The first part of this particular collaboration with international clown de Castro took place in 2005, when we invited senior teachers to explore the elements of risk, playfulness and tolerance of failure which are shared characteristics of both teaching and clowning. It was at this Lab that we first met Sue. She had been recommended to take part in the Lab by the 5x5x5 project team. She knew nothing about PAL and wrote in her biographical note, “I am very worried about the weekend: I know I will be working outside of my comfort zone”. After the first day, she wrote in her diary, “This has been a truly inspirational day. It has given me courage to ‘go for it’, to be prepared to take risks, to allow time to dream. It has strengthened my passion for my vision of creative education”. At the end of the second day she wrote, “This is the best CPD I’ve ever done.” Shortly after this Lab, Sue took on the headship of a small primary school outside Bath. Prior to her arrival, the school had received negative Ofsted reports and the staff were disheartened, reluctant to risk further ‘failure’, and suspicious of newcomers offering ‘solutions’. Sue’s first thought was to share what had been so valuable to her with her new colleagues. She convinced us, we convinced the funders, NESTA, and the Failing… to Learn Lab II was the result. A year later, Sue wrote to us again, “Ofsted has been and gone and we are no longer a Failing School but a GOOD school with OUTSTANDING features!!” Of course, this success is the result of the enormous hard work of a team of gifted and dedicated teachers. But the Failing… to Learn Lab played a significant role in bringing them together as a formidable and brave team.