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Principals and staff from a part-time franchise theatre school have really got behind their students by taking part in two of the most challenging races in the UK to raise money for their charity to support students in further education.
The Wolf Run in Stanford Hall, Leicestershire is a 10k off-road run featuring a series of man-made and natural obstacles located throughout the course. The concept behind the event was to re-create the feeling of running in natural terrain that would allow people to experience natural, raw running conditions with challenging and interesting obstacles.
Gelt Gladiator in Gelt Woods in Brampton is an endurance event series in which runners trailed through the woods to take on some fantastic challenges on nearby farm land and Moto Cross Track. The event has been designed for the toughest athlete and those new to this type of challenge. Participants had to overcome 20 obstacles in over a 6k distance.
Principals within the Razzamataz Theatre Schools network entered the events to raise funds for the theatre school’s charity Future Fund, which has been set up to support a Razzamataz student going on to study full time performing arts in college. As part of its commitment to its students, Razzamataz will help finance a scholarship that will be offered to an exceptionally talented and dedicated student who attends one of the part-time schools across the UK.
The team of Razzamataz Principals, parents and teachers who took part in Wolf Run on June 4th and Gelt Gladiator on June 11th had to overcome a range of challenging obstacles such as lake swimming to mud pits, fallen trees, boggy ground, ditches, hills and dense foliage as well as obstacles called Skaffell Pike, Mud Crawl, Hadrian’s Walls and Ice Plunge.
Most of the Razzamataz team have never entered a race such as this before and threw themselves into the task as Denise Hutton, Gosney, MD and Founder of Razzamataz explains: “It’s an incredible achievement considering that many of the team who took part have never done anything like this ever before. They had to climb in mud, crawl through tiny passageways and throw themselves into icy waters.
“We are very proud of each and every Principal, staff member, supportive parent and wonderful students who got involved and helped us raise money for our charity.”
Events such as Wolf Run and Gelt Gladiator are designed to pull you out of your comfort zone by testing your physical strength, stamina and mental determination. Razzamataz Principals had to work together as a team to get through the mud and freezing water with many of the obstacles requiring help from their team mates.
“This kind of event is definitely not my thing,” said Kayleigh Redford, Principal of Razzamataz Newcastle. “So I was definitely apprehensive about signing up but we vowed to start and finish it as a team and that’s exactly what we did! Every team member found different obstacles difficult but we helped, motivated and supported each other and I think that’s what the day was about.”
A strong and positive mindset was crucial to complete the course and is something that Razzamataz help their Principals achieve. At the company’s Conference last year, Principals were challenged and succeeded in walking on fire to show that most challenges in life are mind over matter.
The team at Razzamataz are delighted to have raised funds for the charity with the money still rolling in. Students in the schools now have the opportunity to audition for the Future Fund award at Pineapple Dance studios in Covent Garden, London. Last year’s recipient of the Future Fund is currently studying at the prestigious ArtsEd school.
Razzamataz offers a wide range of performing arts styles for children with classes in dance, drama and singing. Students experience various genres from classic West End musical theatre through to pop singing and street dance. In all sessions, the emphasis is on having fun and bringing out the creativity and unique potential in each and every student.
There are almost 50 part-time Razzamataz schools up and down the UK with Principals coming from a wide range of backgrounds, achieving successful businesses that fits flexibly around their lifestyles.
There are many parents (and a grandparent) with young children, teachers who have left the profession to focus on Razzamataz and performers who combine working professionally with being a school Principal.
To find out if franchising is the right option, the Head Office run Discovery Den days across the UK where potential franchisees get a chance to meet the team, find out more about franchising in general and discover what it is like to run a part-time theatre school.
