HAWI Rock School

The HAWI Rocks team is Chris Wood, Jacob Hughes, Duncan Drury and Ally Ambrose.

Chris is a guitarist, composer and music teacher. He previously taught Music at Harris Academy Wimbledon, leading many ensembles of young people at school performances, local battle of the bands and Harris Federation music events. He now works freelance as a composer for film, tv and advertising, alongside teaching composition, guitar tuition, and soon to be leading HAWI Rocks! Chris also performed in a function band as a bassist and guitarist for 5 years, playing weddings, festivals and other events, as well as writing and releasing original material with the band.

Jacob is a professional drummer in London. He graduated in 2019 with a degree in Professional Musicianship from BIMM Bristol. As a performer, he has played in various different settings - from original bands to big band and function bands. He also has experience of playing independent venues, weddings, and festivals. In his current band, Peak Trading, Jacob has forged a strong reputation in the London music scene as a drummer and co-songwriter of the project. He has taught drums in many contexts, such as one-to-one to children and adults, as well as teaching groups of children the drum kit at the London School of Rhythm.

Duncan is a trained singer and actor and has performed in venues all around the UK and in London. For over 10 years, he has been combining his busy performance schedule with teaching singing and has experience coaching all ages, kids to adults, students to experienced pros. Prior to forging a career in theatre, he gigged in bands and even now, has a preference towards working in Rock Opera - having been cast in notable productions of ‘The Rocky Horror Experience’ and ‘Rent’ amongst others.

Ally is a singer and pianist, trained in Musical Theatre at the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama, who has also recently completed a Master's degree in Songwriting at Bath Spa University. She currently performs regularly as a guest artist at Warner Hotels in an acoustic duo, and will be playing the Fairy Godmother in a production of Cinderella in Bedford this Christmas. Recent highlights include performing in a new musical at The Turbine Theatre in Battersea, singing with Michael Bublé with the West End Gospel Choir and with Gareth Malone's Choir for Children in Need.

The whole team are incredibly excited to get stuck in with the students at HAWI Rocks, and pass on their experience and knowledge on to the next generation of talented, star performers at HAWI Rocks!

Each full term will cost £200 per student, which works out to £20 for each three-hour session on Saturday mornings. This would be paid in four equal instalments over the course of the term.

The payments for each instalment are due on the following dates:

• April 18th

• April 29th

• June 3rd

• June 17th

If your child already attends Harris Academy Wimbledon, this will be paid through Parentpay.

If your child attends a different school, please make payment via the following details:

Account Name: Harris Academy Wimbledon

Account Number: 65247396

Sort Code: 51-50-02

Please provide your child’s name as the reference for payment if paying via bank transfer.

If your child is eligible for pupil premium, you would pay 50% of the cost, costing £100 per term. Please inform us via email if your child is eligible for pupil premium – this will be subject to checks through Harris Academy Wimbledon.

We are also excited to offer a 10% discount on the cost of a full term for anyone who brings a friend (who hasn’t attended any taster sessions) to sign up to HAWI Rocks. The friend will also benefit from the 10% discount, meaning you both get the equivalent of one session each for free!

To sign up for HAWI Rocks, please use the Microsoft form link below: https://forms.office.com/e/Nzq3nzXc1K

We look forward to meeting you at HAWI Rocks!