Member Article

School to buy vital equipment after charity cup

A Newcastle school for children with additional needs is able to buy vital new equipment after a local business organised a football tournament to raise money.

Hadrian School in Benwell is attended by 170 children, aged between two and 11, who have additional needs.

Fifteen teams, representing some of the North East’s best-known organisations, took part in the competition run by Tyneside business Concept.

The Concept Cup raised £4,000 which will be used to buy two new trampolines, providing vital exercise and therapy for the school’s pupils as well as other children and adults in the area.

Hadrian School’s business manager David Palmer said: “These are really hard financial times and budget cuts badly affect schools like Hadrian. We, therefore, rely on organisations like Concept to help us provide the facilities which mean so much to our children. We can’t thank them enough.”

In the next few weeks work will start on building a special Rebound Therapy Training Centre at the school. It should open by next summer and will be equipped with six trampolines.

“We work closely with other schools and organisations in the region to offer access to our resources and provide excellent training opportunities. The centre will provide a much-needed and demanded service for the whole area,” said Mr Palmer.

“It’s all about breaking down barriers. A severely disabled child or adult can use a trampoline for Rebound Therapy to exercise and strengthen their muscles as well as breaking down communication barriers and gaining the trust of the person you’re on the trampoline with, as well as our able-bodied children having fun and social interaction with their friends.”

The two previous Concept Cups had raised money for Little Steps for Lily and The Calvert Trust and had been won by Utilitywise. This year there was a new name on the trophy – NCFE – which beat off competition from teams representing Mincoffs Solicitors LLP, Lloyds Bank PLC, Quantum Pharma, Razorblue, Responsive Engineering, Quantum Pharma, Hadrian School and Concept.

Sales manager Stewart Hunter - goalkeeper and captain of the Concept team beaten 2-1 by NCFE in the final – said: “I am so proud of everybody who took part. The Concept Cup takes a lot of organising, but it’s well worth it.

“I visited the school for the first time about six years ago and each time I go there I’m amazed by the fantastic level of support provided by the staff. When I heard about plans for the Rebound Therapy Training Centre, I was determined that Concept could do all it could to help.”

Concept, based at Newcastle Business Park, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xerox and provides digital print and document technology for some of the best-known names in the North East, including Newcastle United, The Sage Music Trust, Muckle LLP, Vantec and around 40 schools – including Hadrian.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Lambert .