THE CHEQUE FOR SIR TERRY!

Training Manager, Margaret Darley, seen above centre with South Wales Principal and Training Supervisor, Becky Goodfield (R) and her Manager, Helen Ward, were lucky enough to attend a special reception at the BBC on Friday before joining the audience for the second half of the big Children In Need extravaganza.

The South Wales branch of the Academy raised more than £2,000 towards the final total and Becky was very proud to present the cheque to Sir Terry Wogan live on air. It was a star studded evening, with the second half opened by Sir Tom Jones and featuring, among others, Heaven 17, Pixie Lott and Maroon 5, as well as excerpts from several West End shows.

Fundraising will continue until the end of the year so it is not too late to be involved. Visit our website http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/ for full details or send your donation to the address on this blog. Raising money for Children In Need has become an annual event for all branches of the Academy and it was wonderful to have a prescence at the show.

The only slight disappointment of the evening was the fact Take That were performing on the earlier show and the girls had to be content with seeing their performance on the big screen in the reception - and knowing they were actually in the same building!

This is as close as Margaret got to Take That!

VILLAGE AFRICA/HELEN O'GRADY AMBULANCE SET FOR DEPARTURE!

Today, Friday 11th June, sees the launch of the Village Africa sponsored ambulance drive.

After months of preparation, Portsmouth Principal, Andrea Ward and her sister, Caroline Johnston for Village Africa, are delighted they can now start their journey. This week, they have been interviewed by Quay radio in Portsmouth (see below).

They will be joined at today's launch by Alan Knight MBE and Cartridge World will be there with their Eco car, along with The Stig. Their first stop this weekend is Bournemouth before they head north to Exeter, detour through South Wales where they will be meeting the Welsh Assembly, through Gloucestershire and the Midlands to the North West and then on to Scotland, spending next Saturday in Edinburgh before heading back to York, on to Sheffield and then to London.

On the way they will meet up with more than twenty Helen O'Grady Principals and, of course, hundreds of drama students, arriving back in Portsmouth to a special reception on Friday 25th June.

The Academy is proud to sponsor the drive, and we are certain there will be many more donations on the way. They have already raised in the region of £2500 before they even leave.

We will include pictures and information on here as the journey goes on. For more information and to make a dontaion visit the Village Africa website You can email Andrea on portsmouth@helenogrady.co.uk and Caroline on info@villageafrica.org.uk

We all at the Academy wish them safe journeys and all the luck in the world with this amazing trip.