THE BRIDGE

SHAKESPEARE EXTRAVAGANZA

Speech Day

GCSE/A Level results

OW Dinner

The Tempest andMidsummer Night’s Dream

Free Schools Update

Apprenticeship Success

Dream Work Experience

Athletics Update

Forthcoming Events

Senior School and The Abbey pupils performthe Bard’s works to great acclaim.

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At the end of my first half-term, I can reflecton a busy (often hectic), but thoroughlyenjoyable six weeks. There are many aspectsthat have impressed me about the School. It is of course very successful in terms ofacademic results, sporting, musicalachievements and so on. However, it is theintangible elements of the School, the qualityof relationships and the pastoral care, thatmake it such a special place. My own two boyshave started in Year 4 and Year 7, so I can say

this as both a parent and as Headmaster.

A key part of this Woodbridge community is the Old Woodbridgians and, asI said at the OW Dinner, I would like to foster and develop this relationship.I think in the area of careers particularly, this can be of enormous mutualbenefit. We had our inaugural OW careers lunch just before half-term and itwould be wonderful to have OWs return to advise our pupils on a regularbasis. What I would ideally like to build is a network of OWs, parents andformer parents which our pupils and OWs could tap into for career advice.Mrs Brown is doing a wonderful job in moving careers advice forward and ifyou have any good ideas or would like to help, then please contact her(ibrown@woodbridge.suffolk.sch.uk).

Please feel free to visit any time and I look forward to meeting many of youin the near future.

Neil TetleyHeadmaster, Woodbridge School

New Headmaster Neil Tetley Reflects On His First Half-term

At A Level the proportion of A* grades increased,bucking the predictednational trend, with 20% ofstudents gaining three Agrades or better and justover 87% of studentsachieving A*-C grades.Victoria Whitmore gainedfour A*s and a place atDurham university to read

medicine. In addition to her academic success Victoria is also a highly talentedharpist and earlier this year was a prize-winning soloist at the Wigmore Hallinternational recital venue in London.

This year 96% of pupils achieved five or more GCSE A*-C grades includingEnglish and maths and over one third of pupils obtained all A* and A grades.Five students gained more than 50 A*s between them: Emma Wellesley Wesley10A*s; Imogen Bacon 11A*s and 1A; Charlie Green 9A*s and 3As; BrodieAndrews 11A*s; Poppy Hill 11A*s. Imogen has also recently completed theSchool's Duke of Edinburgh expedition to Morocco and Charlie has beenawarded Grade 8 with distinction on the double bass.

Another Great Year For Results

02 | THE BRIDGE

Please check our website at: www.woodbridge.suffolk.sch.ukfor details of all forthcoming school events, including thosefor Old Woodbridgians.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Roger Wright, the new chief executive of Aldeburgh Music, commended the great start in life and the extraordinary range of opportunities atWoodbridge when he presented the prizes at Speech Day.

Speaking at his first public engagement in the county, Mr Wright also said he had heard muchabout the School’s musical reputation so it was a particular pleasure to be at Woodbridge School.He went on to tell the audience how music can bring people together and bridge divides. He alsoapplauded the range of international initiatives available to pupils.

Headmaster, Neil Tetley, speaking at his first Speech Day commended the warmth and communityof the School as well as the excellent academic achievements this year at GCSE and A Level. Hetold the audience that a holistic education is very important in helping to build confidence and inequipping young men and women with the skills they will need in later life.

National achievements by pupils in many different sports and music were also included in hisspeech as well as praise for the charity work across the School which has raised over £50,000 for50 different organisations.

GUEST SPEAKER PRAISES RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES

Having left WoodbridgeSchool last year, AlexHood qualified as an OWto receive sponsorshipfrom the School’s alumnifund to represent theSchool at The ImperialMeeting, an international

shooting competition held at the National ShootingCentre in Bisley, Surrey.

The Imperial is highly competitive with men and womenfrom all over the world taking part shooting 7.62 riflesfor a range of trophies and medals.

Alex shot well during the week and with one day of thecompetition left he was placed 612th out of almost 1200competitors and was at the top of his class.

A highlight for Alex was an opportunity on the fourth dayto keep the shooting resister for the RAF Target RifleTeam meaning he was able to sit behind the coaches andpick up pointers whilst watching some top marksmen upclose. However the final day of the competition did not gowell for Alex when the retaining circlip on his sights cameloose making it impossible to hit the target accurately.

Alex finished the Imperial placed a respectable 785th outof 1200 considering the technical issues he faced and said:“The week was an amazing and enjoyable opportunitywhich I hope other members of the School’s shootingteam get to experience next year”.

Austin Rogers, Shooting Coach at the School, said: “Alexshot with a wide range of people at this competitionfrom beginners through to world champions and finishedhigher than some very experienced people. Finn Hawes,another OW also took part in the competition finishingin 614th place so well done to both Finn and Alex”.

OW Alex Shooting Success

THE BRIDGE | 03

The date was Saturday 20 September, the venue was the Tuckwell Room at Woodbridge School, the event was our annual Old Woodbridgian Dinner.

Though the menu was formal the event was much less so. Guests arrived to the soundof the School Swing Band playing in the School Hall and were welcomed with Pimms.

We welcomed back OWs that join us every year as well as those who were joining usfor the first time. Any anticipation of those coming back for the first time was soondissipated as old friends reunited and shared their stories. Formal tables of past wereremoved and replaced with long refectory style tables. Everyone was close tosomeone they knew.

There was a real buzz about the Tuckwell Room. Seats found, and the din of catch upchat hushed, the current Head Boywelcomed us back to his Schoolwith great wit and I provided abrief update on the changes thathad been happening in theleadership of the OW Society.Dinner followed, a wonderfulthree course meal prepared by the

School catering team that was a match for anything found in any of the greatWoodbridge restaurants. Cheeseboards, port and coffee all followed.

The Headmaster provided us with some insights into him as a person, his firstthoughts of the School and a sample of his early priorities. The finale was grand. MarkMitchels, our Honorary President gave a masterclass of a speech that recounted talesof his 40 years teaching at Woodbridge School. Needless to say, the hall was rolling infits of laughter and nods of recognition of a number of those stories.

The breadth of year groups represented is always astounding. From our oldest OWreturning this year (John Potter who left Woodbridge in 1941), to the classes of 1964and 1989 who were celebrating 50 and 25 years respectively. We welcome all. Tothose that joined us, your feedback has been excellent so please do encourage moreof your fellow OWs to join us next time. For those that did not attend this year, thereis always next. Do not presume that this is an event just for "the oldies". Look out forthe date which will be published soon and I whole-heartedly look forward to meetingand greeting you all in 2015.

Rob Turner Chairman - Old Woodbridgian Liaison Group

OW Dinner

Do not presumethat this is an eventjust for "the oldies".

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At the age of 99 BenedictPowell could be the oldest OWbut if anyone can beat this wewould love to hear from you.

Born in 1915 and the youngest ofseven children Benedict was thethird brother to join Woodbridge in1926. He went on to spend threeyears at Selwyn College, Cambridgestudying medicine graduating in1936. His medical training

continued at St Thomas’ Hospital, London before he joined theRoyal Army Medical Corps, serving initially as an army doctor inthe Norwegian Campaign in 1940 setting up the militaryhospital on the Lofoten Islands. He was the medical officer forthe 3rd Royal Horse Artillery from 1941 to 1944 throughoutthe desert campaigns in North Africa and through the campaignto liberate Italy.

Benedict returned to England in 1944 and completed hismedical training at St Thomas’s Hospital. He was one of thefounding generation of doctors in the new National HealthService, which he remained committed to throughout hisworking career. From 1947 he was a member of the newresearch team at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospitaluntil he was appointed Consultant Paediatrician inPeterborough in 1953. He set up from scratch the highlyregarded and innovative NHS paediatric service covering thePeterborough, Stamford and King’s Lynn area and continued towork in Peterborough until his retirement in 1976.

In 1947 Benedict married Jean, a nightingale nurse at StThomas’ during the blitz. On his retirement they returned tohis home county moving to Theberton in Suffolk, where theyenjoyed a happy and active retirement in which he waschurchwarden and a bell ringer at the local church.

Benedict still lives at home and enjoys visits from his familywhich includes three children, nine grandchildren and sevengreat-grandchildren.For details of all future OW events please see the Old Woodbridgians tab on the School website

www.woodbridge.suffolk.sch.uk

THE OLDEST OW?

THE BRIDGE | 05

Thirty Year 9 pupils performed one of Shakespeare’s best knownromantic plays, The Tempest, to great acclaim.

The outdoor theatre production included some props such as puppets to symbolise Ariel’sretinue of sprite-like attendants and wind chimes hanging in the trees in homage to Caliban’sfamous line from the play ‘the island is full of noises’.

The authentic and immersive open air Shakespearean experience was enjoyed by both cast and audience alike with music, song and dance expertly used to portray the agonies and ecstasies of the Bard’s final masterpiece.

Open Air Shakespeare

06 | THE BRIDGE

Year 5 and 6 pupils at The Abbey took to the stage atthe Seckford Theatre to perform A Midsummer Night’sDream to a packed house for three nights.

The audiences were enchanted and absorbed by the trials andtribulations of the young lovers, the intrigue of the court and thefairy kingdom and all its mayhem wreaked by a cartwheeling andmischievous Puck.

“The annual play at The Abbey is one of the highlights of thesummer calendar and provides the pupils with a completely newworld of imagination to explore and an opportunity to immerse inthe magical world of theatre. The talent on stage was superb,” saidNicholas Garrett, Master of The Abbey.

Backstage every member of the teaching and support staff at TheAbbey was involved with help from several parents.

A retiring collection saw £550 donated which was divided betweenEACH and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

MAGICALWORLD OF THEATRE

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Suffolk student,Melissa Postma, was focused on aplace at universityhowever was notenjoying the schoolenvironment in therun up to her finalexams so decided to look around to

see whether she could go straight intothe workplace.

She realised with few qualifications it would bedifficult to gain work so decided to find out moreabout the apprenticeship route and her internetsearch led her to the Seckford Foundation.

“From the moment I joined the Foundation I felt at home as everyone was so friendly and because it is not a large operation you get to know people and they know you which makes a big difference,”Melissa explained.

Melissa joined the Human Resources (HR)department where she worked in addition to the fullystaffed team so this meant she could learn alongsidethe members of staff on every day work.

Her apprenticeship was structured so she had oneday away from work to study and do any necessarycollege visits. With technology in place Melissa was

able to learn via the internet and as her training waswith West Suffolk College this meant the portallearning route was invaluable in terms of saving timeand travel for her.

“It is a real eye-opener when you go from school intofull-time work but because all the staff at theFoundation were so kind and helpful it made it all somuch easier to settle in. Even though I was anapprentice they really made me feel part of theteam,” Melissa added.

Melissa spent 14 months with the Foundation, gainingqualifications in business and administration as well as ICT. Then, armed with several differentcertificates, she decided to start looking at full-timeposts in paid employment.

She explained: “I had enjoyed my work in HR somuch that I was hoping to find a role in that area but as I started to look around I realised there werenot many posts. I saw a role in HR with Willis inIpswich and fortunately I was appointed as one oftheir HR Advisors in a team of nine. I know the time and relevance of the work I did in myapprenticeship helped me to gain this role and Iwould recommend this route to anyone thinkingabout getting into work.”

Graham Watson, Director of the SeckfordFoundation said: “Melissa’s success is a wonderfulexample of how we want our apprenticeshipprogramme to work. With our method of helpingyoung people to learn the disciplines andcommunication skills demanded in the competitiveworkplace we can show them the route to full-timepaid employment.”

Apprenticeship Success

08 | THE BRIDGE

The Seckford Foundation is expanding its apprenticeship programme which provides the perfectstepping stone to the workplace.

they will learn skills for future employment and life skills in terms of being in the workplace.

Both roles are super-numerary to each departmentwhich means the team within that department can give each apprentice the necessary time to develop.

Graham Watson, Director of the Seckford Foundationsaid: “The Frank Jackson Foundation heard about our apprenticeship programme through one of ourtrustees which led to it joining us in a partnership for two years for which we are very grateful. Thisimportant connection with The Frank JacksonFoundation means we can provide two more youngpeople with real opportunities for the future.

“Some young people find the workplace quite daunting and so we believe our programme, within small teams, can be the start they need to build skills and confidence and ultimately gain secure full-timework,” Mr Watson added.

The Seckford Foundation is expanding its apprenticeshipprogramme which provides the perfect stepping stoneto the workplace.

Two young apprentices have joined the Foundation, oneworking with the maintenance team and the secondworking on painting and decorating. This expansion ofthe programme has only been made possible bygenerous funding from The Frank Jackson Foundationwhich has its roots in Woodbridge. These new recruitsmean the Foundation has provided a starting point forsix young people who were finding the pathway to workchallenging after leaving school.

Jack Mayhew and Daniel Sheppard, both aged 17, willwork in their teams for two years and will benefit fromtime off to gain college qualifications while they are at work.

On arrival they were given an individual learning plan and by working alongside experienced members of staff

STEPPING STONE TOWORKPLACE

During the summer holidays Hugo Davis and Ben Morgan headed across the Atlantic to take up places on Harvard’s prestigious summerprogramme.

Aimed at American students who will graduatefrom their high schools next year, the programmewas the equivalent of studying a first semester ofa degree course whilst getting a taste of fulluniversity life.

Hugo studied psychology, finance and marketswhile Ben made history his chosen subject forthe eight weeks. As well as lectures and studyperiods the students also took part in a widerange of activities put together especially for theprogramme. Both students had to go through atough application process which only considersUK applicants with a high level pass rate at GCSEand those who have demonstrated strongintellectual skills in the written material they have submitted.

Commenting on their trip Hugo said: “I did find it challenging at times but it was a fantasticexperience. It gave us a real taste of universitylife as we were treated like graduates and we hadto be quite independent as no one was there totell us what to do. Both Ben and I passed thefinal exams which means we have gained collegecredits and I am sure this will help us with ouruniversity applications.”

Ben And Hugo Headed To Harvard

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Beccles Free School has taken up its new home at the formerBeccles Middle School after having spent two years in aformer primary school at Carlton Colville.

During the summer holiday period, considerable buildingwork was completed after the Trust took over the formermiddle school site on 1 August. Transport arrangements werealso set up for the new term which saw over 260 studentsarrive ready to start the school year in their new building.

STUDENTSWELCOMED AT IXWORTH FREE SCHOOL

Ixworth Free School welcomed students for the start of both a new term and a brand new school. The school opened on the site of the former middle schoolwhich has undergone appropriate refurbishment as well the installation of the latest technology to ensure the school is able to deliver its aim to promote learningthrough ICT. Ixworth Free School is the third free school to be opened by the Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust.

New Home For Beccles Free School

10 | THE BRIDGE

Sixth Former Lucy Richardson won first place in the Society for Army HistoricalResearch essay writing competition with a piece on whether Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig can still be considered a poor general when compared with his peers across the period 1801-1945.

Awarded her prize at the famous Armoury House, the headquarters of the Royal Artillery Company inLondon, Lucy received a cheque for £300. She was also able to attend a lecture by the renowned militaryhistorian, Professor David French which was followed by a reception.

The two previous winners of the competition were students at Gonville and Caius, Cambridge and New College, Oxford.

Lucy said: “The debate over the strengths and weaknesses of Field-Marshal Douglas Haig is still ongoingtoday and remains one of the most controversial topics in military history. My research regarding Haigexplored the extent to which he deserves his current reputation of being “the butcher of the Somme”. I was delighted to win the competition and it was a great experience to attend the ceremony in London.”

NationalEssayAward ForLucy

DREAM WORK EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITY

During the summer holidays Sixth Former Charlie Green enjoyeda work experience placement atCambridge University’s CavendishLaboratory.

He joined Dr Adrian Ionescu and the Thin FilmMagnetism Group which is at the forefront ofultrathin magnetic film and magneticnanostructure research.

Charlie has been passionate about physics from a very early age and has actively pursued anyopportunity to study the subject beyond theschool curriculum.

He said: “Spending time in one of the mostrenowned university physics departments in theworld and working with world-class physicists atthe cutting edge of research was a dream cometrue for me. The tasks were split up betweentheoretical, experimental and computationalwork and I wrote a scientific paper, based on theexperiment and background theory and made anA2-sized poster outlining the main concepts

from the theory. I also befriended a professor oftheoretical physics, having had a three-hour longconversation with him!”

As well as his work experience during thesummer, Charlie took part in an Eton ChoralCourse which entailed a live broadcast from EtonCollege Chapel on Radio 4 and Evensong atKing’s College Chapel, Cambridge, where he alsoread one of the lessons.

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The School celebrated athletics successwith four national winners and a newnational record at the NationalPreparatory Schools AthleticsChampionships held in Birmingham.

Sophie Graham gained a new national record injavelin with a throw of 29.98m. Amy Graham andDaniel Norman were also winners in the javelin with Joanne Garnett taking first place in the discusevent to complete a quartet of throwing NationalChampions for the School.

A total of 10 pupils had qualified for the NationalChampionships and all of them managed to finishinside the top 10 places.

The other successful pupils were Annabel Yates, thirdin discuss; Georgia Harrold, third in 200m; MaddieCraig, sixth in hurdles; Sarah Baker, seventh in 1500m;Ianthe Hill, seventh in long jump and NathanGoddard, ninth in 1500m.

This success followed the County Athletics Finalsheld at Northgate in which 10 schools competedagainst each other with Woodbridge School’s girls’team being crowned county champions.

Helping the team to victory were wins for JoanneGarnett in the 200m and discus, Poppy Fletcher in300m, Amy Graham in 800m and javelin, Sarah Barkerin 800m, Emma Hendry in the high jump and 300m,Sophie Graham in hurdles, Harriet Petley in discus,Maud Peel in shot and the relay team of Maud Peel,Harriet Petley, Poppy Fletcher and Emma Hendry.

James Brown achieved a top ten place in an international class against some of the country’s leading riders at theGreat Witchingham Horse Trials.

He was one of only a few riders who managed adouble clear in the CIC* (one star) class whichsignificantly improved his position after the dressage phase. His final score of 58.60 elevated him to 10th place in a competitive class of mostlyprofessional riders.

James said: “I was thrilled with the result at theGreat Witchingham Horse Trials and my horse, OneWay, excelled himself in the show jumping and crosscountry phases which proved very influential on thefinal results. My aim now is to gain selection for theJunior European Championships in 2015”.

IMPRESSIVE RIDING FROM JAMES

Athletics Success

The Bridge is the newsletter of The Seckford Foundation which encompasses Woodbridge School, The Abbey, Queen’s House, the Seckford Almshouses and

The Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust. There is further information about the Seckford Foundation and its role at www.seckfordfoundation.org.uk

Registered Charity No: 1110964