08/01/2024
It is with a heavy heart we are having to put our amazing RocksKool to sleep for a wee while. RocksKool has been running in South Lochaber since 2005.
Sadly since lockdown it has been challenging to maintain user numbers and without numbers it is difficult to show the benefit that it has for the community that our funders want to see. Add to that the cost of living crisis and the funders are stretched and in demand more than normal.
The remaining RocksKool members have valiantly shown up for practice each week come rain or shine over the past few months but we still don't have the numbers to make a full band. We need a band to rehearse, gig and fund raise.
We have reached out to other organisations in the area over the past 3 months to see if they would be willing to let us run from Fort William in an attempt to increase our users but sadly nobody was in a position to support us.
I would like to make a special note of thanks to Rev. Amanda Fairclough and Laura Henshall at St Mary's Church Glencoe. They have provided us with a home over the past few years and supported us through this very challenging climate and we are very grateful for their ongoing support.
We have a small amount of lottery funding left over which we will keep safe in our account. We are going to put that towards our Summer Sessions program which entails a week long intensive, tutored, rehearsal culminating in a recording day at Watercolour Music. We aim to keep this experience as 'real world' as possible. You can see and listen to previous years work here:
http://i-c-e.org.uk/projects/rockskool/
We are so proud of everything our young people have achieved over the years and feel this would be the best use of the funding and would reach the maximum users possible. Places are limited and highly sought after. We ask everyone who wants to participate to audition first to ensure we have a good calibre of musicians to work with. If this is something that you might be Interested in please get in touch. It is usually held at the end of july/ beginning of August. We will look to book the rehearsal week in the Fort William area (possibly Killmallie Hall again).
This is a perfect example of 'use it or loose it' and we hope you allunderstand that we have done everything we can to make sure that RocksKool is able to carry on into the future.
RocksKool was started by tutor Paul Hornby-Battrick in 2005 as a direct response to young people not having an outlet for rehearsing or performing popular music.