Chess
One of the most popular activities at Woodbridge, chess has long been an integral part of School activities. Apart from being fun to play, chess is known to help develop particular transferrable skills for academic and everyday life and Woodbridge is unique in offering private lessons during the academic day.
Educational benefits
Chess can not only support the building of strong analytical and decision making skills, but the pattern recognition it encourages can lead to better results in Maths and Science too. Time management skills learned can transfer to exam conditions and higher order thinking encourages recognition of consequences.
Lessons
We offer chess lessons from Year 2 onwards in Prep School, and Year 7 to Year 13 in Senior School; students can either learn individually or in pairs.
From Year 9 onwards students come out of academic lessons on rotation to ensure no lesson is missed more than twice per term. Each lesson lasts 35 to 40 minutes and is typically based on 30 lessons per academic year; 12 in the Michaelmas Term, 10 in the Lent term and 8 in the Trinity term.
Clubs
Catering for all ranges, ages and ability there are a number of clubs on offer in both the Prep and Senior School. In particular Chess for All is held Mondays after School and is open to all students, parents and the local community, and Seckford Scheme chess for Year 9 and above offering an informal way to wind down the week whilst studying expert games.
Awards and tournaments
As well as having clubs and private lessons, there are a variety of tournaments and chess-related activities in School throughout the year.
The Tony Miles chess trophy is presented each year at speech day, awarded to the student who has made an outstanding contribution to chess at Woodbridge.
The Junior Chess Open takes place each year during Michaelmas term and the Suffolk Chess Megafinal is held in School during the Trinity Term.
A knockout competition in which the whole of Year 7 participates, the Mileham Shield is one of the highlights of the Michaelmas and Lent Terms. The final of the competition is played in the science lecture theatre and is quite a spectacle!
Scholarships and bursaries
Woodbridge offers a chess scholarship as well as various bursaries to outstanding and committed students, including boarders from all over the world. We’re extremely proud to have produced three England internationals ‘from scratch’ from the local area including German boarding student Oliver who became a FIDE Master and German Under 18 champion in 2018. Another student, this time from Australia, became an International Master shortly after leaving Woodbridge, later gaining the Grandmaster title in 2018, the highest possible level in chess.
Meet the staff
Adam Hunt (Head of Chess)
Mr Hunt teaches chess full-time at Woodbridge, as well as being a tutor. Having played chess since the age of four, he became the British Under 14 champion by the age of ten and British Under 18 champion at the age of fourteen.
Mr Hunt became an International Chess Master in 2000 and started teaching at Woodbridge in 2003, having completed his degree in Biology and Management at Sussex University.
Author of ‘Chess Strategy, Move By Move’, Mr Hunt has also coached the English Junior team at a number of events including the World Junior and European Junior championships.
Appointed as Co-Head Mentor of the English Chess Trust ‘Accelerator Programme’ in 2020 he worked with the top English chess talents to assist them with progression to full senior international level.
And it doesn’t stop there – Mr Hunt has two GM norms to his name and ambitions of becoming a Grandmaster.
Dagne Ciuksyte (Teacher of Chess)
Dagne Ciuksyte began playing chess at the age of just six years old and firmly believes, “it is never too early or too late to learn!”.
During her professional career, Dagne achieved the titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master (with one Grandmaster norm), as well as an ELO rating of 2450.
Having played for both Lithuania’s and England’s Women National Teams at The World Chess Olympiads and the European Team Chess Championships for over ten years, she offers a wealth of experience through coaching and teaching at Woodbridge School.
Congratulations to our National Schools Chess Team
Representing Students
Chess Success for Woodbridge School – January 2024
Chess Team Celebrates Becoming Champions – Twice!
Want to see for yourself?
In addition to our open days, we welcome visits from parents and children looking for the right foundation for life ahead. We’ll be happy to show you around and answer any questions you have about our School, staff and the support we offer our students.