and creating chances.

From the opening minutes our midfield showed their class, Joseph and Otto H being big players in the middle while Josh and Alfie P were dominant with carries and passes on the flanks. Our early chances were denied but frustratingly Fram scored two well placed goals against the run of play in the first half, before Joseph’s slick skills and cracking shot proved too much for the GK to deal with.

Going into half time, Woodbridge felt they had an opportunity and were playing the better hockey. The defensive shape and discipline were sound with the boys learning their roles and responsibilities fast. Dylan and Otto P-S were confident and composed in the back line, tackling and passing well, guided by super goalie, Olly B. The forwards, led by Dex, Giles, Theo and Michael kept leading into good spaces and complemented each other well, creating more chances and ‘so close’ moments. Otto H was the player who took one of these chances with a great shot to draw the teams level. Woodbridge kept the subs rolling to give as much playing experience possible to the whole squad.

Framlingham took the lead again using their opportunity at a penalty corner well, scoring a clinical drag flick from a re-award. Our team, however, did not believe they were beaten yet and kept pushing, making for an even more exciting final ten minutes, entertaining the ever-growing line of spectators.

The game came to a fitting climax when Woodbridge had a couple of penalty corners on the final whistle. It looked like the equaliser was already on the scoreboard as Otto’s hit headed towards goal, and then out of nowhere the GK’s diving stick appeared to take the ball away from the bottom corner. A match highlight to end a match full of highlights! The win was not to be this time, but the future for this young team looks very bright indeed.

A number of players stood out and would be worthy Players-of-the-Match, however, this time our midfield stars, Otto H and Joseph share the honor.

Woodbridge Junior Teams 

On Wednesday, our Year 7 and 8 boys also hosted Fram College.  It was a tough day for most of our teams, results not being on our side, but as they say “you do not lose while you are learning”. 

The Junior 3 and 4 boys enjoyed their matches and were full of enthusiasm at the end, despite the scoreline flattering their opponents.  The Junior 4s in particular had lots of attacking opportunities with the Fram GK putting in a magical performance.  One spell including a triple save denying Year 7’s Joshi and Year 8’s Arthur and Will all in one go.  A lovely match moment followed with Arthur having to high five his opponent for superb skill. 

The Junior 1 team started off very strong with co-captain Max being dominant in midfield.  A couple of early chances and a penalty corner strike were denied by Fram.  A crash ball beat our press, resulting again in a frustrating goal against the run of play.  This shifted momentum Fram’s way, dominating the rest of the half with power carries and power passing.  

Woodbridge were punished for falling into a dribbling game with one-on-one turnovers leading to goals and further opportunities for the opposition.  Despite this, Year 8’s Jack and James were making promising debuts for the team while Year 7’s Charlie showed his class wherever he played.  

Half time was a time to regroup and remind each other of our style of play and to move the ball around.  The boys did this brilliantly at times using the width, feeding the forward and recycling the ball well to deny Fram possession and make chances, wonderfully saved by a top GK.  Fram did score two more goals in the half, but this time they had to work a lot harder for it.  Charlie scored our first goal of the season, thanks to a great bit of high defending by himself and James to win the turnover and get the subsequent shot away.  

It was not the win the team craved, but after a somewhat disastrous first half, the second half showed the ability of the group, making small technical and tactical adjustments to perform to their best.  Player-of-the-Match was Year 7‘s Charlie.  

The Junior 2 team delivered the match of the day for Woodbridge.  Lovely passing and connecting with each other, determined defending, and absolute 100% effort saw the team go toe-to-toe with Fram.  The game was end-to-end, with both teams creating chances and forcing saves from the respective goalkeepers.  It was all even at half time – so all to play for.  

Fram got the goal they wanted but our team kept pushing, again having the better play at the end of the game, showing fitness and ever-growing desire.  A number of penalty corners on the final whistle gave Woodbridge the opening they needed, but ultimately it was not to be as the final decision and touch just didn’t work out.  

Our thanks to all the parents who came to support the matches.  Not a day of results for our boys, but definite learning, growing and players showing resilience and a lot of promise for the season ahead. 

Last Thursday 15 January, we were once again the proud hosts of the final Suffolk Schools Cross Country Trial; this is the county round of the English Schools’ Championships which is the national schools’ event, governed by the English Schools Athletic Association (ESAA). The major event, which will be run in March, was founded in 1925 and incorporates the whole of England providing the platform for all school athletes to compete within their own counties from grass roots to elite levels. Athletes represent their schools, progress through a system of county and regional qualifiers to reach the national championships.

From the trials run last week, sixteen athletes across the competing schools in each race, are then selected to run for their county at the regional race, in our case of course Suffolk, at the Anglian in Northamptonshire on 31 January. For our minors age group their journey will end here, however for our Junior, Inters and Senior categories (Year 8 and above) runners are then chosen in each age group (plus four reserves) to run for Suffolk. This happens across the country where each area develops their strongest county team to compete at the All-England schools where they fight it out for team medals and individual England Vests! This event will take place this year in Sefton Park, Liverpool on 14 of March.

For our Suffolk trials held at Woodbridge School, the rain came down and never left us for the entire day and with the freezing conditions in the lead up the weeks before it led to some testing cross country. Even without the use of our infamous ‘kill hill’ there were muddy ups and downs, long hilly drags and some twists and turns towards the end, enabling a great display of sprint finishes where athletes battled it out against the odds, and one another, to get in their top 16.

Woodbridge School’s Cross Country teams, staff, parents and grounds team proudly welcomed their guests, and everyone came together as the brilliant team that they are. Students were even helping each other when needed no matter what age group, even with all the individual pre-race nerves, it was great to see. We even had our OW and Inter Counties team medallist, Iwan Fothergill join us in his university holidays, to help all our Woodbridge runners get through their warmups and to the start lines.

We congratulate every athlete and offer a massive thank you to marshals, officials, staff and parents that assisted in the hosting of the event. It was a successful day for Woodbridge School athletes with 50 competing across the age groups.

Our athletes won five individual medals and celebrated 13 top 10 finishes!

Suffolk team announced

The Suffolk teams were announced for the Anglians yesterday and we are proud to say that 20 of our athletes have been selected to run for Suffolk on 31 January, with another three on the short reserve lists.

Well done to every athlete and good luck to those racing at the regional round!

Full results

Gold medal winners:

• Year 9’s Dex
• Year 8’s Chloe

Silver medal winners:

• Year 10’s Digby
• Year 9’s Alexandra
• Year 7’s Sofia

Minor Girls:

• 2nd – Year 7’s Sofia
• 4th – Year 6’s Ava
• 8th – Year 7’s Florence
• 12th – Year 7’s Sophia
• 20th – Year 7’s Issy
• 36th – Year 6’s Ziyu

Minor Boys:

• 18th – Year 7’s Max
• 21st – Year 7’s Kaydon
• 24th – Year 6’s Charlie
• 28th – Year 6’s Archie
• 35th – Year 6’s Sam
• 39th – Year 7’s Aiden
• 61st – Year 7’s Fletcher
• 76th – Year 7’s Millar

Junior Girls:

• 1st – Year 8’s Chloe
• 2nd – Year 9’s Alexandra
• 4th – Year 9’s Ella K
• 5th – Year 9’s India J
• 12th – Year 9’s India B
• 35th -Year 9’s Imogen M
• 48th – Year 8’s Tati H
• 56th – Year 9’s Honor
• 66th – Year 8’s Juno

Junior Boys:

• 1st – Year 9’s Dex
• 9th – Year 9’s Josh
• 13th – Year 8’s Oliver
• 15th – Year 9’s Olly R
• 16th – Year 8’s Archie
• 41st – Year 9’s Oliver B
• 63rd – Year 9’s Theo
• 64th – Year 8’s Harry
• 65th – Year 8’s Miles

Inter Girls:

• 4th – Year 11’s Romilly
• 7th – Year 10’s Alice
• 22nd – Year 10’s Grace
• 29th – Year 10’s Marina
• 30th – Year 10’s Millie

Inter Boys:

• 2nd – Year 10’s Digby
• 4th – Year 10’s Hamish
• 13th – Year 11’s Jago
• 19th – Year 10’s Oscar
• 34th – Year 10’s Harry

Senior Boys:

• 6th – Year 13’s Angus

Last week, Drama scholarship and enrichment students enjoyed a live production screening of The Importance of Being Earnest in Seckford Theatre, complete with the usual cookies and hot chocolate!

Being sensible can be excessively boring – at least Jack thinks so! While assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, he lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar facade.

Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.

Max Webster (Donmar’s Macbeth; Life of Pi) directs a joyful and flamboyant reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy. Olivier Award-winner Sharon D Clarke (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Doctor Who) is joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who; Sex Education) and Hugh Skinner (W1A; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) in this hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance.

Year 9’s Clem shares her thoughts on the screening and discussion that took place the next day.

“The Importance of Being Earnest is a brilliant and satirical comedy that plays with the ideas of society and identity.

It is set in the traditional late Victorian period, but the National Theatre production added modern twists to make it more interesting and relatable for a modern audience.

The set design was mostly traditional at the start, but it was cleverly changed into a countryside setting; this helped to show the contrast and juxtaposition between the characters and their different lifestyles.

I think this play was particularly enjoyable because of its unusual use of humour to mock society and its ridiculous rules on marriage. I also found it especially interesting how the play presented the different attitudes of the characters depending on where they lived. Overall, the performance effectively used humour and creative staging to highlight how silly and exaggerated social rules were at the time.”

Clash of the Chess Titans begun in School this week, a match for Year 12’s Rowan and Nikolai, two of the School’s strongest players, competing to discover who is indeed, the best Chess player in School!   

Rowan and Nikolai played their first game of six on Wednesday, surrounded by the noise of their fellow students in a packed dining hall.  Nikolai prepared a surprise variation in the opening, but Rowan had checked Nikolai’s online games and had seen him use that variation before, so was prepared in case it happened.   As a result, Rowan did extremely well in the opening, putting Nikolai under time pressure in addition to creating other problems for him on the board.   

With each player having 10 minutes plus 1 second added for every move they make to play the game, Rowan took the win, with only 12 seconds left on the clock, and Nikolai was down to 2 seconds.    

Both of these students of course are taking this competition very seriously, and so we await the second of the six games next week with much anticipation and excitement.