Woodbridge School

Woodbridge School is a private day and boarding school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. It has been co-educational since September 1974. History The school was founded in 1577 but, like many others, lapsed during the English Civil War. It was re-established in 1662. The Free School, Woodbridge, was an expression of the new confidence in England following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Local citizens contributed to the founding of the school in 1662, appointing a schoolmaster on an annual salary of £25 to teach, without charge, ten "sons of the meaner sort of the inhabitants of the town". Additional pupils paid an annual fee of £1. After a difficult start, including the ravages of the plague in 1666, the school flourished in the eighteenth century. 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 on the site of the former Augustinian house of Woodbridge Priory to its present site with 45 acres (180,000 m2) of wooded grounds overlooking Woodbridge. At this time formally titled "Seckford Grammar School", the school became more commonly known as "The Woodbridge Grammar School" and then, from around 1895, simply "Woodbridge School". It joined the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) in 1907. From 1945 the school was a direct grant grammar school, opting to return to full independent status in 1976 when the scheme was phased out. The school The senior school is a co-educational day school with a boarding component for Years 7 to 13. It offers GCSE, IGCSE and AS/A Level examinations. The day pupil body is divided into four houses, Annott, Burwell, Seckford and Willard. There is a boarding house, known as School House, which provides a home to mainly international students. The school's music activities include a symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra and choral society as well as smaller ensembles. There is a professional theatre, the Seckford Theatre. There is a separate junior school, Woodbridge Prep School (formerly "The Abbey School"), for Years 3 to 6, housed in Thomas Seckford's mansion in the centre of the town. The site also now hosts Woodbridge Pre-Prep School (formerly "Queen's House") for Reception and Years 1 and 2. Sport The school has sports facilities including a heated sports dome, a gym, an astroturf, netball courts, tennis courts, a rifle range and playing fields for athletics, rugby, football, hockey and cricket. Other sports include sailing (which takes place at Alton Water), riding, basketball, fencing, badminton, golf, rowing, swimming, tennis, shooting, skiing and windsurfing. Seckford scheme From Year 9 onwards, on a Friday afternoon, students can join the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), (Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force sections) or the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme (or both); or participate in sports, arts, music and other activities. Chess Woodbridge is the leading school in the East of England for chess and is recognised as an English Chess Federation (ECF) centre of excellence. It employs an International Master, Dagne Ciuksyte, as a full-time chess teacher. Notable Old Woodbridgians Notable staff William Balgarnie – inspiration for the character Mr Chips Adam Hunt - International Master Richard Pineo - cricketer Vincent Redstone – Second master and Suffolk historian, who suggested to Edith Pretty that the Sutton Hoo ship burial should be excavated Louise Rickard – rugby player Mariette Rix – hockey player Michael Troughton – actor References Literature Weaver M & C (1987) The Seckford Foundation : Four Hundred Years of a Tudor Foundation The Seckford Foundation, Woodbridge. ISBN 0951220306 External links Woodbridge School website BBC News League Tables Entry Profiles on the ISC website – The Abbey prep & Main School Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1031103)". National Heritage List for England.