Charity founded by Duchess for talented estate youngsters set to make its fundraising debut
SHE has passed on her passion for music to the primary schoolchildren of a deprived Hull estate for almost a decade.
Alexandra Wood
And now the Duchess of Kent – or "Mrs Kent" as her pupils call her – wants to ensure that future generations get the chance to develop their musical skills.
After nine years of working as a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary School, the Duchess has f
ounded a charity called Future Talent, which has its first fundraising event in Cambridge tonight.
It aims to "give children opportunities to grow through music", providing specialist music teachers and donating instruments.
The charity will focus its attentions first on Wansbeck, which the Duchess first visited in 1996, and Longhill primary schools, in east Hull, and will provide talented children with private tuition and classes with opera trips, raising aspirations in turn.
It was only revealed in March that the enthusiastic and fun-loving music teacher who had been coming to the school every week was in fact one of the best-known Royals.
The remarkable story began when the Duchess visited the school in an official capacity.
She agreed to an unofficial return visit a few months later, and asked staff what they felt the school and the area was lacking.
When they said they needed help with music lessons, she offered her own services.
For years she has prepared a weekly lesson, liaised with other staff to ensure it fits into the curriculum, travelled to the school from wherever she may be in the country, and delivered a 40-minute lesson.
Each week, a different year group benefits from her expertise, although she always finds time for a cup of tea in the staff room.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post earlier this year, headteacher Ann Davies said: "The children absolutely adore her. They know that she's a bit different from the other teachers but they don't really know about the Royal side of things.
"They just see her as a wonderful teacher who has created a wonderful choir and makes them feel really special."
Future Talent kicks off this evening with two fundraising concerts and a chance to meet the Duchess at a champagne and buffet reception in Cambridge.
Organised by the headmaster of King's College School in Cambridge, Nicholas Robinson, the first concert features the new Aronowitz Ensemble – members include Guy and Magnus Johnston and Tom Poster – while the King's Choristers will be singing Britten's Ceremony of Carols at the second.
Born Katherine Worsley, the Duchess of Kent was brought up at her family seat of Hovingham Hall, near York.
As a child, "Mrs Kent" was very good at music and played the piano, organ and violin. She holds a teaching certificate from the Royal School of Music and worked in education before her marriage to the Queen's cousin Edward, Duke of Kent, in 1961.
At 71, she is still a full-time member of the London Bach Choir and devotes much of her time to music.
Through her Royal connections, she has arranged for the children to sing with the Hallé Orchestra, and to perform with opera star Lesley Garrett at Westminster Abbey.
Last Christmas, "Mrs Kent" led the Wansbeck School Choir in performances at Dove House Hospice, at Frederick Holmes special school, and for elderly residents in Hull.
