Woodstock 2014

Make no bones about it – this year’s Woodstock 2014 ‘Wild West’ music festival completely and utterly ‘smashed it’ – and in the process it had a meteoric impact upon our own pupils and staff, as well as those from invited mainstream and special schools such as New Line Learning, Milestone, Ifield and Meadowfield.

All the hallmarks of authenticity were present – a huge ‘world class’ mobile stage rigged with state of the art lighting and sound systems, operated by a team of professional technicians and ‘walled’ by 70 metres of pedestrian fencing; a bevy of supremely talented artists and ‘field performers’ provided by our close network of industry contacts; sumptuous ‘all you can consume’ food and drink laid on for 499 guests for an entire day; a field decked in Marquees and Tipis, an endless breadth of bona fide themed activities as far as the eye could behold, and head turning promotional banners, materials and resources.

How on Earth did an event of this scale and stature take place at our school I hear you ask?! The answer, purely and simply, comes down to the staggering generosity of a whole host of individuals as well as local and National organisations, who provided their time, commitment and resources absolutely free of charge, in order to create the experience of a lifetime for our pupils.

This roll call of honour includes:

• Greggs The Bakers, whose beyond‘out of this world’ ‘saloon’ fed and watered everyone throughout the day all that they possibly eat and drink ….and then more!!
• Coca Cola who donated an incredible iPad raffle prize, which sold over 1000 tickets and in the process generated much needed ‘Woodstock’ funds.
• StageAce by Panache Audio Systems, whose truly magnificent stage and lighting system provided an unequalled ‘X Factor’ platform that showcased our artists and wowed the ‘crowd.’
• The combined might of NSP Recording Studios and The Flightcase Company, who unleashed an exceptionally stunning sound set up.
• Holmsted Events, whose jaw dropping giant Tipi provided a striking focal point for our event.
• The 36 Engineers and Loose Scouts whose incredible marquees offered our pupils invaluable shade during what was to become a very hot day!
• Travis Perkins and Scott Parsons Landscaping Services who built us an amazing and permanent 16 foot desert!
• Andy Devaney (ARD-UK Media And Entertainment Agents) and Danielle Knights (Live And Love Music) who provided us with a roster of incredibly gifted, extremely hard working, compassionate and exceptionally giving artists.
• Our amazing perfomers themselves – Mr Rootsy, McCrei, De’Vide, Kirsti Robinson, Jason Allen, The Darren Show And Tyber Cranstoun – all outstanding role models, who engaged so effortlessly and naturally with our pupils and who had an outstanding impact on a whole host of outcomes for our pupils e.g. communication, self esteem, confidence and inclusion, to name but a few of a series of hugely important educational areas.
• APlant – who kindly provided all of the security barriers which ensured that the safety of our pupils was maintained at all times.
• Recognition Express in Rochester, whose deluxe range of bespoke gifts, banners, flags, clothing and ‘surprises’ helped us to raise the profile of the event as well as to reward the time and effort made by all the other supporting organisations.
• Joe Ellson and Richard Robinson from Bellwood Homes who raised the astounding amount of money that enabled us to have ‘all the frills.’
• Viridor, who supplied us with a stockpile of heavy duty waste bins
• Four Jays Group who provided us with a series of prestige toilets for the event.
• Grange Farm in Lidsing who furnished us with a phenomenal amount of straw (100 bales!!) which was used to build a unique ‘Woodstock’ sign as well as lush seating areas and rustic ‘saloon’ walls.
• Kevin Thompson from Aylesford School Sports College whose charm and humour were used to great effect as our host for the day.
• Liam Thomas, who not only secured us the generator that ran our vast electrical requirements for the day, but who also provided behind the scenes technical support.

In the current financial climate very few individuals and companies are willing to put the time and effort into wholeheartedly supporting organisations such as ours – it is therefore a complete pleasure to work with the above individuals and organisations, who are absolutely committed to putting the time and effort into supporting us. It is also abundantly clear that they ‘buy into’ our ethos of providing the experience of a lifetime for our pupils. We cannot thank them enough for making such an incredible difference to the lives of our very special pupil’s and we are immensely privileged to not only benefit from their wonderful support but also to be able to refer to them as ‘Friends of Five Acre Wood.’   It’s wonderful to know that they’ve all already signed up for Woodstock 2015 and beyond!

Finally, we should also ‘salute’ the Woodstock Committee, whose Herculean efforts drew all of these organisations together to make everything happen. Their vision, tireless efforts, huge hearts and willingness to do ‘whatever’, ‘whenever’ – be that fundraising on a bike, or by begging, borrowing, procuring or making resources and equipment at all hours of day and night, in order to achieve the seemingly impossible, are much appreciated. Huge thanks therefore go the following Committee members and additional helpers –

Jill Lawson, Tim Williams, Hayleigh Blighton, Emma Hendey, Terri Fowle, Sarah Eiffert, Rebecca Robertson, Adel Orr, Katie John, Dave Clay, Debbie Griffin, Kylie Overton, Matt Jones, Laura Keene, Trevor Billinge, Kelly Walker, Esther Mclaren, Sean Rackley and John Hughes and Helen Thwaites.

How can we possibly ‘top’ this event next year? We’re already thinking along the lines of a circus theme (on the scale of Take That’s Live World Tour!!) so prepare yourself now for the mayhem and madness that will ensue in a year’s time and let us know if you can help in any way or know of someone that might be able to!