On May 19th at around 10 am in the morning, ( just before Prince Harry gets married and just before the F.A cup starts), I will be leaping out of a plane over Old Sarum near Stonehenge,at 15,000 ft (just under 3 miles).

Why am I doing this ridiculous thing?

Well...a friend has persuaded me that to face your fear is one of the best things you can do in life,and in my mid 60's, it's about time I had a new challenge.

I have always had a fear of falling and of heights – anything higher than the kitchen table and I am a quivering mess. In the past have run marathons, survived the Tough Mudder and Wolf Run challenges, and now this. This is something totally outside of any comfort zone I may possess- and to help spur me on,and not to chicken out, I have decided to try and raise funds for Petham Primary School.

Why this particular cause?

I have lived in Petham for 17 years and have watched successive bands of children grow from nursery to university and onto careers. The school has always been a central part of the village, but it has never faced the challenges that have developed since the 'Austerity Cuts” stemming from the 2008/9 recession.

As you possibly know, it is a small school, and as such receives very low funding and support from the government but is still expected to develop and adhere to ever-changing OFSTED requirements.

Our children and grandchildren are bundles of potential, and a school like Petham needs every opportunity to help these youngsters achieve their very best. The PTA do sterling work with almost continual fundraising but every little helps and I feel that if I can add to the funds ,then our village school and our children will benefit.

In particular, the school is raising funds to provide a much needed pre-school in the village after the previous one sadly had to close.