“Welcome to my office.” These were the words that greeted me when I fell out of a plane at 15000ft at the beginning of the Summer Holidays! I was ‘jumping’ for the Wessex MS Therapy Centre in Warminster, a place I know well. Full disclosure: I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011, so I am keen to do all I can, while I can. MS is a lifelong condition and affects people in different ways. I am determined to keep working for as long as possible, so even though I might be a little slower than I was, look out for me in your school this coming year! And please don’t be afraid to ask me about MS if you are curious.
Anyway, back to the plot. I can’t describe the rush of free-falling at 125mph for 60 seconds. The noise of the wind, the wind resistance, the whole out of body experience was swiftly replaced by total silence and complete stillness. My instructor, the amazing Mias at GoSkydive, seemingly relished the moment as much as me, as he uttered this memorable phrase “Welcome to my office” and I truly did feel welcome! I was ably supported on the day by Finding the Will’s biggest fan, my lovely partner Richard, and my wonderful friend and Finding the Will colleague, Angie. Oh yes, and the total amount raised? A massive £2800! Huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone who had a hand in this incredible adventure!
Stats for the Academic Year 24/25
At the end of the 2024/25 academic year in July, this is what Finding the Will achieved. We introduced the work of William Shakespeare to 1700 children between the ages of 4 and 11. We led 37 Interactive Workshops and 3 Project Weeks. We worked in London, Essex, Manchester, Cheshire, Berkshire, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Sussex and West Midlands. The most popular plays were A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and MACBETH.
Below is an image from Elaine Primary School, Rochester, the last visit of the school year. Guess which play we were focusing on?
Welcome to 2025/26
The next academic year is shaping up to be an interesting one. Two of our historically less popular plays are streaking ahead. ROMEO & JULIET and TWELFTH NIGHT are currently topping the popularity poll for 2026. In fact, we kicked off the year in Enfield at the beginning of September with Y6 at George Spicer Primary School and ROMEO & JULIET This was our first visit to this lovely school, where Nick and I received a warm welcome and led two delightful workshops. There were some superb performances, thoughtful answers to questions and I hope, as a result, a springboard to some imaginative work in class. Huge thanks to Mr Rasheed for liaising with me and organising the whole day. We hope this won’t be our only visit!
Sad News
One of our most longstanding and loyal Patrons, Sir Ian Blair, the Lord Blair of Boughton, passed away in early July. Sir Ian was a constant and encouraging supporter of all our work, both in schools and on stage. He was particularly supportive of our production of ‘Naming The View’ tackling the sensitive issue of coercive control, as he was a persistent campaigner against domestic violence. He will be much missed by us and his family. We send heartfelt condolences to Lady Felicity Blair, who remains a much valued and supportive Patron.
Welcome to kOrky Paul
I’m delighted to introduce our newest Patron, kOrky Paul, renowned children’s illustrator of the Winnie the Witch, Winnie and Wilbur series of books. We welcome him on board and look forward to inviting him along to see our work in action during the coming year. You can find out more about kOrky Paul right here.
And finally…..
If you are new to Finding the Will’s almost monthly blog – welcome! We feature whatever school or schools we have visited and keep you up to date with all that we are doing. Amazingly, this is the 121st blog. The first one was published 10 years ago on 15 December 2015 and was about a TWELFTH NIGHT Project Week at Nursteed Primary School, Devizes. Talking of which, remind me to tell you next month about a former pupil from that school……
For now though I leave you with a short video about THAT skydive (click here) where you really will see the fall out! – honestly, two months later, I am still coming down!