In May this year, one of our trustees, Oli Wilson, will be joining his friend and brass bandmate, Nathan Groombridge, to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall: 135km from East to West from 10th May to 15th May 2026…

This feat of endurance will all be in order to raise funds for Services For Education, to support the incredible work of the Ensembles team and to encourage others to take on a challenge and join #TeamSFE themselves.

With 6 weeks to go, we’re catching up with Oli and Nathan to find out why they are supporting SFE and how their training is going in the lead up to their epic walk.

Nathan, Oli, welcome to #TeamSFE, can you tell us a bit about yourselves?

Nathan: Hi, I’m Nathan and I work for Avanti West Coast. I play the Flugel horn in the Langley Band, having started playing through the SFE Music Service when I was 8 years old! I joined the central ensembles in Year 7 and went from Training Wind all the way to the Birmingham Schools Brass Band and Birmingham Schools Symphony Orchestra by the time I finished in 2014! I have played in Langley Band with Oli since then.

Oli: I’m Oli, and I work as an Educational consultant. I am proud to be an SFE Trustee, as well as being a SFE parent (my son plays in the Birmingham Schools Brass Band) and I spend most of my free time playing the Baritone Horn in the Langley Band. We both love making music and as players together in the Langley Band, we know the power of performing in an ensemble!

So, you’ve decided to join #TeamSFE and take on this walk as an epic fundraising event for SFE this May – can you tell us why?

Oli: We both enjoy walking together and have been talking about undertaking an out-of-the-ordinary challenge for a while. Nathan came up with the idea for us to walk Hadrian’s Wall, and things dropped into place!

Nathan: It is a very long way, but it should be a fantastic walk. I want us to raise money for Services For Education, a charity close to my heart that provides such incredible opportunities through their ensembles. It is a great opportunity to support something which matters.

Oli: We as adults gain so much from music making together in the Langley Band, and for Nathan it all started with SFE Music Service. So, we both want to enable as many young people to be able to access the same opportunities and pathways which developed Nathan into the great player he is today – that’s why we are walking for the SFE Ensembles. We want to make sure that Birmingham’s young musicians continue to be nurtured, developed and supported by the skilled professional SFE tutors and conductors, that they have the opportunities to grow their musical abilities and confidence, all whilst they work towards memorable performances on the stages of Birmingham’s most prestigious venues! 

Are you doing any training for the walk? Tell us how you’re feeling about it.

Nathan: I’ve been in training to run the Birmingham Half Marathon at the start of May, so provided that all goes to plan, should be in a good place to complete the physical side of the challenge! It’s exciting and we are looking forward to it.

Oli: I’m not a runner, so for me training is just walking as often as possible to build up to the distance needed. Some of the days on the walk are between 30-40km, so the ability to keep going will be key. Thankfully, I will have Nathan to drive me on, and I am hoping to share my knowledge of Roman Britain along the way – whether Nathan wants it or not!

Why are you supporting SFE?

Nathan: I am supporting SFE because I owe so much to the organisation. As a young person who grew through SFE Music Service, I had incredible music lessons, specialist instrumental lessons and the investment in my musical confidence and abilities. When I became a member of the Birmingham Ensembles, I was able to play in amazing venues such as Symphony Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as undertaking life-changing tours to Estonia, Germany and Belgium! These opportunities were there for me, and they need to be there for the young people who need them today. Our support for SFE helps that.

Oli: I’m supporting SFE because, as a trustee, I see the many different ways in which they impact positively on the lives of young people. SFE offers so much, and their ensembles work allows nearly 4,000 young musicians from across Birmingham, to perform in 113 free ensembles that are specifically designed to cater for all genres and abilities. It is so important that for the young people, being part of one of the SFE Ensembles is free for them – but I also know it costs SFE up to £400 a year for each Ensemble placement. To continue to provide this, they need our support!

  Support Team SFE

If after reading about Oli and Nathan’s challenge you would like to support them, and the work of the SFE Ensembles, then you can donate to their fundraising page using the button below – any support is hugely appreciated.

If you have something else in mind that you would like to do as part of Team SFE please contact Sarah, fundraising@servicesforeducation.co.uk to get involved