23 of our A level Artists and Photographers set off early last Friday morning to take the Eurostar to Paris.
In what seemed like a whirlwind of a weekend, they had an incredible time together in the city, managing to see modern and contemporary art at no less than seven different galleries, including: Musée Rodin, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Musée D’Orsay, Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson, and Palais Galliera.
It was an excellent opportunity not only to see and experience Paris and some of the art on offer, but to immerse themselves in the language and cuisine.
Year 12’s Amelie B and Bash shared their experience of the weekend.
Year 12’s Amelie B We visited museums such as the D’Orsay, Rodin and the Louvre which were not only hugely inspirational in their setting but also in the material with a range from The Thinker, Van Gogh’s self-portrait and The Mona Lisa. On the first night we had a candlelit pizza dinner at Le Bookie which was very atmospheric and had delicious food. The next day we were off to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs which featured a wide range of textile based art and then hit the gift shop for some postcards.
Year 12’s Bash Over the weekend we visited the Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation, who was a pioneer in street photography as well as the Pompidou which displayed a wide range of contemporary art, broadening our inspiration for our upcoming work. I especially enjoyed visiting the Cartier Bresson Foundation as he’s a photographer that I’ve looked at and taken inspiration from; seeing his work in the museum gave me more ideas and talking points for my related study on the ethics of street photography. The last evening in Paris was spent at a French steakhouse where we soaked up the Parisian vibes even more!
Since our last report the Hockey has continued, and below you can see reports from matches for our Junior, U14, U15 and 1st XI teams.
Junior Action Following the excitement of a clean sweep in the first block fixture, seven teams, featuring all 66 Junior hockey players set off for Harleston Magpies to take on the strong teams from Greshams. The Junior 4s and Junior 5s achieved superb wins! The Junior 4 team’s goalkeeper, Year 8’s Seth, kept a clean sheet with impressive saves throughout the game, and especially stopping a series of low and high attempts at his goal right before the final whistle. At the other end his team scored at regular intervals to make it seem like a comfortable victory.
Mr Davis reports from the Junior 5’s game: A very slight squad reshuffle meant that this was, on paper, a strong Junior 5 team, who were still buoyed by their victory from the previous week. And, indeed, they started the match the sharper of the two teams. Year 8’s Jacob and Year 7’s Lewis were incredibly industrious throughout the match and took us to a three-goal lead at half-time. Year 7’s Thomas added another in the second half before we conceded a scrappy goal towards the end. After a long and winding journey and playing in a chilling wind all the boys did exceptionally well to keep their winning record.
The Junior 2 and Junior 3 teams were frustrated with two close losses, by a one goal margin, after playing some pretty impressive hockey and competing very well. The Junior 6 and 7s must be commended for their first matches, also losing by two and one goal respectively but being set up nicely to excel from in the games to come. The Junior 1st team had an afternoon best to forget but lots to learn from and very determined to put this into action. Well done to Year 7’s Otto on his pretty good goal on the day.
Woodbridge Junior 4 – 7 Teams vs New Hall The next week saw the Junior 4 to 7 teams take on the long journey to New Hall to play two matches each; a very exciting afternoon.
Mr Gage reports from the Junior 4 matches: The Junior 4’s went to New Hall looking to replicate their performance against Greshams from the week before, with the focus being on moving the ball wide quickly with speed. Woodbridge opened the scoring early on with Year 8’s Tahir after some very good build-up play. Woodbridge continued to apply pressure on New Hall but a good stint of goalkeeping kept us from scoring again. It was one goal apiece in the second half (Year 7’s Tom C scoring for us) but Woodbridge had done enough to take the win in their opening game.
The second match saw the home side the more dominant of the two. Putting together a series of strong attacks saw New Hall take the lead early on. Woodbridge didn’t take long to level the scores through Year 8’s Tahir again, however after a great save from Year 8’s Seth the ball found its way into the net from a rebound. A great afternoon of hockey for all involved.
The Junior 5s kept their unbeaten record going with a win and a draw against U13 teams from New Hall, meaning surely Mr Davis will be getting the donuts delivery in soon!
Miss Hinton reports from the Junior 6 matches: The Junior 6 boys enjoyed a fruitful afternoon at New Hall, playing against two teams and winning in both! After a good warm up, the boys started strongly, attacking the New Hall goal, hardly leaving them time to breathe. Our first goal was a fantastic team goal with a perfectly weighted ball into space on the right from Year 7’s Giles, and George B running onto it and crossing it across the face of goal for Year 8’s Henri to be at the back post and tap it in, poetry in motion! An end-to-end match for the rest of the time saw us defend our lead and look forward to taking on their second team.
They then took on the second group from New Hall for a second match, and had got into their stride completely, running tirelessly and slipping the ball forward to seasoned finisher, year 8’s James for two identical goals slotting the ball confidently past the keeper. Our final goal came courtesy of another team passing phase and Year 7’s George B getting his first hockey goal for Woodbridge and the delighted grin summed up a wonderful afternoon of hockey for our boys. Well played, team!
The Junior 7s joined in the celebrations with a win in their first game, Year 7’s Thomas R being the goal scorer. Having to go straight into a second game after the high of the win, proved a bit too much for emotions and legs and the boys had to let New Hall enjoy their win in that one.
Well done to each of these boys who represented the school so well and thanks to staff for managing a really busy afternoon.
U14 and U15 Teams The U14 and U15 teams have enjoyed some great success recently. The U14B team played their first match of the term, also seeing some debutants. Ipswich High School hosted our team. Mr Pineo was very impressed by his team in their attitude and desire to learn in a convincing win.
Some words from the U14B game: A fun afternoon for all! Ipswich High started very well and scored a well worked goal. This kick-started the Woodbridge boys into action! Going into the second half with a two goal lead gave Woodbridge some freedom in their play; many chances were made and everyone playing lots of new positions. Year 9’s Toby and Zach were excellent throughout. Well done boys.
On the same day the U14A team faced Royal Hospital School, a second meeting within two weeks and this time an important cup fixture, to determine the County champion. Woodbridge started brightly and were dominant in the midfield and camped out in the RHS half. Unfortunately, Woodbridge could not get their shots away and didn’t trouble the keeper. With the mounting pressure getting too much for the RHS defence, some fantastic disciplined pressing lead to an interception and shot away into the corner by year 9’s Toby. The second half was a closer affair but with Woodbridge having the upper hand. Year 9’s Charlie managed to put away a quick chance from a rebound to double the lead. The game ended 2-0 to Woodbridge and some mentionable performances from Jago up front, Oliver M in defence and Oliver Y in midfield. Jago winning the players’ Player of the Match and Oliver Y winning the coaches’ Player of the Match for his great distribution and breaking up the RHS counter attacks. This win means the U14s will represent Suffolk at the regional event in March.
Following on from this the U14A team took on Ipswich School U14B a week later, Mr Walsh reports: Woodbridge exploded out of the blocks and dominated the first half with some quick direct play. At half time Woodbridge had a handsome lead with goals from Jago, Ambrose, Oliver R and Charlie. The second half was a tighter affair but Woodbridge managed to get back to playing some great hockey and moving the ball quickly and changing the channel to then attack up the pitch. Charlie got his second of the game while Arthur kept a clean sheet at the other end. Well done to Oliver R for being voted players’ Player of the Match.
Woodbridge U15A vs Greshams in the Independent Schools Cup While the U14A team was tasting success at Rushmere, the U15A team produced a performance for the history books. Taking on Greshams in the Independent Schools Cup, it was going to be a cracker.
The group of players showed skill, knowledge, determination, endless effort and big hearts. Every plan was executed with a structured, disciplined, united and hard-working defence, and slick passing patterns in attack to move the ball through midfield and feed the forwards. Not for one moment did a single player get out of shape and allow Greshams to dominate the way they like to. In fact, it was Woodbridge who dominated the opening ten minutes but could not capitalise. Greshams started to find their stride and the game went end to end.
When Greshams did manage to find the smallest gap through the defences year 10’s Edward was on hand to make the required saves in goal. With all level at 0-0 at half time, Woodbridge knew there was a huge opportunity up for grabs.
Starting the second half sharply, Sam L (Y10) thought he had put Woodbridge ahead with a brilliant strike into the top left corner. As celebrations were about to take over the realisation dawned that the whistle had gone a second before. It was not to be. Next it was Year 9’s Elijah and Harry who combined with a great 2v1 to have only the goalie left to beat. As Harry was about to unleash a last-ditch jab took the ball away from him, and with it the scoring chance.
Woodbridge kept probing and once again the ball found itself in the 9-yard area, but this time Year 10’s Rowan got to it first and tapped it through the goalkeeper’s legs to give Woodbridge the lead. Greshams did not take likely to this and pushed hard to get the equaliser. Multiple short corners followed, but Woodbridge defended! Even the corners from the wrong side could not outwit the team, who learned fast in these moments. A five-man Woodbridge defence up against ten players to defend yet another corner with time up… the ball was cleared and celebrations commenced, closely followed by handshakes and credit to both teams for a great game.
Every player delivered a personal best performance and worthy of Player of the Match. Year 10’s Alex H, Year 9’s Oliver M and Year 10’s Theo as a defensive trio played with maturity, composure and dominance in defence and outlet which allowed Woodbridge to have lots of possession. This possession was used well, moving the ball across and along the pitch with efficiency, covering every part of the astro with square and through passes.
Co-captains Year 10’s Jasper and Tom were creative and consistent in midfield, while doing the simple and unexpected things well. Year 9’s Seb never faltered at left mid. Year 10’s Oscar P gave the game a new spark at the start of the second half, powering up the right flank. On reflection Player of the Match is awarded to year 9’s Oliver Y for being outstanding in very position, also when filling in at right back, like he has played there for years. The team eagerly wait to hear who they will face next.
Woodbridge 1st XI vs Fram 2nd XI After a challenging start to the season, the first team had all to play for when they hosted Fram College 2nd team. A small squad also welcomed Year 9’s Oliver Y to make his first team debut as well as Year 10 duo Jasper and Tom. All three ‘fresh’ from their battle against Greshams.
The game started very brightly as Woodbridge took a two goal lead courtesy of Year 12’s Luca and Year 13’s James. At the other end Year 12’s Bash was making sharp saves, starting the game in good form.
Fram was not going to stand for being outplayed and came back strong to draw things level, only to have Woodbridge go ahead, through a fantastic two touch goal shot on the bounce from captain Year 13’s Edward. Five goals scored in 30 minutes!
The second half saw Woodbridge continue to work super hard and manage the game. Continuous encouragement from Edward kept the team moving, and pushing for more. But the scoreboard remained unchanged, much to Woodbridge’s delight.
What a fantastic match with two attacking teams, fast moving ball and lots of skilful running! A well-deserved win to the team who have battled hard so far this term.
It’s been an amazing Cross Country season for Woodbridge School athletes, and as it draws to a close we can confirm that a number of our students have been selected to represent their counties at the final National Cross Country events of the winter calendar.
Congratulations to all of those selected, details below:
UK Inter Counties – Nottingham Saturday 9 March A record thirteen athletes will represent Suffolk and Essex at this one off event attended by every county in England, Wales and Scotland. For U20 and above the race also serves as the Great Britain selection event for the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade on Saturday 30 March.
Racing for Suffolk (Burgundy vest): U13 Girls : Year 7’S India J, Ella and Alexandra U13 Boys : Year 7’s Dexter, Joshua and Otis, Year 8’s Digby U15 Girls : Year 9’s Romilly and Felicity U15 Boys : Year 10’s Jasper U17 Men : Year 11’s Angus and Year 12’s Iwan
Racing for Essex (Red Vest): U20 Men : Year 13’s Henry
English Schools Championship – Pontefract Saturday 16 March The largest and most competitive schools Cross Country event of the year for Juniors (Year 8) and above, where each county select their top eight athletes across two year groups to compete for individual and team honours. The top ten individuals on the day, at Junior and Inter level, are then selected to represent English Schools at the home nation international the following week. (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales).
Racing for Suffolk Schools (Blue vest): Junior Girls: Year 9’s Romilly Junior Boys: Year 9’s Jago and Year 8’s Digby Inter Boys : Year 11’s Angus Senior Boys: Year 13’s Henry and Year 12’s Iwan
On short non travelling reserve lists: Junior Girls : First Reserve – Year 9’s Felicity Senior Boys : Third Reserve – Year 12’s Bruce
We wish our athletes every success and would like to thank parents and staff for their tireless support through the winter!
An impressive brutalist campus (complete with Antony Gormley sculptures) did not disappoint our Year 12 students earlier this week, as they embarked on a visit to explore one of our closest universities: The University of East Anglia. Visiting to see and experience life at university, the trip provided some real insight into higher education, and what life might be like beyond School.
The rich community and character of the university was shared in an engaging introduction to the life of students on the campus. Through the abundance of clubs and societies, 57 sports teams and close proximity to Norwich City centre we saw the unique unity at UEA, and it seemed as though there was something for everyone.
Although the finance talk that followed on the costs of university was equally informative and engaging, it was the small tour groups with enthusiastic student ambassadors that best showcased the friendly and passionate atmosphere within the university. Students were able to explore the entire university from the renowned Sainsbury’s centre to the campus accommodation; receiving a first-hand insight in to the diversity that the campus offers.
Home to an amazing Environmental Sciences department, and the first university to offer a Master’s in creative writing, the student ambassadors articulated the range of courses at UEA as well as answering a host of questions from Year 12, in the student forum panel.
Many thanks to everyone at UEA for inviting us to spend time on campus.
Various matches and a league tournament have taken place recently for our netballers, see our team reports below for further details:
U13 Netballers Our U13A netball team have had a very strong start to 2024, winning both the league tournament and all of their fixtures so far against Finborough, Framlingham, RHS and OBH. The tournament saw them score a total of 69 goals against OBH, Framlingham Prep, Orwell Park, Barnardiston Hall and Finborough, it was a superb afternoon of netball – well done everyone! Many thanks to Framlingham Prep for their hospitality and to the parents who came to watch. This is the second year running we have won the tournament – amazing effort from all the players.
U13B Netballers As a team, these girls are really starting to come together very well; they work very hard on court, are very keen to learn and are now putting into play the tactics we have been working on. Lottie’s shooting to date has been particularly impressive and the defensive interceptions coming from the whole team, but particularly from Layla, Eirann and Annabel has been incredibly high. We now need to work on retain possession and turning those interceptions into goals.
In a match later in the week, the U13B team played OBH. After a poor first quarter the girls turned the game around by slowing their game down and improving the timing and accuracy of their passes, going on to win the other three quarters to take the match. Lovely shooting from Grace and Lottie, strong defending from Annabel, Layla and Millie and good support though the centre court from Eirann, Emilia, Alice, Isabel and Freya.
U14 Netballers Just before and on the back end of the weekend at Regionals, the U14As played both St Jos and RHS at home, coming away with two brilliant wins! In both matches, we were able to swap positions around to allow everyone to challenge themselves in positions they may have never played before. A great term effort, well done!
U15 Netballers After a first match loss against Finborough the U15A team have had a successful few weeks winning matches against RHS and the recent U15 tournament.
This week saw the team really play to their capability against Ipswich School. Whilst in the game all the way they were always behind by one goal until the final quarter, when in some tricky and very windy conditions they played some exceptional netball, turning over the ball, retaining possession, working the ball to advantageous positions to ensure a safe shot and an eventual win. Well done team.
The U15Bs have enjoyed matches against St Jo’s, Ipswich and RHS. Coming away with a strong win and two losses, (one which was played in the windiest conditions ever!), the girls should be proud of how well they have gelled as a team. The windy conditions did impact our passing and shooting a little, but once we were used to the weather, we started coming in front for short passes and ensured our shots were taken as close to the post as we could.
Seniors The 1st team enjoyed their first full game versus RHS. With a depleted team, due to illness, we called up two of our Year 10 netballers, Lyrah and Millie, who slotted in brilliantly!
From the starting whistle, the team played with the utmost tenacity, determination, and drive to succeed and their performance on the court demonstrated this. The game was phenomenal. From turning over the first centre pass and scoring, to pressuring the opposition for them to make simple mistakes, we were in control of the game.
Flawless shooting by Year 13’s Steph and Year 12’s Charlotte, even from the circle edge, and strong and effective defending by Year 12’s Georgie P and Lyrah, picking up interceptions and rebounds to superb centre court play by Year 13’s Libbie, Year 12’s Marina and Millie, enabled us to control play from both our defending end to our shooting end and our support around the circle, brilliantly. Well done, girls!
There’s more to share next week, so look our for our next Netball report.
Leatherworking as Part of the Curriculum Woodbridge School is one of only a few Schools in the region to offer Leatherworking as part of the curriculum for Design students. In Year 12, 3D Design students are given the opportunity to learn traditional leatherworking craft skills, the aim being to create a high quality product to produce in a small batch run.
For our Graphic Communication students, it presents the chance to conceive and develop brand identity, design logos and packaging for products, as well as understand the entire life cycle of a product from conception through to sale. Students work in collaboration with one another from concept through to delivery.
Design Students’ Concepts and Creation In terms of the physical design, students have access to a variety of materials including not only leather, but metals, threads and other materials that can be incorporated into the design to increase aesthetic appearance; they’re able to personalise their own leatherwork creating individuality.
Skills learned include those required to use appropriate tools in a safe and effective way, as well as using traditional handmade techniques they might not have had to opportunity to experiment with or implement before. These include forming templates, cutting accurately, saddle stitching and cleaning edges; techniques specific to leatherworking; these skills are transferrable to many careers in the design industry.
“Graphic communication students are encouraged to explore ideas that are interesting to them and they utilise a range of various techniques to achieve the result they want.” Mrs Cracknell, Head of Design explained. She continued, “This could include either hand generated or digital solutions, or a combination of both. Most students work on Adobe Creative Suite and Pro Create. Furthermore, students learn to create packaging templates, which are then often programmed to be cut on our laser cutter for a highly accurate result. Another strand that graphic students explore is video editing and creating content for web and social media. For this project, the students will create a 20 second promotional video to advertise the leather product and brand.”
3D Design and Graphic Communication students were paired or put into small groups, and the overall brief given to each team:
As a team, you will design, plan, make and promote a product manufactured from leather. You will work together to decide upon your product, produce a small batch run which must also include packaging, design a brand for your company and promote the product and the brand using social media as your platform.
Mrs Cracknell, Head of Design explained, “This project is designed to widen the students’ experiences and skill sets. First of all, being put in a group or pair means you have to communicate, compromise, encourage and support each other through the process, which is often the set up expected in most workplaces or even at university. Furthermore, there are many aspects to cover, from the initial design stages, through to development and manufacture, so the students have to multi-task, and carefully plan their work loads. And finally, it gives each student a chance to get hands on and help each other to meet the final deadline. Towards the final days it will be likely that 3D students will need to work on graphic tasks and vice versa.”
We recently spent time with Year 12 3D Design students Havannah, Rosie, Amelie, and Ted as well as Year 12 Graphic Communication students Alina, Amelia and Imogen, approximately mid-way through their Leatherworking Project at school which provides opportunities for skill development and enrichment of their learning experience.
Meet Year 12’s Havannah, Rosie, Amelia and Ted – 3D Design Students Speaking with the students it was clear that they were all enjoying the individuality and freedom the project allowed, many commenting that this was the best part of the process, that it was about them, their preferences and their trial, sometimes error and definitely success.
Havannah described the bracelet she had designed and was beginning to make, explaining how she was enjoying the work,
“I’m not the kind of person who can decide absolutely everything on paper, so it’s been really good to have the time and freedom to explore ideas, figure out what was going to work – and what wasn’t – and let the style and design develop as I experimented.” She continued, “Working with the different materials, as well as the leather, has been really interesting, figuring out ways to make something that’s individual and desirable, that I think other people might like too, because at the end of the day the outcome is that we create something that could be sold.”
Choosing to create luggage tags, Rosie told us,
“I chose to make these as I could not only create something that I and other people would find useful, but I could use a variety of different colours and textures of leather. It’s been great to use the different tools and develop skills needed to work with leather – it’s not as easy as you, or rather I, thought!” She also said, “I’m about half way through this project now, having just finished an architecture project which I also loved doing – that’s the thing about Design there is so much variety, freedom and creativity encouraged, it’s so enjoyable. I’ve particularly enjoyed looking at and learning about the considerations needed for the lifecycle of a product. Through from thought to design and creation, marketing and selling. It’s so great to think that this product has come from me, I’m already really pleased with it.”
Talking about her bracelet, Amelia commented on how she’s differentiating her design from others with the use of thread as an additional material,
“I’m chosen to embroider my leather bracelet, so it’s completely unique and special. It’s something I would like to buy or receive, definitely something I would wear – and that part of the thought process was really interesting and meant we had so much freedom in terms of designing and creation.” Talking about the process, interestingly she also mentioned, “I’ve changed my mind a few times during the process actually! It’s actually quite hard when you know you could do anything, making a decision and sticking to it and following that through is difficult as you do worry if you’ve chosen the right one, what would have happened if you’d chosen another -there are as many issues as if it had been a prescribed design, just in different ways. It really makes you realise and appreciate the journey products take from design to shop!”
Ted has chosen to make a bracelet too, but his design incorporates a metal too,
“My bracelet is designed using brass, I wanted a special and individual clasp to feature as part of the overall design and finish, so it’s different to something you might have seen before. The learning process is certainly interesting working with a metal, it doesn’t always go the way you think it will as it can be unpredictable when using heat to manipulate it into shape and design intended.” He also added, “I’ve really enjoyed the freedom we’ve been allowed on this project, and the trust – but knowing Mrs Cracknell is there for advice and guidance when you need it is brilliant, you can talk through your thought process and get ideas on different methods to use, and taught how to use particular tools needed – as well as safety when using them. I’ve loved experimenting.”
Graphic Communication Students, Development of Brand Identity Through to Delivery While our Design students are literally creating their products, our 3D Graphics students have been briefed throughout the process as part of the project, collaborating in order to conceive brand identity, logos, marketing material and packaging – and will also produce a promotional video which will be presented, alongside everything else including concepts, packaging, finished articles etc. to Miss Norman at the end.
Mrs Cracknell, Head of Design explained, “Essentially the role of the graphic students is to set the tone in creating a brand identity for the product and hypothetical company. This also includes designing the packaging and promo video. This process reflects what the actual product is, considers its appeal, its customer and target audience. It’s a vital part of the journey of a product beyond physical creation.”
Meet Year 12’s Alina and Amelia – Graphics Communication Students Alina was creating the logo when we caught up with her, and she talked us through her thought process and creativity,
“I wanted to keep it very simple and sleek. I’m experimenting with different ways of doing this but haven’t made my decision on the final design as yet. I’m considering using gold leaf to make the boxes completely unique, but I’ve lots of other ideas too, so I don’t want to decide on one single thing just yet.”
Alongside her fellow students, she’s also been working on packaging and producing prototypes for boxing, with considerations made for those sold in person (in shops perhaps) as well as those online; thought being given to how well they will transport and the client’s expectation and experience – all vital elements of the process.
Amelia talked about what she’s currently working on, as well as her previous work on packaging also,
“We work as a team with the Design students, take our brief and develop the different elements required. We have to communicate effectively and make sure we’ve got all the information we need, it’s such an important part of the process because if something is missed it could change the entire brand identity.” She added, “I’ve particularly enjoyed learning to use the laser cutter to produce possible packaging options, I’ve looked at what other brands do online, as well as those I come into contact with myself in shops and from online stores, taking time to first of all sketches then draw out possible designs using the computer, it’s amazing how it comes to life in front of your eyes! I’ve loved working on this.”
Mrs Cracknell commented on the overall process and the journey towards completion for all of the students we met and spoke with today, “The students are only half way through their project right now, so there is still time and opportunity for their creativity and skills to develop much further, and it will be really interesting to sit with Miss Norman and hear them present their finished products, packaging, logos and other marketing materials at the end of this part of the course. I’m excited to see what they achieve, and I think they are too.”
RAF Cadet Year 11’s Henry, recently travelled to visit British Airways at Heathrow for an immersive day in the life of a pilot and cabin crew. Chosen from three thousand applications, as one of only eight others invited, our report from Year 11’s Henry holds details about the day as well as his offer for work experience with British Airways.
Year 11’s Henry On Saturday 27 January, British Airways invited me and seven other cadets to Heathrow Airport for an immersive day in the life of a pilot and cabin crew. I’d seen their career stand at the RAF Aerospace camp, was asked a few questions and told to put my name down on a list to be considered for this experience. Out of three thousand cadets that applied, only three hundred got in and out of that the best eight were picked and were invited for a day at Heathrow.
The morning started with a quick brief and meeting the captains we would have for the day. We then went into the simulator building and were assigned groups. First activity of the day for my group was a presentation on careers and a website called Speedbird Z which is the British Airways website that teaches you about the careers and other aspects of flying; flying the full sized motion simulators following shortly after.
We were then given a private tour of the newest A350 of their fleet, and the afternoon was filled with air steward training including, evacuation from a mock-up cabin, sliding down the evacuation slide and firefighting training.
The absolute best part of the day was the tour around the A350 with it being so very interesting to see how the aircraft works and what it looks like when it is parked with nobody on.
I also had some great news from BA; just over a week later I they contacted me to say I had been offered work experience with them; and of course I gladly accepted!
My whole mindset is to become a pilot as it is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I would definitely recommend becoming an Air Cadet and trying to apply for the camp as even if you don’t get invited to an external event it’s still worth it. It’s the best camp I have been on!
Saturday 3 February, saw 22 of our students represent Suffolk at the annual Anglian Inter County Schools Cross Country Championship in Lincolnshire. Teams are selected by Suffolk Schools and include 16 athletes in each, covering four age groups from Year 6 through to 13.
It was a fantastic day and our students made a major contribution to the Suffolk Schools team, dominant on the day as they competed against young athletes from across the regions.
Taking four of the eight team victories, alongside two seconds and two thirds, Suffolk athletes won eight of the 24 individual medals and three of those were won by Woodbridge School athletes, meaning Suffolk were crowned Anglian Schools Champions, defending the title they also won last year.
Huge congratulations to everyone who took part, particularly Year 7’s Dexter who took Gold in Minor Boys, Year 7’s India J who took Bronze in Minor Girls, and to Year 13’s Henry who came away with Gold in the Senior Boys.
We’re now almost the end of a long season of Cross Country, with just the major nationals to race in March.
Full Woodbridge School results:
Minor Girls: 3rd place – Year 7’s India J (India was 2nd Suffolk finisher) 5rd place – Year 7’s Ella 7th place – Year 7’s Alexandra 12th – Year 6’s Chloe 25th – Year 7’s Imogen DNF – Year 7’s India B (Unfortunately India fell and did not finish)
Minor Boys: 1st place – Year 7’s Dexter (Dexter was obviously 1st Suffolk finisher) 11th place – Year 7’s Otis 13th place – Year 7’s Alfie 21st place – Year 7’s Olly 27th place – Year 6’s Archie 29th place – Year 7’s Charlie
Junior Girls: 4th place – Year 9’s Romilly (Romilly was 2nd Suffolk finisher) 39th place – Year 9’s Felicity DNF – Year 8’s Alice (Unfortunately Alice fell ill and did not finish)
Junior Boys: 13th place – Year 8’s Digby (Digby was 2nd Suffolk finisher) 42nd place – Year 9’s Jago
Inter boys: 20th place – Year 11’s Angus (Angus was 6th Suffolk finisher) 46th place – Year 10’s Jasper
Senior Boys: 1st place – Year 13’s Henry (Henry was 1st Suffolk finisher) 22nd place – Year 12’s Iwan 39th place – Year 12’s Bruce
For most of our Minor athletes (Year 6 and 7) this will mark the end of a busy yet very successful Cross Country season, although a few will still compete at UK Inter Counties in Nottingham on 9 March.
For Junior and older, Suffolk Schools will now select a reduced team to compete at the English Schools Championship in Pontefract on Saturday 16 March. We are hopeful that there are still between five and seven Woodbridge School athletes in contention.
A fantastic day, congratulations to every athlete and thank you to all the parents who travelled to Lincolnshire in support!
It is with immense pride and delight that Woodbridge School can confirm that six of its students have received Oxbridge offers – making this one of the most successful years in recent times for our students.
Four Year 13 students received offers from Oxford University: Hannah has an offer to read Ancient and Modern History at Oriel, Oxford, Oliver will read Classics at New College, Kitt has an offer to read Law at Magdalen and Amy has an offer to read French and Modern Greek at St Peter’s.
Two Year 13 students have received offers from Cambridge University: Maggie for Theology, Religion and the Philosophy of Religion at Murray Edwards, and Katie has an offer to read Veterinary Medicine at Homerton College.
Our joint Head of School, Oliver, commented, “I was absolutely thrilled to receive an offer to read Classics! There is no way that I could have achieved this without the tireless support of Miss Wright, both as Head of Oxbridge and as my Latin and Greek teacher for so many years.”
Speaking about her offer to read Ancient and Modern History at Oxford, Hannah commented,
“I am absolutely delighted to have an offer for my dream course at Oxford! The application process was hard work, but also very enjoyable. I am extremely grateful to our Oxbridge coordinator, Miss Wright, who also helped me with Ancient History, and to the Head of History, Mr Smith. Woodbridge School has shaped me as a person and I owe a great deal to everyone here.”
Talking about her offer to read Veterinary Medicine at Homerton College, Katie commented, “I was surprised, delighted and thrilled to receive an offer! I’m now looking forward to focusing and working hard to achieve the grades needed; I’m very thankful for the help and support I’ve always received from the teachers at Woodbridge School.”
Miss Norman, Head of School commented,
“This is such wonderful news, the entire community of Woodbridge School shares the delight and celebration of such an amazing accomplishment for each and every one of these Year 13 students. It’s testament not only to the students’ hard work, commitment, focus and dedication to their studies, but it also underlines the ethos and values of Woodbridge School, where all of our students work with teachers to find their individual pathway, to discover and nurture their talent and passions, so they can be the best version of themselves today, and in the future.”
Miss Wright, Head of Academic Scholars and Oxbridge, said,
“Each year getting in to Oxford and Cambridge becomes more and more competitive, and I am delighted for our offer-holders. They have taken up all the opportunities offered by Woodbridge’s FitzGerald Programme for academic high-fliers, including successful entries into seven essay competitions last year, while also contributing enormously to the school in drama, music, debating, the Cadet Force and art. I am immensely proud of them all.”
During the Christmas holidays, Year 7 and 8 students were invited to create ideas and suggestions for a new School mural.
A fusion of teacher and student visions, the collaborative mural radiates our School’s core values with vibrant colours and imaginative symbols. The design includes imagery and ideas initiated by students, creating a visual symphony of shared school values; character, kindness, community and excellence.
After entering their designs, students met with Mrs Parker to discuss the weaving together of collective ideas and from there a tapestry of images was created, which represents our School community. The mural will be painted by one of our Art teachers, Mrs Parker, over the course of the coming months with the help of Year 7 and 8 art scholars, and will form part of a new social area for them; watch this space!
Thank you to everyone involved, especially Year 7’s Lottie, Isabella and Alex as well as all the other students who invested their time in drawing and communicating their ideas.
Mrs Parker said:
“I’m excited to start the mural, working with Year 8’s Xan and Year 7’s George. Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and suggestions with me, every single conversation and illustration contributed to the overall design!”
