Category: Woodbridgian Weekly
As this year’s Cross Country season comes to a close, we report on the English Schools Championships which took place at the weekend in Pontefract, as well as look back on the highlights of the last six months for Woodbridge School athletes.
English Schools Cross Country Championship – Pontefract, West Yorkshire
On Saturday 16 March, five Woodbridge School athletes were part of a successful Suffolk team that competed at the English Schools Cross Country Championships, the most competitive nationals of the winter. English Schools is an event where athletes create memories, experience success, and learn to deal with disappointment on the highest stage!
All 46 counties in England send their top eight athletes (in age groups, combining two school years) to compete for honours; meaning there were up to 368 county level athletes from across England on each start line.
Suffolk is a tiny county in terms of population (category C, with D being the smallest) and yet, once again, our athletes were extremely competitive.
The age groups were: Juniors (Year 8 and 9), Inters (Year 10 and 11) and Seniors (Year 12 and 13)
Our full Suffolk team results, where our own athletes competed were:
Junior Girls:
Suffolk 15th
Year 9’s Romilly consistently in the top 100 on the national stage, finished as first Suffolk athlete in 68th place. Another brilliant performance.
Junior Boys:
Suffolk 28th
Year 8’s Digby running his first ever English Schools, in the lower year, had an outstanding race to make the top 100, finishing 88th and 2nd Suffolk runner home.
Year 9’s Jago was absolutely thrilled to make the Suffolk team and thoroughly enjoyed his nationals weekend, finishing 323rd , 8th Suffolk runner home.
Senior Boys:
Suffolk 7th, the county’s best team result of the day!
Year 13’s Henry went all in for the win, fading slightly in the latter stages, but still recording his third top 10 finish at this event. Henry finished in 5th place as first Suffolk athlete home.
Whilst Seniors do not go to the Home Nation International, at Junior and Inter level the top 10 are selected to race for English Schools, just to give Henry’s performance some context! It’s been an incredible six months for the young athlete!
Year 12’s Iwan had his debut at this event and racing a year young he was very close to the top 100 at his first attempt. A great performance in 117th and 5th Suffolk.
The end of a busy winter, and time for our athletes to rest and recharge before starting to prepare for the summer track season.
A massive thank you to all parents and staff who have travelled far and wide to support our young athletes.
2023/24 Cross Country Summary
A Woodbridge School season to remember!
- Two Great Britain representations
- An individual British trial victory, followed by a 6th at the European Championships and team silver for Britain’s U20s
- Representing Great Britain at the World Cross Country Championships to follow, on 30 March
- Woodbridge School were hosts to the National Final of The English Schools XC Cup
- Three School teams qualified for the National final of the Cup, and at those finals we had two team 4ths and an individual 4th. (Woodbridge School has qualified one or more teams for the Nationals every year since 2016)
- Woodbridge School were hosts to the Final Suffolk Schools XC Trial
- At the King Henry V111 Cross country Relays (the largest XC schools relay event in England) our girls team finish 4th (equalling their 2nd best ever) and the boys finish 6th (their best ever). Year 13’s Henry runs the fastest individual leg ever run in the 52 year history of the event!
- 23 athletes selected to represent Suffolk Schools at Anglian Schools (our second highest representation to date), Suffolk win the event and our athletes secure three individual medals
- 13 athletes selected to represent Suffolk County at the UK Inter Counties XC, our highest ever representation. An individual 3rd and five athletes with top 100 finishes
- Six athletes selected to represent Suffolk Schools at English Schools and Henry makes the top 10 for the third time, finishing 5th
When it comes to purchase motivation, it seems certain fast food chains have become synonymous with giving away toys in an attempt to entice children to eat their food. Given the world we live in and the impact our behaviour and the materials we use has on our planet, it was unsurprising when in 2021 McDonald’s pledged to offer sustainable Happy Meal toys made with dramatically less plastic by the end of 2025.
With this in mind, our Year 8 students were briefed to conceive, design and create sustainable slot toys, similar to those we are now seeing fast food chains include with meals for children, as part of their Design lessons. Learning not just about design, techniques, materials and processes used, but about considerations manufacturers have to make in the modern world in order for their products to appeal to all in this increasingly sustainability conscious world.
Talking about the process and her design, Amelie shared,
“I had a few different ideas when I first started, and we were encouraged to have at least four concepts in mind so that was really useful. Thinking about what I’d actually need to do in order to create each of the four concepts helped me to design with simplicity in mind – if it gets too complicated it would be incredibly difficult to produce. I decided on a final, favourite choice – an elephant, as from my drawings I could see how by having multiple parts that slotted together, I could create a three dimensional, simple toy that would resemble an elephant and be something children could create and play with.”
Drawing out the different sections she felt would be required helped Amelie to work out dimensions and measurements and she added, “When it came to drawing out the different parts I thought I’d need, we used graph paper, this really helped us to be precise and I really think without this part of the process you could go very wrong and create pieces either far too big or too small, the design wouldn’t work.”
Amelie and her classmates took their graph paper drawings and then laid them out onto cardboard, before cutting the pieces out for their first prototype. Exploring the process in this way enables students to identify potential issues and where mistakes are or could be made, and often leads to them simplifying the design at this point. All part of the learning, students recognise that this is something all designers go through, trial and error and the importance it plays in producing a final, correct design – even before you begin to manufacture it.
Henri talked about his design,
“I decided quite quickly on a plane, I’ve played with similar toys in the past and so I could visualise how it might all be cut out and fit together, and I really wanted to give it a try. I also wanted to make something that was fairly simple to understand and create – after all these are designs for children.”
He continued,
“You have to have more than one design though, otherwise if it doesn’t go as planned you have no back up.”
Learning how different parts slot together to build an end product has involved teaching and learning about accurate and precise drawing and cutting; without which the designs just won’t work. Learning from mistakes is a big part of Design education, and our teachers and students often discuss the fact that this is exactly how professionals and experts learn and come to their final pieces; quite often the mistakes lead the design in a different direction, and from this many masterpieces have been created. Mrs Cracknell explains further,
“Between Mr Littlechild and I, we have six young children, and we both recognised the innovation by McDonald’s to create highly imaginative and creative toys, using very basic but important principles – and increasingly sustainable materials. We wanted to include a similar project on the curriculum, to not only cover a range of useful practice skills for our learners, but to also highlight that sustainable design can be fun and imaginative too!”
Once the slot toys have been designed, cut out and tested to ensure they fit together accurately, students will develop their skills further on Adobe Illustrator to create surface graphics, exploring a range of graphic techniques to reflect their intended overall design concept. They will be introduced to a range of graphic options throughout the project, such as creating digital patterns and textures, in order to create a unique and original final product.
The school offers a wealth of opportunities for our numerous budding percussionists, and our percussion room is extremely well stocked with an enviable range of professional standard instruments including orchestral marimba, vibraphone, timpani and djembes.
Our Percussion Ensemble meets regularly to perform together – something of a rarity in a school and certainly something we’re extremely proud of. The presence and quantity of ensemble musicians has attracted the attention of musical directors putting on a performance in St Edmundsbury Cathedral, which is rather exciting.
Our Director of Music, Mr Woodley shared,
“We are extremely excited to have been approached to provide percussion for a big opera production next year – I can’t share any more details than that right now, but it’s a true reflection of the ability and talent our students have and we’re delighted to have been asked!”
He continued, sharing details of the School’s Percussion Teacher, Kyomi Seed,
“We’re truly blessed to have the talent and enthusiasm of Kyomi in School each Wednesday and Thursday – and she also teaches at our Prep School, our students certainly enjoy and benefit from their time spent together.”
He continued,
“Access to and experience of music and musical instruments is so vital for learning, and also incredibly fun! We’re so pleased to welcome such talent into Woodbridge School for our students to experience, learn and benefit from.”
Kyomi studied at The Julliard School in New York where she achieved a Master of Music Performance, Florida State University where she received a Bachelor of Music Performance and has an Australian Kodlay Music Certificate in Education. With truly magnificent orchestral experience, including the Aurora Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Illinois Symphony Orchestra to name but a few, our students benefit from her wealth of experience and passion for percussion!
Our Junior, 1st XI, U14A and U15A teams have played in a number of matches over the last few weeks, including games against Langley and Culford – with some cracking play and results. You can read more about all of this in our reports from those matches.
Woodbridge Junior 3 – 6 Teams vs Langley
Over the last couple of weeks we have played a number of hockey matches against Langley in various age groups, and many visits to our neutral venue, Harleston Magpies HC. Our Junior 3 to 6 teams took on the U13A and B, and U12 A and B teams from Langley; this would be a big challenge for our teams. Slow starts for the 3 and 5s after the bus journey led to going behind early, and they just could not get the goals back. All our teams stood strong in matches where the close scorelines perhaps flattered the opposition in terms of outcomes and doesn’t tell the true story of end-to-end hockey and multiple scoring chances once in full flow. Goals for our teams on the day were scored by Year 7’s Michael for the Junior 3 team, Year 8’s Albie for the Junior 4 team, Year 7’s George L and Lewis for the Junior 5 team, and Year 8’s James F for the Junior 6 team. Congratulations to Year 8’s Sam for a Player of the Match performance in goal for the 5s and to Year 8’s William on a debut hockey match, and also earning himself Player of the Match.
Woodbridge 1st X1 vs Langley
This was an end-to-end game that took a few moments of brilliance to decide the winner, thankfully Woodbridge produced these moments. In the first half Year 11’s Sam deflecting a shot past the keeper, Year 11’s Dylan flicking the ball goalwards with Year 12’s Luca volleying into the net – goal line technology was needed to see if the ball had already crossed the line! Half time saw Woodbridge ahead by one after their two good goals. The second half was more of the same; this time a well finished goal from Year 12’s Alfie and a superb individual run and score from team captain, Year 13’s Edward meant that Woodbridge doubled their scored and ended the game with a deserved victory.
Woodbridge U14 and U15 Teams vs Langley
Both our U14A and U15A teams played with bigger match day squads against Langley to maximise opportunities to give experience to our many committed players. The U14s (all Year 9 players) dominated in a convincing win. Goals by were spread around and scored by Oliver Y, Toby T, Toby C, Liam and Charlie.
The U15A team (all Year 10 players) had a much closer game. The physicality of the encounter was something new for the players to deal with. They adjusted well, but after Woodbridge dominated early on, Langley piled on more pressure and tried to use counter attacks and long through balls as their main form of attack. A sharp opening goal by Sam L was well taken before Jasper extended the lead in the second half. Langley got one back, and in the end it was a little bit too close for comfort, but Woodbridge came away with the win, standing firm in the dying minutes.
Woodbridge Junior 1 Team vs Culford U15B
It was a great afternoon of hockey for the Junior 1s against Culford. The team played two shorter matches against the travelling teams.
First up was a U13B team from Culford, their usual A team missing lots of players due to rugby 7s, the anticipated match was not quite a replay of the County Cup, for which Woodbridge was hoping to get a tiny bit of revenge after a last minute loss. Woodbridge dominated the game and did all but score, and so as a result the match was a lot tenser than it appeared. It looked like Culford might sneak a goal against the run of play as the match drew to a close, but GK Year 8’s Arthur kept his clean sheet. Year 7’s Josh finally managed to convert Woodbridge’s dominance into a goal, to much relief, to secure the win.
Woodbridge Junior 1 Team vs Culford U12A
Next the Junior 1s took on Culford’s U12A team. This was a game of goals galore and total dominance by our team. One of the many highlights or the game was play consisting of four slick passes, starting at a 16-yard hit and ending in the other goal. Goals by Year 7’s Dex (5), Joseph (3), Josh (2) and Otto. Congrats to Dex for scoring his first ever goal(s) in a competitive match!
Woodbridge Junior 2 Team vs Culford U12A
The Junior 2s also did themselves very proud. Two games played, and they were also goal-filled and very entertaining. The 2s beat Culford U12A in a dominant performance in which Year 8’s Oscar and Frank scored, as well as Griff from Year 7.
Woodbridge Junior 2 Team vs Culford U13
The match against Culford U13s went the other way, just losing out by one goal, but so nearly not. The team managed to get the ball into the goal for a late equaliser but time had just elapsed and it could not stand. Oscar and Frank found themselves on the score sheet again, with Year 7’s Alfie P getting his maiden goal for the Junior 2s.
Well done to everyone on all of the matches played, it’s always a great opportunity not only to demonstrate skills and talent, but to learn and develop from the opportunities competitive matches offer our students.
Each year, our Young Enterprise competition sees Year 12 students conceive and create business ideas, ahead of setting up their own company and bank account, promoting and selling to the public. This year a cookbook focused on local recipes was created and Year 12’s Ariana reported on the process.
Suffolk Sensations Cookbook, Year 12’s Ariana
We chose a cookbook as our product, because we felt that focusing on local recipes with a personal story behind each of them would be unique and would appeal to the public when it came to sales – ultimately the end aim of the Young Enterprise Project. We chose recipes that would be both family friendly and easy to make, focusing on different sizes and types of meals.
My role in the team/project was as Managing Director of the business, therefore the responsibility for all of the final decisions was with me. It was an interesting process, gathering the group’s thoughts and feelings, and then ultimately making a decision that affected us all and the product, but I really enjoyed the responsibility and I made sure that everyone’s opinions were considered and where appropriate, reflected. My fellow students took on various other business roles, choosing those that they felt their strengths and skills would be right for, such as managing finance etc.
The book was produced using online and book creation software. We looked at similar cookbooks in terms of styling and inspiration, choosing to highlight each with photography.
The cookbook has now been printed and we’re all really pleased with it. It was great fun making it, and we learned so much along the way.
It’s now available to buy too; it can be ordered in School through myself or any other members of the group, or via Instagram www.instagram.com/suffolksensations/. You can also order by emailing us at suffolksensationswbs@gmail.com).
On Saturday Woodbridge School astro hosted its first National League hockey match, when Ipswich Hockey Club Ladies 1st team was forced to move their match against Teddingdon HC at the last minute. The move also proved to be a lucky charm as Ipswich HC won the game, scoring from a corner after the final whistle.
We are delighted to have hosted this England Hockey National League East Conference match, and it was lovely to welcome the players and supporters into our School community.
A steady stream of spectators watched the game which featured our very own Year 10’s Charlie and Old-Woodbridgian, Georgia Harrold, with the team being coached by Head of Hockey, Mrs Rix.
A further shoutout to so many of our students and staff who featured for their club hockey teams this weekend. It is great seeing so many out playing for Ipswich and East Suffolk (IES), Colchester HC, Felixstowe HC, Ipswich HC, Sudbury HC and Magpies, to name just a few.
On Saturday 9 March, thirteen Woodbridge School athletes were included in the Essex and Suffolk teams to compete at the UK Inter County Cross Country at Wollaton Park in Nottingham; unfortunately there was one withdrawal earlier in the week due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, so twelve raced on the day – with incredible results.
The UK Inter County event is one of the most competitive in the country, with area teams from Scotland and Wales competing against 45 County teams from England, almost giving the day a Home Nation International flavour!
At Senior and U20 level, the event also serves as a selection race for the World Cross Country Championships, taking place this year in Belgrade Serbia on 30 March.
U20 Men:
The Essex team took 4th place in the U20’s Men’s race, and it is with immense pride we congratulate Year 13’s Henry who finished 3rd in the U20 race, thereby guaranteeing selection for Great Britain to compete at the Worlds. Races can be viewed on YouTube, search for ‘British Athletics Cross Challenge Final 2024’. This is an absolutely incredible achievement for someone so young, in his final School year! Congratulations Henry.
Alongside Henry’s success, it has to be said that our athletes were outstanding. Below you can see a full summary of results. With approx. 350 athletes in each race, all at a level high enough to be representing their county, it’s clear to see what an achievement each of these successes is. Well done everyone.
U13 Girls:
The Suffolk team did incredibly well overall, taking 11th place; it’s worth noting that all three our our runners are Year 7, in a race for Year 7 and 8 athletes:
51st – Year 7’s India J ( 2nd Suffolk runner home, an outstanding and gritty first performance at this level)
110th – Year 7’s Ella (5th home for Suffolk)
135th – Year 7’s Alexandra (6th home for Suffolk)
Consistent with results at this event, there are 84 places and just 43 seconds between our athletes, that is two finishers every second!
U13 Boys:
The Suffolk team took 9th place – achieving the best Suffolk result of the day!
11th – Year 8’s Digby (1st Suffolk runner home). What a debut to be this close to the top ten. We are pretty confident that only two Woodbridge School students (including Henry) have ever finished higher at the UK Inter counties.
22nd – Year 7’s Dexter (2nd Suffolk runner home). If top 100 is quite something, then finishing 22nd as a Year 7 is very special indeed!
203rd – Year 7’s Otis (6th Suffolk runner home). An extremely brave performance.
U15 Girls:
The Suffolk team took 27th place – with more incredible performances from our runners.
77th – Year 9’s Romilly (1st Suffolk runner home). Another top 100 finish for Romilly!
132nd – Year 9’s Felicity (2nd Suffolk runner home). A very happy athlete on the day!
U15 Boys:
The Suffolk team took 18th place – with some exciting/unexpected action in the race for our runner!
216th – Year 10’s Jasper (5th Suffolk runner home). A superb achievement, despite unbelievably being tripped twice during the race – just when we thought cross country was a non-contact sport!
U17 Men:
The Suffolk team came in 12th place.
105th Year 12’s Iwan (4th Suffolk runner home). Incredibly close to that top 100 finish.
197th Year 11’s Angus (8th Suffolk runner home). This achieved at a year younger than the majority of his competitors.
Congratulations to every athlete earning the right to compete at this event and a massive thank you to all the parents travelling up for the weekend in support.
Good luck to those athletes representing Suffolk Schools at English Schools in Pontefract this coming weekend; the final race of the winter!
“A well-timed opportunity to be creative in an academic setting” was one of many testimonials offered from students at the end of a day that, while exhausting, became so much more than that, when the English department claimed all 76 Year 11 students for a whole day of creative writing skills.
Why? Creative writing is worth 20% of students’ final grade in English Language GCSE, a core subject and qualification needed for almost any future they might wish to choose. However it is entirely skills (rather than content) based and therefore can receive limited attention when competing with texts and anthologies.
“It was so useful – I hadn’t realized before I can revise creative writing by practising particular skills.”
In addition, an imaginative frame of mind can be difficult to discover under time pressure and so the English department looked to its creative allies – Art, Photography, DT and Drama, all of whom create wonderfully meaningful creative opportunities for students in their subjects – and shaped a day of workshops transcending usual timetable constraints that unleashed students’ freedom to explore.
“Looking at the mark scheme and understanding why and where marks are given was really helpful.”
Four 90-minute workshops run by our four Year 11 English teachers, covered a range of skills, starters and suggestions to make imaginative writing more vivid, engaging, bold and yet achievable within the time restraints of a GCSE exam, alongside focusing on ways to enhance language and structural choices, improve accuracy, and impress examiners.
“Each session I felt my creativity expanding!”
Students embraced the day, kept their energy levels remarkably high (helped by a timely muffin arrival during the afternoon) and feedback was positive across all ability and confidence levels.
“I know how to punctuate dialogue now!”
As our students aim to fulfil their potential in two months’ time, their freshly made characters, plots and settings will be ready to dazzle examiners. Well done to all involved.
“I now have so many new ways to grab the reader’s attention.”
Despite the continuing rainy weather, 20 Year 12 students set off on Tuesday morning for Sizewell B power station. They enjoyed an informative tour where they were able to apply their knowledge of nuclear energy thanks to Dr Law’s expertise in the area – Luca reports on the day.
Luca, Year 12
On the journey, as we neared Sizewell, we were able to see the very early stages of construction for the administration building for Sizewell C and the levelling-out of the ground on which they will build.
Upon our arrival we were given a rundown of how the Sizewell B reactor functions and most importantly a safety brief, making it evident just how important safety is to EDF, a theme which was constant throughout our tour. Once we’d cleared security, we headed toward the maintenance building where we were shown the new high-pressure water cutter and were informed of the numerous career options in nuclear energy and even courses funded entirely by EDF.
Although we were not able to enter the reactor building, we stood at its base and stared up at the metal metropolis that loomed over us, which was of course the famous large white dome which can be viewed from much of the Suffolk coastline and even my bedroom window.
We were, however, lucky enough to be shown through the turbine hall. Equipped with our PPE we entered the double doors and immediately felt the sheer power produced as our bodies were shaken by the vibrations created by metal blades being spun at 3000rpm.
The turbine area consisted of a huge room with a labyrinth of pipes and walkways that stretched some 40ft below us. This was my and many of my peers’ highlight of the trip, as it presented to us just how complicated and extensive these pressurised water reactors really are.
Thanks to Dr Law for organising a great trip and thanks to Sizewell B for inviting and hosting us throughout the day.
Considering their design, contemplating materials, finishes, colours and possibly different artist styles that might influence them, our Year 10 Design students have been working on a project to create foot high (30cm x 30cm) 3D letters. The actual letters were chosen at random and assigned to students, but the design, look, feel and finish of each letter is entirely down to the creativity, imagination and execution of different techniques by the students.
There really is no limit to what they could use to create. From a range of plastic, wood, metal or any other materials they choose to use, which theme, colours or design, this brief offers the opportunity of not only freedom and individuality, but for students to learn and expand on visualisation and execution; working their way towards an end, finished product that will be displayed in the corridors of the Design department alongside fellow students’ work, eventually spelling out the words ‘three dimensional design’.
Scarlet described the thought process behind her letter design,
“Before I even started thinking about materials or colours, I did some rough drawings to help me decide what I wanted my focus and theme to be, and I decided on nature. I then spent time drawing out various designs, reducing it down to four or five finals that I really liked. Then I roughly made them all out of cardboard to see what I thought about each of them; this really helped me to visualise what I wanted the end product to be, helped me decide on the final design, colours and materials. Without this process I think you could start creating and then change your mind several times, so this was really useful.”
She continued,
“We were given plenty of time so we could really think about what we wanted to do, research artists and influences we had in our minds, and challenge ourselves to create something really special. You soon realise that some of the ideas you have in your head, that you’ve drawn out – just won’t work, for various reasons.”
Scarlet’s final design is called ‘Under the Sea’ and she’s creating a hollow letter which will feature wildlife suspended within the letter so it looks like it’s floating, as it would under water. She’s using different materials to create creatures to feature in the design, working with the laser cutter to cut them out and considering using resin and possibly welding when it comes to finishing and fixing. “I’m having loads of fun and really enjoying the independence on this project; the teacher is always there if we need help or advice, or just want to talk something through – full of ideas that inspire us. I’ve learned so many new skills on this project so far, lots of different techniques – and learned about materials and how they can be used, as well as how they can’t be!”
Across the classroom, students had chosen completely different materials, designs and techniques to create their letters, encouraged to try new tools, materials and develop new skills all while considering their end product and how they were going to create what they had visualised.
Mrs Cracknell, Head of Design commented on the project,
“This project is perfect for Year 10, as it further consolidates the fundamental aspects of achieving a successful project. Students must work through a design process that clearly evidences their idea development through to final manufacture. The fact that the final piece is a 3D letter enables students to inject creativity and imagination into an initially mundane starting point. From what I have seen so far, the students have been creating some really great original ideas, with varying levels of complexity and challenge.”
Having chosen the artist Charles Clary for her inspiration, Elodie commented on her thoughts on the project so far, working on the letter I,
“I joined Woodbridge just before Christmas last year, so I’ve had a lot to catch up on, but I am thoroughly enjoying Design – in the past lessons were very prescriptive, whereas here I’m enjoying the freedom and independence this project offers, as well as the responsibility it’s encouraging me to have and take for my own development and work in terms of the letter creation.”
She continued,
“I’ve chosen layered levels since I’m focusing on the design style of Charles Clary, using different materials to create height and texture in my design. I’ve been practicing with cardboard to make sure my design works and looks how I want it to before I begin creating in wood. I haven’t made all my decisions regarding colours and other textures and possibly materials I want my design to feature, but that’s part of the process, you can change your mind as your design comes to life, making different decisions along the way which you think will improve upon the original design and visualisation you had in your mind earlier in the project. We’ve quite a lot of time on this project, so we can really think about what we’re doing, there’s no rush, but still an ultimate deadline. If we want to come in at lunchtime or after School, to DT clinics we can. There’s so much support and so many resources we have access to, I’m absolutely loving this!”
Looking ahead to when all students have created and finished their letters, we’re excited to see them displayed for all to see; to see the thoughts, creativity and individuality of everyone reflected in their individual letters as well as the piece as a whole. Bringing letters to life, offering perspective, shadows and texture, featuring a host of different design principles, colours and curves, these letters will create a visual experience for anyone visiting the department and will certainly be something our students can be proud of.
For more information, visit Creative and Graphic Design Studies.
