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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.
The dates have been confirmed as June 16-20th for the School’s Challenge.
Click here for a list of the Schools involved in this year's event
To view the School's Challenge Photo Gallery click here.
Terry Richardson on terrance.richardson@ntlworld.com |
