Woodbridge School
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Coordinates: 52°5′43″N 1°18′23″E / 52.09528°N 1.30639°E
| Woodbridge School | |
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| Motto | Pro Deo Rege Patria (For God, King, and country) |
| Established | 1577 (re-founded in 1662) |
| Type | public school co-educational (4–19) Day school Boarding school |
| Affiliations | Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference |
| Headmaster | Stephen Cole |
| Chaplain | Rev. Canon I. A. Wilson |
| Location | Woodbridge, Suffolk, England |
| Campus | 45 acres (180,000 m2) |
| Colours | Blue & Red |
| Former pupils | Old Woodbridgians |
| Website | www.woodbridge.suffolk.sch.uk |
Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since 1975.
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History [edit]
The School was first founded in 1577; however, like so many others, it lapsed during the Civil War. In 1662 Robert Marryott, known as ‘the great eater’, hosted a feast for local worthies in Woodbridge which started at the Crown Hotel and finished at the King’s Head in Woodbridge. From this feast came the reincarnation of the School which today enjoys the curious claim of being the only independent school in the country to have been founded in two public houses.
The Free School, Woodbridge, was an expression of the new confidence in England following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Local citizens contributed generously to the founding of the School in 1662, appointing a headmaster on an annual salary of £25 to teach, without charge, ten ‘sons of the meaner sort of the inhabitants of the town’.[1] Additional pupils paid an annual fee of £1.
After a difficult start, including the ravages of the plague in 1666, the School flourished and enjoyed a glorious era in the eighteenth century when the East Anglian gentry enrolled their sons in great numbers. By the mid-nineteenth century, the cramped School building was proving inadequate and in 1861 the School integrated with the Seckford Trust, an almshouse charity, becoming a part beneficiary of an endowment left to the town of Woodbridge in 1587 by Thomas Seckford, Master of the Court of Requests to Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1864 the School moved from the centre of town to its present site with 45 acres (180,000 m2) of wooded grounds overlooking Woodbridge on the site of the former Augustine Woodbridge Priory.[2]
The intervening years have seen Woodbridge School develop considerably into one of the top independent schools in the east of the country. In 1974 the School became fully co-educational and today thrives with over 950 pupils attending its three schools.
Despite an early low point in 1847 when the townspeople boarded up their windows because of the threat of the ‘disruptive behaviour of the scholars’, the Woodbridge town has always been aware of the participative role the School plays in the local community. It both contributes to the local community and relies on it for many aspects of its daily life.
The school [edit]
The School is a co-educational school with a boarding component. The School offers a range of GCSE, IGCSE and AS/A Level examinations. The day pupil body is divided into 4 houses, Annott, Burwell, Seckford and Willard. Additionally there are an additional 2 houses: for boarders, the School House; and for Year 7, Junior House. The School neighbours the state school Farlingaye High School. Queen's House is the pre-prep division of the School (from Reception to Year 2) and The Abbey is the prep school, for Years 3–6. Woodbridge School is renowned for its extra-curricular activities, particularly music.[3] It has a symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, chamber choir and choral society as well as numerous smaller ensembles. The School produces a number of student musicians, many of whom have been members of regional and national ensembles including the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. There is a professional theatre, the Seckford Theatre. Woodbridge School is one of three schools in England to employ a full-time grandmaster chess teacher.
Woodbridge School also hosts a Combined Cadet Force.
The School's international boarding house attracts pupils from many countries including China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Spain and Thailand.
Sports [edit]
Sports are a major feature of life at Woodbridge. There are many playing fields including cricket squares, a heated sports dome with Gym facilities, Astro turf for either tennis or hockey, an athletics track, rugby and hockey pitches. Boys and Girls have two compulsory games sessions a week lasting one hour and one and a half hours. They must participate in the main game of the term in the lower school but from year 11 boys and girls have a choice of Games.
During the Michaelmas term, the sport curriculum is dominated by Rugby Union for boys and hockey for girls. During the Easter term hockey is the main game. During Summer term, there is a more relaxed atmosphere with Cricket being the main sport as well as athletics. Pupils may also enjoy the occasional game of rounders or other games such as baseball and handball.
Other sports include sailing (which takes place at the nearby River Deben), riding, fencing, football, golf, netball, rowing, swimming, tennis and windsurfing.
Seckford Scheme [edit]
Woodbridge has a unique Friday afternoon activity session, known as the Seckford Scheme. Every Friday, academic education ends at lunchtime, and the afternoons are devoted to activities under the Seckford Scheme, an integral part of Woodbridge School life and hugely influential in the all round development of Woodbridge pupils and students.
From Year 9 onwards, students have a choice of joining the CCF, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme (or both) or honing their skills in the many different sports, arts, music, and other activities available at Woodbridge.
Notable former pupils [edit]
- Nick Griffin – Leader of the British National Party and member of the European Parliament
- Edward du Cann – Conservative politician
- Wayne Garvie – Director Content & Production, BBC Worldwide
- Nick Lowe – Rock musician and producer
- Campbell MacKenzie-Richards – Early British aviator and test pilot
- Jeremy Marchant Forde – Biologist
- Frank Morley – Mathematician
- Jessica Oyelowo – Actress
- Isabella Summers – Keyboardist of Florence and the Machine
- Andrew Taylor – Crime novelist
- Simon Wigg – Speedway rider
- Camilla Rutherford - Actress and Model
- Luke Roberts - Actor
- Charlotte Christie - Actress
- Clare Coulson - Fashion Editor of the Daily Telegraph and writer for Harpers & Queen and author of "House Rules"
- David Miller - Philosopher
References [edit]
- ^ Woodbridge School History
- ^ The Abbey (Junior School), Woodbridge, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
- ^ Woodbridge School
External links [edit]
- Woodbridge School website
- BBC News League Tables Entry
- Details from listed building database (284581) . Images of England. English Heritage.
