Championing mental wellbeing at Horndean Community College in East Hampshire

Horndean, in the southeast corner of Hampshire, is a semi-rural community which sits at the edge of the South Downs National Park. Close to the popular countryside locations of Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Butser Ancient Farm and the Sustainability Centre, Horndean and the surrounding parishes have a rich farming heritage.

In the very heart of Horndean is a large and successful Secondary School, Horndean Technology College (HTC) which is also a weekly work base of Gwen Woodruffe, member of the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir who recently won ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent show in 2026. Gwen who studied Agricultural Marketing and Business at Harper Adams Agricultural College in Shropshire, wears multiple hats in the local area including heading up the Community Education programme at HTC where she is also a Community Governor.

By working in a secondary school, Gwen is acutely aware of the struggles young people face with their mental health in today’s world and this issue sits close to her heart in that the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir set out to raise awareness of mental wellbeing within the farming community across the UK. The choir recently donated £50,000 of its prize winnings to the mental health charities Mind, Shout, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), the Farming Community Network (FCN) and the Daniel Picton Jones (DPJ) Foundation.

Supporting mental wellbeing is at the core of Gwen’s values both in her work at HTC and Buster Ancient Farm where she works with a cross-generation of people from different groups such as the Horndean Men’s Shed and the Horndean Ukulele Group.

Gwen said: “Through the activities I organise and get involved in, I try to shine a light of positivity and bring people together through common interests. These community events help fight loneliness and promote a sense of belonging. Everyone should have someone to talk to and nobody should ever feel alone...”

Whilst the Britain’s Got Talent competition is over, Gwen’s role within The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir goes from strength to strength, championing the issues of mental wellbeing across the country in person, through television and on the radio. She continued: “….The Hawkstone Farmers' Choir has brought the mental health of farmers in the UK to the forefront of people’s minds. We have now been given a platform to open the conversation..”

At Horndean Technology College the health and happiness of students is of paramount importance with all staff undertaking regular safeguarding training. The College has recently implemented bans on mobile phone use during the school day in efforts to support young people’s mental wellbeing and encourage a greater focus on the enjoyment of learning without the interruption from mobile devices.

This October, the choir’s single is due for release and thereafter their first album. The proceeds of these sales will again support mental health charities. The choir will embark on their major UK headline tour, titled "This Is Home," across March and April 2027 and tickets are now on sale. On Friday 20 November, Gwen will take to the stage again with the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir to perform before the Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

We wish Gwen and the choir the very best of luck!

Featured photo: Gwen Woodruffe, at Horndean Technology College.