Maestro Cal Uses His Music to Help Mental Health Project

The Sixth Form College has a lot to be proud of when it comes to our former students, and the reasons for that pride can come in any form.

Excelling academically, creatively, personally or in the world of work are all achievements to celebrate, and some individuals’ hard work has paid off in more respects than one.

Cal Ruddy left The Sixth Form College last summer and is now making his mark on the music industry. We, at the college, believe that ‘talent’ is a word that inaccurately represents the resilience, determination and commitment that students have shown in their lives, whether that be in academia or elsewhere, and Cal’s musical abilities and ever-increasing presence on the music scene are testament to just that. Indeed, he headlines a local charity live entertainment night in Wallasey on 21^st May; his name coming top of a bill of established local acts.

But Cal’s hard work didn’t start with playing his first few chords, or his first essays or sums. From an early age, Cal suffered with anxiety and depression – a struggle that was under-recognised in young people until relatively recently. The introduction of the NHS’s CAMHS (Children & Adolescents Mental Health Service) project in the late 1990s began to both assist sufferers and conduct research into an issue that affected more young people than had ever been addressed.

Now 21-years-old, Cal has benefitted from the help that CAMHS has been able to provide him, and joined The Sixth Form College from West Kirby Residential School to take Drama Studies, English and History at A Level. His tenure at the college saw personal development that went from strength-to-strength, and he thanked the staff for their assistance on his journey.

He said of his time at the college: “The staff were so supportive. I always had a great working relationship and rapport with all my teachers and tutors and they helped me out so much with my anxiety and stress. I’d definitely recommend it!”

That personal connection with the staff is part of the specialist support system in place at the college, and is why Cal is so fondly remembered, not only by his allocated teachers and tutor but by countless others who came into contact with him.

His charming nature and catchy songs have helped Cal to claim the cover story on this month’s Buz Magazine, along with finalist slots in both the Merseyside Sound Station and Best of Liverpool competitions. These add to touring support slots with Mike Dignam, Isaac Gracie and Emma Pollock, Liverpool Bay TV appearances and relentlessly gigging over the North West and beyond. Over the six years since he first picked up the guitar, Cal has used singing and song-writing as a cathartic exercise for the health of his mind.

He said: “The whole process of writing songs and being on stage is my own personal form of therapy – it’s my thing.”

To add to that, Cal spends his free time outside of studying Music Performance at the City of Liverpool College, and making his way in show business, working for CAMHS. The ‘Yes We CAMHS’ night at the Grosvenor Ballroom in Wallasey on 21^st May is the latest project that Cal can be involved in giving back to the scheme that has helped him throughout his life.

Go along for a night of fun entertainment whilst helping a great cause, raffles with great prizes and, of course, Cal performing to top it all off - more info here.