The Lancasterian school in West Didsbury recently had their dreams come true with the delivery of 14 specially adapted trikes.

The trikes were donated as part of our ongoing purpose, to enrich the lives of children and young people with serious and life limiting conditions by directly supporting those living in the hardest to reach areas of the UK.

The school provides quality, inclusive education for pupils aged 3 – 16yrs with a wide range of special educational needs including physical difficulties, complex medical conditions, and communication needs.

The trikes will give the children an opportunity to experience the freedom of movement in safety and comfort as they have been custom built in a range of sizes and configurations to match the individual needs of the children.

Before receiving their special delivery, the school’s only access to similar activities was during group trips where the children would visit Wythenshawe Wheelers who provide trike sessions locally to the school.

The 14 new trikes suit every ability and are for use across all ages at the school. They are invaluable, can be used both indoors and outdoors, and will give many, many years of enjoyment, exercise, and mental stimulation. They are very important for play, enrichment activity and developing coordination, all now available without pupils having to leave the school.

The delivery of this dream was made possible by contributions from the local community in Manchester, and generous grants by the Kentown Wizard Foundation and The Hargreaves Foundation.

The delivery of the specially adapted trikes to the school was attended by representatives of the Dreams Come True Charity, Tomcat, teachers, parents and Governors all there to see the children’s first experience of their brand-new trikes.

Headteacher, Alison Randall, told us, “In recent years our school council has asked for more equipment in the playground, specifically bikes for all the pupils to ride.  Our pupils have a range of physical and learning difficulties which mean they need to use a range of different adapted bikes.   The delivery of 14 adapted Tomcat bikes as indeed made everyone’s ‘dream come true’.

Since we have received our bikes, it has made everyone smile.  Staff were excited at the anticipation of seeing the pupils explore the bikes.  They were not disappointed, the pupils rushed out at the first playtime to see all the bikes.  They have been used every playtime and lunchtime since we received them.   Most of our pupils are able to ride a bike and the freedom they have to play, race and exercise with their friends is amazing.

The bikes have added a new dimension to our enrichment curriculum and our holistic offer.  We can provide more of our pupils with a different leisure experience than they have had before.  We now also have another activity for our pupils to meet their physical targets, there are so many outcomes that can be met through the bikes.  I can’t wait to see how much more progress and enjoyment the pupils will get from our new bikes.”

Richard Ashton, CEO of Dreams Come True Charity commented, “It’s fantastic we have managed to bring so much joy to such an incredibly deserving school, and that we’ve been able to make such a tangible difference to some amazing children and young people’s lives, both now and for many years to come”.

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