Category: Woodbridgian Weekly
Visiting The Bridge School in Camden last week, 14 Sixth Form students spent two days helping out as classroom assistants in the school which specialises in teaching students with severe learning difficulties who cannot access mainstream schools. Our students helped out in both the primary and secondary school, and Year 13’s Isla shares her experience in her report below.
The Bridge School trip was a fascinating and eye-opening experience. We were all given the choice of being with a secondary school class or a primary school class and were encouraged to get involved in lessons, alongside the teachers and teaching assistants, helping with a variety of tasks.
Some of us helped with activities such as cooking and dancing, whilst others assisted with things like life skills or sensory activities; my personal favourite was bubble making.
We had opportunities to get to know both the staff and the pupils and to see the incredible work that goes into places like the Bridge School.
What really inspired me about the school was the attitude of total support and care; each development the pupils made was noted and celebrated.
It was wonderful to be surrounded by such uplifting people, working to support such a diverse range of needs and abilities.
25 students from Years 11 to 13 travelled to the Peak District over half term from 21 to 27 October, for their Gold and Silver DofE expeditions; one gold assessed group, one gold practice group and two silver practice groups.
Carrying all of their expedition equipment, following training days with group supervisors, our gold assessed group took part in a four day walking expedition, our other groups for three days which involved camping overnight too.
Despite the weather being up and down with sun one minute and rain the next, all groups achieved their aims. The three practice groups will now plan to complete their assessed expeditions during the Easter holidays in the Lake District.
Well done to everyone that took part – great effort!
We met up with Year 12’s Xander and Year 13’s Lala who play Jack Absolute and Mrs Malaprop in Jack Absolute Flies Again, as they rehearsed ahead of performing next week on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 November. They met to rehearse with fellow cast member Year 12’s Rose who plays Lucy the maid and who we interviewed recently; it was a fast-paced lunchtime meet and read through, followed by several practice performances on stage. The show is set to be something of a comedic delight, and our audience are in for quite a treat!
Year 12’s Xander who plays Jack Absolute himself, most recently played the Monster in A Monster Calls. Quite the contrast to his last performance of that somewhat dark character and tale, he shared that he’s enjoying the shift in personality of his character:
“He’s great fun to play, he’s brilliant, flirtatious, funny and energetic. I was really very surprised to be given the role having had some fierce competition in auditions, and so I’m excited to make the most of the opportunity.” He continued, “The rehearsals have been going great, the performance is really coming together – even my dancing which I’ve been working on with our choreographer Kathryn Clements. I’m slightly nervous about it, but doing everything I can to make sure it’s entertaining on the evening!”
Year 13’s Lala who plays Mrs Malaprop echoed Xander’s thoughts entirely:
“Rehearsals have been great fun, it’s clear everyone has been working hard preparing and learning their lines, as well as getting to know their characters.”
Commenting on how she’s been preparing personally for the performance she said,
“I’ve been practicing with my mum, reading through my lines with her and thinking about the movement within each scene too. I’ve also got to sing in the play, and so as I’m feeling quite nervous about that I’ve been singing to myself at every opportunity. I’m also learning to play a piece on the Ukulele! This play is certainly challenging – but in all the best ways!”
Tickets for both performances are still available here, but seats are selling fast.
Please note, this production is suitable for children aged 12 years old and above.
Last Friday was our first Field Day of the year at School, and all students took part in a range of co-curricular activities throughout the day, with students in Years 7 and 8 taking part in morning activities. Field Day offers our students the chance to put down pens and computers and spend time with one another as a community.
The variety of activities taking place in School was vast. From Mandarin workshops, paintballing, self-defence and public speaking, to aero balling, setting up bashas in a harbour, patrolling, ambushing, learning first aid and Chinese drumming.
This day and these activities boost confidence, encourage interaction with one another and extend social networks, providing the opportunity to learn and experience new skills and abilities, as well as developing new interests along the way. This is vital in order to offer students and staff the chance to have fun and relax away from the pressure of School work, and is an important part of our curriculum.
Alongside all of these activities our Army and Royal Navy Combined Cadet Force (CCF) also went out on overnights, and you can read about these and all of the other activities below.
CCF RAF
CCF RAF cadets spent the day taking part in aerotag, paintballing and Lazer Quest, whilst also enjoying a full day in the range, shooting, testing themselves on leadership tasks and even had the opportunity to have a go at interactive flight simulation.
CCF Army
CCF Army cadets form Years 10, 11 and 12 deployed to RAF Barnham training area, where they stayed overnight for their Field Day exercise. On arrival cadets set up the bashas to sleep under and cooked their evening meal from their ration packs. During the evening they conducted ambushes using blank ammunition. Friday saw the Year 9 cadets go through a rota of stands: defensive position, navigation, patrol contact drills and observation. Despite the forecast there was only heavy rain during the night when the cadets were all tucked up nice and dry under their bashas.
CCF Royal Navy
The Royal Navy Section of the CCF spent a fascinating field day at Chatham. The cadets spent the night in bunks on board HMS Cavalier, a World War II destroyer and one-time fastest ship in the fleet, before a day exploring the historic dockyard. Here, amongst other things, they were dwarfed by the UK’s only remaining Polaris missile, squeezed through the length of a Royal Navy submarine, made a length of rope in Europe’s longest brick building, and were complimented on the excellence of their drill.
Year 7
Learning about Taichi and Chinese drumming, as well as Chinese calligraphy, Year 7 students were treated to a morning of Mandarin in School. It was a great opportunity for students to learn about Chinese culture outside usual classroom settings, which forms an important part of their language study.
Year 8
Year 8’s Field Day consisted of three invaluable and interactive skills: first aid, self-defence and public speaking. School’s Matron was kind enough to give up her time to talk to students about and deliver first aid training, while Smart Dojos came into School to explain and demonstrate self-defence techniques with students. Mrs Lockwood, our Head of LAMDA spent time sharing tips and suggestions for public speaking.
Year 9 Army and RAF visit to Duxford
Our Year 9 Army and RAF CCF cadets visited Duxford Air Museum as part of their Field Day. They went to the American Hangar, Land Warfare, which is dedicated to the Royal Anglian Regiment, whose cap badge we wear, and spent the day discovering iconic aircraft, historical objects and real-life war stories. Students also got the chance to step onboard a Concorde as well as being treated to aircraft actually flying around the site on the day.
With news of last Thursday’s Suffolk Schools Cross Country Trial and this week’s English Schools Cross Country Cup, you can read about the athletes and their exceptional performances in our report.
Suffolk Schools Cross Country Trial
On Thursday 11 October 52 Woodbridge School athletes, from both the Senior School and the Prep, travelled to RHS for the first Suffolk Schools Cross Country trial., and it proved to be another day to be extremely proud of our young athletes.
Their performances were exceptional and full results (of the top 50 in each category) can be seen at www.suffolkschoolsathletics.info.
Results are on the cross country tab.
In terms of a highlight summary, here is the Woodbridge School dashboard:
With up to 200 athletes in some races, 40 of our athletes qualified for the final trial in January (hosted by Woodbridge School) by finishing in the top 50 in their race. Although largely an individual event, we had some spectacular team results with three wins and a third from over 35 schools in our races. Our athletes won medals for individual top three places in 6 of the 8 races, winning 9 of the 24 medals overall:
Gold Medal Winners:
Year 7’s India (Minors Year 6 & 7)
Year 7’s Josh (Minors Year 6 & 7)
Year 13’s Henry (Seniors Year 12 & 13)
Silver Medal Winners:
Year 7’s Ella (Minors Year 6 & 7)
Year 7’s Dex (Minors Year 6 & 7)
Year 9s Romilly (Juniors Year 8 & 9)
Year 8’s Digby (Juniors Year 8 & 9)
Year 11’s Angus (Inters Year 10 & 11)
Bronze Medal Winner:
Year 7’s Alexandra (Minors Year 6 & 7)
Races of note were:
- The Minor Girls, where Woodbridge School had an unprecedented 1-2-3-4 across the line and 8 in the top 21.
- Not to be outdone Minor Boys had 6 in the top 10 and 8 in 22.
- Junior Girls had 4 in the top 10 and 6 in 21.
Remember this is from up to 200 athletes in a race!
Ahead of the final trial in January, Woodbridge School still has over 20 athletes in contention for County selection and around seven fighting for the right to compete at English Schools in Pontefract in March.
Congratulations to every athlete and a huge thank you to staff and parents for their support on the day.
English Schools Cross Country Cup
On Tuesday 17 October, all five of our age group cross country teams that entered the English Schools Cross Country Cup competed in the County Round at Farlingaye. With the top three teams in each race progressing to Regionals, we are excited to report that all five teams qualified with four wins and a second.
We had individual winners in three of those races with Year 8’s Digby winning Junior Boys, Year 9’s Romilly winning Inter Girls and year 13’s Henry winning Senior Boys .
This time it was the turn of the Junior Boys to shine, with our team of four scorers crossing the line with a 1-2-3-4, matching the Minor Girls achievement at Suffolk Schools last week.
Congratulations to every athlete and good luck to our teams racing Regionals at Southend High School for Boys in Essex on Saturday 11 November.
Added excitement this year of course, as Woodbridge School are to host the 42nd English Schools Cross Country Cup Final on Saturday 02 December!
Last week, our first Scholarship and Enrichment workshop of the School year took place for students from Year 10 and above. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves, spending time looking at interesting and useful ways of exploring text. Hear about the workshop from two students who attended and enjoyed the workshop, Year 10’s Jack and Sam.
Jack, Year 10
On Monday 9 October I had the pleasure of attending a vocal masterclass in the Seckford Theatre for drama scholar and enrichment students. This was led by Mrs Lockwood, and involved us exploring the principles of resonance, pitch and pace when reading a script.
We explored how to develop our use of projection through diaphragm breathing and vocal warmups; allowing us to control our voice and breath more precisely, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Through different exercises we focused on how to achieve emphasis when speaking, for example as five people delivered a section of script the rest sat around them with their eyes closed, repeating the words they felt most resonated with them. These truly showed us how our words affect the audience, especially with Mrs Lockwood’s choice of speech, ‘Fog Everywhere’ from Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. Overall, it was a very good learning experience and I felt I learnt how to project, enunciate and engage with the audience when speaking.
Sam, Year 10
Along with fellow drama enthusiasts, I had the privilege of participating in Mrs. Lockwood’s vocal masterclass on Monday 9 October. This session was a continuation of the three workshops held the previous academic year.
The focus of this workshop was on various aspects of speech and their significance, additionally, we were introduced to new breathing techniques designed to alleviate tension. A notable exercise during the class involved reading a speech without using any vocal expression. This exercise not only highlighted the importance of expression in a speech but also prompted us to consider how best to convey each line in a way that complemented the next.
With match reports from our U12B, U13 and 1ST XV team, including a three team tournament and a triangular fixture, Mr Gage, Head of Rugby shares details of the players and their games.
Woodbridge U12A vs St Faiths & Woodbridge U12A vs Culford
This was a really well contested triangular fixture, played in an excellent spirit by well-matched teams. Our first match, against St Faith’s ended in a draw, although we felt that we certainly should have won it based on balance of play, a gentle reminder that good play will still always require an end product in order to come out victorious. Remembering to try and score as a team rather than as an individual was the biggest takeaway.
The second game against Culford was a far more complete performance, solid in defence and dominant in the ruck, this allowed us plenty of the ball and we created a lovely variety of scoring opportunities through clever kicks, sniping runs and attacking with width that resulted in four unanswered tries. Particular highlights across the games came from Giles, showing great vision and composure both when scoring and setting up others. A good day at the office for the boys and plenty of evidence of their continued learning and development as a group. Well done to all involved.
Woodbridge U12A vs Orwell Park
This was a game where we were aiming for both performance and result and I am delighted to say we achieved both. Although disappointed with the few tries we conceded, being punished for a lack of line speed resulting in a disjointed defence and ultimately missed tackles, we scored a number of excellent tries ourselves. Having reached half time with a narrow lead we managed to go on and ultimately make the result a comfortable win. I was delighted to see our ability to score in different ways and particularly seeing the team show an awareness of their positioning on the field and how to manage the game in order to create space and opportunity. Putting into play what we had worked on in practice was very satisfying and the boys deserve real credit for this. Tries for Dexter, Charlie, Alfie, Thomas, Toby and Giles.
Woodbridge U12B vs St Faith’s
The first match of the three team tournament was an absolute cracker. Both teams expressed themselves in attack and were solid in defence. The first real challenge Woodbridge have come up against all year and we managed to be up to it. With the game hanging in the balance with Woodbridge one try up with seconds to play, St Faith’s went for the draw but Woodbridge held firm and won the ball back to score a break away try to secure a tightly fought game.
Woodbridge U12B vs Culford
Culford were up next and what a game we had in store. The crowd didn’t think things could get any closer than the first game but with Woodbridge going three tries up in the first half to no reply from Culford, it looked like the game was over. A resurgent second half performance from Culford saw the game going into the dying seconds with Woodbridge one try up and on their own try line defending. Some incredible tackles were up to the challenge of stopping Culford getting over the line, and the disciplined defence was too much, forcing the error from Culford. An amazing game played by both sides. All the Woodbridge players agreed at the end that the tightly fought games meant it has been the best and most enjoyable week of rugby so far.
Woodbridge U13 vs Culford
Woodbridge travelled to Culford for a triangular fixture, which proved to be a challenging but great afternoon of rugby. Woodbridge faced a strong Culford side who scored a couple of quick tries early on. Woodbridge settled into the game defending some great Culford attacks turning the ball over for a break and some great link up play from Oscar D and Noah to open the scoring. The scoring didn’t stop there, with both teams playing some great flowing rugby where the skills were on show, and the defences were tested; with Culford just taking the win in the first game.
Woodbridge U13 vs St Faith’s
The second game versus St Faith’s was also a close encounter. St Faith’s end to end attacking rugby made for an enjoyable game to watch; they took the lead only to be snuffled out by a hattrick of try’s from Digby to put Woodbridge into the lead. St Faiths played to the final whistle and managed to clinch a try in the final play of the game. Finishing four tries each. A great afternoon of rugby from the U13’s, showing off what they have been learning in training, under heavy pressure from an opposition defense. Well done to the U13’s
Woodbridge 1st XV vs Farlingaye
This fixture was an exciting encounter against the neighbours, which was nothing short of physicality, attacking rugby, tries and great defensive efforts. The first try didn’t come until 15 minutes into the game after some heavy forward play from Farlingaye. Woodbridge had a couple of opportunities to even the score out after Year 13’s Abdhulla and James made some breaks, only to be tackled short of the line. Farlingaye managed to score one more before half time going in two tries up. Woodbridge came out fighting in the second half putting on a display for the big crowd from both schools who came to watch. Their persistence paid off as Woodbridge managed to get a try of their own. Woodbridge continue to develop week on week and this is evident in the performances they produce on the field. A great performance by the 1st XV, well done.
On Monday, A level Drama and Theatre Studies students, alongside scholars from Years 10 and 11, took part in a Frantic Assembly workshop in School. Year 13’s Florence reports on the workshop, and we’ll share more details of the students’ theatre trip to The Mercury to see the play after half term.
Year 13’s Florence
On Monday, A level Drama and Theatre Studies students, alongside scholars from Years 10 and 11, were privileged to participate in a Frantic Assembly workshop, kindly provided for us by the Drama department.
The workshop was over the course of two hours and our work was centred around Frantic Assembly’s new adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. We participated in a range of different activities, such as learning how to do lifts, before later incorporating these into a devised sequence. We also worked in groups using Frantic Assembly’s ‘Building Block’ technique to begin developing a story, using stylised movement without dialogue, which everyone greatly enjoyed.
Working with Frantic Assembly helped us develop skills in physical theatre movement, exposing us to tools and techniques which can later be incorporated into our own pieces; a key part of our GCSE and A level exams.
It was an eye-opening experience, and, as a Year 13 studying Metamorphosis, it served a great purpose in deepening my understanding of the play, alongside Frantic Assembly’s devising and performing style.
It has been a full on first half term for football at Woodbridge School and it seems to get busier week on week! We have been delighted with students taking in part in games lessons, lunchtime, after School practices and our matches. Teams have been competing in friendlies, County Cup and National Cup matches and there is plenty more to come with fixtures booked in after half term for teams yet to play, including what will be our first ever girls’ football matches. Read more in our reports from Mr Pruden, Head of Sport, Health and Fitness.
Woodbridge U12s
This is a group who have really impressed so far, showing an excellent willingness to learn and implement our style of play. Competition for places is fierce and there is real strength in depth. We started the season playing a couple of friendly matches at Farlingaye. I think first game nerves took hold, in the A team game we didn’t do ourselves justice and were heavily beaten, the Bs however, played very nicely to win an enjoyable small sided match. Next up was an ESFA Small Schools Trophy match at Ipswich High School, on a difficult pitch we started badly by conceding a quick goal but we soon found our composure to deservedly win a competitive match, Otis scoring a hat-trick.
Next up was a match against Thomas Mills in the ESFA Playstation Cup, a competition entered by over 500 schools. We played well but struggled for precision in the final third and spurned a number of excellent opportunities to score. 1-1 at full time and no further goals after extra time, the game went to penalties! I must say, the boys showed remarkable composure to score all of their penalties and Joseph was the hero with his penalty save sending us deservedly through to the next round.
The B team played a fabulous fixture against St Jo’s with both coaches commenting on the quality of play and the application of both sets of players. We ended up winning by the odd goal in nine, but the most important aspect of this game was seeing the pride of our pupils in representing the school and the joy and ability that shone throughout.
Woodbridge U13s
This team play in a small league against other independent schools in the region with the players being selected from both Years 7 and 8. The opening game against Culford saw a magnificent half of football where the boys did their utmost to implement everything they had been working on and were rewarded with three goals, the first being a stunning free-kick from Oscar W. A strong response from Culford and influx of Woodbridge nerves saw the game level with time drawing to a close, only for Oscar to grab his second goal to secure a last minute victory and some very excitable celebrations.
A second match against St Jo’s saw another excellent win, this time rather more comfortably achieved with some lovely football being played.
Thomas Mills were the opposition for our ESFA Cup second round match (we received a bye through round one). Not knowing what to expect and competition rules only allowing for players from Year 8, the boys started strongly and pushed hard for the advantage. This duly came with a flurry of goals before halftime. In the end we achieved a very comfortable victory, brilliant to get through to the third round where a much sterner test awaits but also lovely to see some new faces play their first match and be so well supported and encouraged by their teammates. Also the opposition getting their first goal of the season so far was a joy to behold and sent everyone home happy.
Woodbridge U15s
These also play in a similar league set up. They have played well in both their opening matches against Culford and St Jo’s but lost both. St Jo’s were a class above and out of sight at half time but our second half resilience and ability to dig deep and perform better does bode well. The Culford game was very different, far from outclassed we were disappointed to not get at least a draw but ultimately our inexperience as a group probably cost us.
First knockout action of the season came against Ormiston Endeavour in the Suffolk County Schools FA Cup. This was a competitive, hard fought game that reached full time with scores even, our goal coming from Year 9’s Oli Y. The rules of the competition state the game goes straight to penalties and as with the U12’s earlier on, the boys showed great nerve and skill to put away their penalties and come away victorious following decisive saves from Year 10’s Ed S.
Woodbridge U18s
There is great promise within this group although they don’t quite believe it yet! A comfortable win against RHS started the season well and set us up nicely to go to Thomas Mills in the ESFA Cup, with a certain Ed Sheeran watching on the home side went two goals ahead but the boys got the job done, winning what was not the most enjoyable of games with a few goals to spare. Year 13’s Barney scoring an absolute stunner! The next round saw a very local derby against Farlingaye. We were probably our own worst enemy, gifting a couple of goals and missing some excellent chances of our own we allowed Farlingaye to get away and we were never able to recover the momentum, losing a game in which we could have been far more competitive.
It has been a similar story in the league against Culford and St Jo’s. The Culford game was a great spectacle, played on a wonderful surface on Tollers (great credit to the ground staff for the pitches produced this year) the crowd were treated to a really high quality exhibition of schools’ football with the battle in midfield a real joy to behold. Shan, Tolly and Josh T showing some lovely technical ability. Ultimately though we lost a game by a couple of goals that we could easily have won by the same margin.
Travelling away to St Jo’s was a very similar story but with greatly reduced quality! A sluggish start and perhaps a lack of belief saw us go behind before we upped our game and got back into it with a deserved goal for Jonjo. He is still dreaming about the one that got away though, a genuine overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the area that hit the crossbar. Despite the improvement we then drifted to defeat in a game that needed to be taken by the scruff of the neck. Next steps for this group are to find the mentality to win, particularly from challenging positions, they most definitely have the capacity to do this and we are excited by the challenge of supporting them to achieve it.
Next half term will see more 1st XI and B team matches which will be great to see.
Having recently shared interviews from cast members of Jack Absolute Flies Again, our Sixth Form Production being performed on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 November, we caught up with more students in rehearsals this week. A modern adaptation of a restoration comedy, our young actors will take audiences into a wartime comedy which sees the return of Pilot Officer Jack Absolute to his fearless Hurricane squadron after an aerial dog fight. There he is shocked to find his old flame is on the base, and he quickly sets his sights on winning her heart.
Brian Coventry, Played by Year 12’s Finlay
Having had roles in A Monster Calls and Shakespeare On The Lawn, Finlay is no stranger to the stage. Playing the role of Brian Coventry an Intelligence Officer with a larger than life, colourful and quirky personality! Finlay said,
“He’s a fun character to play, I love how he’s got to be in charge of everything, of the rabble – but he somehow never really does. He interacts with every character in some way so it means I’m on and off the stage and in and out of scenes, he’s a lively one to play.”
He continued,
“I feel nervously excited about the performance, but only because I can’t wait to see it all come together.”
Roy Faulkland, Played by Year 12’s James
Playing the part of a Hurricane pilot who is best friends with Jack Absolute himself, James is having lots of fun rehearsing and really enjoying the character he’s playing. He explained,
“It’s a massive change to my most recent role in A Monster Calls, in the best possible way it’s like having two hours with your friends to have fun on stage! It’s a very ensemble based piece of theatre, with big characters personality-wise.”
He continued,
“The rehearsals are going great, it’s nice to be performing in a lighter production, and to not feel so emotionally drained by the script and characters – in the best possible way. Looking ahead to the performances, my nerves are mostly down to hoping that the audience engages and enjoys the comedy as much as we do.”
Tony Sheridan, Played by Year 13’s Rufus
Having played Paris in last year’s Sixth Form production of Romeo and Juliet, Rufus is used to fast-paced action, as he’s mostly spent time on stage performing choreographed fight scenes. Definitely an advantage for this play which moves swiftly from one part to the next and is full of quick wit. Explaining his character he said,
“Tony Sheridan is a dashing young man, poet, fighter and lover – he literally says this about himself in the play. He’s a smart character that’s been lots of fun to play in rehearsals and I’m looking forward to the audience meeting him.”
He also said,
“It’s a great comedy and I’m having so much fun in rehearsals, it’s lovely to be able to let your own sense of humour out on stage – in this light hearted but ridiculous comedy.”
Julia Melville, Played by Year 13’s Ellie
Explaining that she feels the performance will be a ‘brilliant showcase of everything we have to offer’, Ellie explained,
“This is a real opportunity for people to come together and laugh, at the characters and at the story – as I think my fellow actors have explained, it’s simply slapstick ridiculous – in the best possible way! My character is so much fun to play, she and Roy are classic lovers with some brilliant scenes – I think the audience will root for them, they’re crazy, but really sweet too.”
Tickets are now on sale for Jack Absolute Flies Again, available here. Please be aware, the performances are recommended for ages 12 and above.