hesitated a bit before writing this email, because I wanted to be sure I could use the right words to honor a person who I truly respected for his high principles, far-sighted aspirations and trust in others even if I had never met him personally. And you might think "why is this woman saying that?". When I started my journey in British education -coming from the Italian one- , I was looking for something that could also reflect my ideals relating to inclusion, understanding and support: I found Petchey Academy. Very demanding as a challenge but also extremely satisfying because I saw that something was concretely being done for those who, like me in the past, were finding themselves in difficulty, not understood and sometimes penalized. Sir Petchey believed it: he believed that everyone should have the same chances as anyone else, regardless of social class or background. And I "embraced" this cause completely because I loved my job! The arts, music, artistic expression in general was a sign of his desire to support and help live a life full of "beautiful things", or at least teach that everyone could smile once. I would have liked to have had the pleasure of meeting him at least once and expressing my admiration for him. I am an Italian who decides to embrace a culture very different from her own and who finds a brilliant, visionary man who founded an academy and who, practically, was realizing what I would have wanted for my students in Italy. Sir Petchey was with us even during Covid: his half-length statue with the mask was unforgettable, helping us to "humanize" a situation that, unfortunately, had little in it. I conclude this letter of mine with a prayer addressed to those who still manage the Petchey Foundation: don't give in to reality! There are still many, many good people out there who need someone to believe in them...keep being that glow on a dark night! Don't conform, please continue to dream and hope for a better future as Sir Petchey showed me that it is possible! I'm sure his name will be an advocate of "good things" in the future. Thank you Sir, for making me hope for the good in people. May the earth be light on you. Iolanda