Meet James and Georgie, Our New Heads of School for 2024/25

Miss Norman recently announced, confirmed and congratulated our new Heads of School for the academic year of 2024/2025.

Congratulations to Year 12’s James and Georgie, familiar faces in School and in our School news, Miss Norman commented,

I’m delighted to confirm James and Georgie are our new Heads of School, their appointment is testament to how well thought of, respected and trusted they are by their peers – as well as the teachers in School. Well done to both of them, I look forward to seeing the impact they have in the new academic year.

We recently met up with them both, talking about their new appointment and how they feel about the year ahead.

James, Head Boy

I feel hugely honoured to take on this role. Having been at the School from reception, I’ve been able to continually see just how warm and brilliant this community is, and so to be a representative of it is something I am massively excited about. I’m admittedly slightly nervous too – Olly has done such a marvellous job in the last year so that’s a lot to follow – but I’m eager to throw myself into this role.

In terms of any changes I might propose, the great news is that the School is already brilliant, and I’m not sure that any drastic changes are required! I think it would be marvellous if we were able to raise more awareness to our students of all the co-curricular opportunities that Woodbridge School provides – in so few schools would you have Doctor Who Club in one room, Chamber Choir in another, and the Hockey First Team on our new astro. The array of opportunities here is genuinely staggering, and I’m eager to draw attention to this, urging students to try different hobbies or interests – because it might end up being something you choose to focus on beyond School!

I think accessibility to all years is a really significant part of the role – being open and available not just to the Sixth Form. I’m hoping that all students, especially those in lower school, will feel as if they can come to me with any concerns, problems, or ideas and I’ll be an approachable figure within the school community. Community is such a massive part of this School, and instilling the idea that we should be open to everybody’s opinions and comments is really important.

I’ve had a truly wonderful time at Woodbridge, and I’m most excited by the thought of helping others have just as wonderful a School experience. I’m looking forward to having some ability to respond with action to student’s queries or desires within the School, and ultimately making sure everybody feels welcome and happy here.

As organisation is obviously a huge part of the role, I’m looking forward to the impact this will have on my own personal growth and development – and see this as a very welcome challenge. Already my calendar is becoming full and I have an ever-growing to do list in terms of my new role and responsibilities; I’m embracing both! But I’m also delighted to be paired with Georgie in her role as Head Girl, since I know she’s such an organised person, she’ll definitely be supportive in my continued development of this much-needed skill – in School and life.

Georgie, Head Girl

Being Head Girl for the upcoming academic year is a great honour and a wonderful opportunity, which I feel incredibly privileged to have been afforded. This School, the co-curricular opportunities and activities it offers, and the many teachers who have gone above and beyond to help me and all other students, have been vital in supporting both my academic and personal life. For that I am in such great debt to the School and I hope that through my appointment as Head Girl I can give a little something back.

In many ways, taking on this role is somewhat bittersweet as it means saying goodbye to Olly and Isla, they have been such brilliant role models who have been eager and comprehensive in supporting James and I as we step into our new roles. Needless to say, they have certainly left extremely large shoes to fill.

Personally, I am extremely enthusiastic about sport, therefore I would love to use this opportunity to champion sport at Woodbridge, particularly girl’s sport. For me, this means emphasising that sport is for everyone, whether that is competitively or just for fun and fitness. It is very important to me that students leave Woodbridge with a positive outlook on sport, whether that is to play in a university first team, frequent the local gym or just a weekly jog with a friend; all or any of these are important and I hope that I can work with the sports department to help students find fun in an activity of their choice.

Alongside this I would love to reinvigorate the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion society. In the past it has provided myself and many others with a safe, collaborative space to discuss pressing issues, listen to alternative perspectives and learn new things which is something that I look forward to recreating.

As Head Girl, there are many opportunities for me to advocate for the School at a variety of functions and events, which I very much look forward to. I also think that a big part of my role is to represent the student body and I wish to be approachable at all times so that students feel they can talk to me.

I look forward to this coming year with a great deal of excitement and anticipation, as thankfully this role provides me with more opportunities to interact with younger years. I hope that through this I will get to know more students and that they will feel comfortable approaching me with any issues or challenges that they face – or that they just come to see me for a chat. Through this interaction and communication I hope to represent the whole student body, to raise any issues no matter how small, so that every student feels they are listened to.

Being Head Girl is a significant time commitment, and as an already busy person I would say that time management is most likely to be my greatest challenge.

Having said that, the time that I spend doing things for Head Girl I will enjoy immensely as I love advocating for the School which I feel so passionately about. It’s fair to say that that when I really want to do something, I can always find the time. Oh and of course, the greatest challenge of all – continually fixing James’ ties!

I’m very much looking forward to working with James. Those who know us, would attest that we have a sibling-like relationship. He is such a charismatic, fun friend who I don’t spend enough time with, due to our differing A levels and busy schedules, so this is a brilliant opportunity to change that too.