First Merseyside Schools' 'Paralympic' Games

Local specialist educational needs sports college, Lansbury Bridge Special School, in partnership wi

First Merseyside Schools' 'Paralympic' Games

*Six counties join forces for local disability sports day*

Local specialist educational needs sports college, Lansbury Bridge Special School, in partnership with Select Education, hosted Merseyside's first indoor Disability Sports Day for schools on Tuesday 12th. The day utilised the principles of 'Sportshall Athletics' an inclusive, indoor programme to introduce young people to the joy of athletics to deliver the sporting event for disabled 11-16 year olds.

The six county areas of St Helens, Knowsley, Sefton, Liverpool, Wirral and Halton each invited 12 of their best young disabled athletes to compete on the day; testing their sporting prowess in a variety of events held in the specialist sports facilities at Lansbury Bridge Special School, with the Liverpool team walking away as the overall winning team.

Cllr Sheila Seddon, the mayor of St Helens, opened the sports event where the talented winners in each category not only benefited from the specialist sports surroundings, but also got the chance to meet one of their heroes, the 2004 Paralympic Games silver medallist Mark Eccleston.

Eccleston presented the gold, silver and bronze medals to the young athletes with needs ranging from physical disabilities to severe learning difficulties in over 30 sporting events including javelin throwing, relays and long jumps. Talking about the event, Eccleston said, 'It's so important to encourage and invest in our young athletes irrelevant of their physical ability. The sporting competence exercised during the events was astounding and it was an absolute joy to be a part of something so special.'

MBE and founder of Sportshall Athletics, George Bunner attended the event and commented, 'Inclusivity and accessibility are at the core of Sportshall Athletics. The concept was born to make athletic events possible within a sports hall, and therefore more appealing on a cold winter night. It's been delightful to see how Landsbury Bridge Special School and Select Education have adapted the philosophy to make such a variety of athletic events available to pupils who may not have the access or opportunities to sporting facilities that every child should.'

Ken Andrews, from Lansbury Bridge Special School in St Helen's, added, 'Having received specialist sports college status earlier this year, we wanted to share our sports hall facilities with other budding disabled athletes in the Merseyside area. The success of the event in our dedicated setting is testament to the need for such a school in the area, and, in partnership with Select Education, we were delighted to have been able to share its benefits and hope to continue to do so.'

John Whelan, SEN recruitment consultant, Select Education Liverpool concluded, 'Through our partnership with Lansbury Bridge Special School, we wanted to create an event to celebrate the wealth of sporting ability we have in this country and, hopefully, find our next Paralympic champions! It was a brilliant day to display the talent that these children have, none of which would be possible without the specialist sports status of Lansbury Bridge Special School or it's commitment to providing sporting opportunities to these pupils.'