One week every year Gnoll park in
Neath has for the past 18 years been ringing with the joys
of happiness, excitement and thrill as schools from across
Swansea, Neath and port Talbot gather for one of the most
challenging events of their schools calendar. It must be
the time for SCHOOLS CHALLENGE...
Local Aid has co-ordinated this event and
each year the event has gained in excitement and challenge
and above all enjoyment for those who take part. So what is
it? Schools from across the area are asked to put together
teams of young people, of different ages, each team must also
consist of at least four young people with special needs.
Together as a well prepared team they are
set challenges that will work on their ability to communicate
and respond to participating as a team and proving that they
can all do the same things if they work together. The challenges
that are all well thought out and put together by a band of
dedicated people from across the Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot
area. Many long hours are put in by many professionals from
areas of work such as physiotherapists, Fire service personnel,
Police Service & Probation Service.
Local Aid has many fantastic and willing
volunteers who will also get invoved in the schools challenge
by offering their services to the event and by collecting spare
changes of clothes and blankets for those children that require
them during the event.
Unfortunately, although Local Aids volunteers
are extremely willing there are not enough of them to man the
whole event. Volunteers have come from Swansea college, gorseinon
college, Neath/Port Talbot CVS, Businesses, industry and many,
many other organisations of which Local Aid is extremely grateful.
Getting involved as a volunteer though is a two way thing with
the Schools challenge, through their involvement the event
can go ahead and through the event going ahead they can gain
valuable experience in working hands on with children from
a large spectrum of ability and background.
Getting wet... well it really wouldn’t
be schools challenge unless you got a real soaking, and the
fire service are always willing to help. Each year the fire
men and ladies put together challenges that involve everybody
having a really good soaking, but there is more to their challenges
than just that. Although most of the children enjoy getting
drenched they are also having to perform tasks like making
and crossing a bridge that they have made using team work.
Every person must cross the bridge and this can take a lot
of great team encouragement.
All challenges that are set up are risk assessed
by profession people to ensure that no obvious injury can be
sustained by any member of each school or volunteers. They
also risk assess to enable and encourage all children that
take part in the event can at least attempt each challenge.
That goes for those who are also wheel chair bound, each is
encouraged to use their team to find a way to complete the
task as a whole team.
Each year a new theme is dreamt up by the
challenge team, one usually that may have relevance to that
year, they have run along themes such as battle of Trafalgar.
This years theme was European Union, and Local Aid would really
like to thank all those embassies across Europe and the European
business centres in both Cardiff and Carmathen for supplying
so many leaflets, flags, bags. Banners and maps that would
go towards both decorating the welcome marquee and also allowing
Local Aid to supply each school with a bag of useful information
about the Europe that they live in.
So another successful year with 52
schools involving 1500 school children and over 300 volunteers
I am sure that the next schools challenge is already being
talked about, and that more people will be willing to give
up a small amount of time to help out.
As the children fly down through the trees
in their well adapted death slide and are clambering over and
under huge cargo nets, their enthusiasm and pleasure of such
freedom that they can achieve such difficult tasks, many of
whom may not have attempted such feets away from their parents.
Then seeing the wide eyed reality that they have just completed
a challenge that they may have seen as being beyond their capability,
is the reason that Local Aid puts on this event year after
year.
Schools Challenge 2010
The dates have been confirmed as June 21st - 25th for the School’s
Challenge. The theme will be Celebrating Innovation
Schools Involved in
Schools Challenge 2009
Click here for a list of the
Schools involved in last year's event
Schools Challenges Photos
To view the School's Challenge Photo Gallery click here.
