The Occasional’s Review Of The Year 2022
Published on isbi School News dated Thursday 12th of January 2023
We started the year with some sporting success as the U18 hockey boys achieved the national indoor hockey title in a thrilling penalty shoot-out against Whitgift School. We also voted to support Suffolk Rape Crisis as our charity of the term in our Charity Choice poll.
Our first Wellbeing e-newsletter was released during Children’s Mental Health Week, containing information and advice to help improve our mental health. The Digital Leaders organised a number of different activities for Safer Internet Day.
We celebrated the 1000th edition of the Occasional, with a look back through past Occasionals going back almost 30 years, plus some memories from former journalists. Ipswich School also donated hundreds of shoeboxes to help people in Ukraine, and Reegan S from Year 13 was crowned Young Musician of the Year.
Cara P, Gracie J and Heidi M raised over £1200 for British Ukrainian Aid, mostly through selling doughnuts on Friday breaktimes at school. An Old Ipswichian, Aneil Karia, won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film as co-writer and director of the short film ‘The Long Goodbye’.
The annual Snape Spring Concert took place with the usual mix of orchestras, ensembles and the Big Band with solo singers. The GCSE Art show had a new location this year, with the exhibition of art, textiles and photography taking place at the River Church in Ipswich’s Waterfront area.
In June we celebrated Pride month with flags and a special baking competition, as well as talks from OI Nicholas Bowman-Scargill on coming out at school. The Sixth Form won a national award from Muddy Stilettos, and the Lower School play, Around the World in 80 Days was performed in Great School.
The Occasional finished the school year with a report about the school’s first Giving Day, which raised a grand total of £103,242 for bursaries, particularly to support students from Ukraine to come to Ipswich School in September.
There were celebrations for our A Level, BTec and GCSE students as they collected their exam results.
The U15 cricket girls won the national T20 title for a second year in a row, and the 1st XV rugby team won
the President’s Cup following their pre- season training. The whole school gathered together on the school field in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II.
The twelfth Ipswich School Festival of Music opened with an all-day visit from the British Army Band Colchester, and included a sell-out concert by the London Community Gospel Choir. Great Pottery Throwdown star Henry Moore visited to officially open an exhibition of ceramic plates created by Academic Excellence students. Black History Month events included a lecture by Amy Orchard-King about black fashion and history.
The new Galbraith Rooms were opened by former Headmaster Mr Galbraith and we found out that the ISI inspectors had rated the school as ‘Double Excellent’. Miss Woodmansey shared information about sharing problems and relieving stress in Anti-Bullying Week. The Eco Team planted 100 trees at the Sports
Centre in Rushmere as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy legacy. OI Hannah Martin visited the Prep School to unveil a Commonwealth Games Golden Gateway plaque and spent some time speaking to the girls’ hockey squad.
We launched a collection for vital items to help people in Ukraine this Christmas and found out that Ipswich School was one of the top 10 independent schools in East Anglia and the top school in Suffolk for the seventh year in a row. Crash into Christmas and the Sixth Form play The Welkin rounded off the arts year.
