A million reasons to be happy

8:00am Friday 18th July 2008

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YEARS of hard work by thousands of fundraisers is starting to pay off for a very special Hereford school.

Builders this week arrived at Barrs Court School to start work on its new £1 million hydrotherapy pool.

Trustees of the Hydrosense Appeal, launched by the school in 2004 through the Hereford Times, have appointed Spicers and Buckingham Pools as the main contractors.

It is hoped the pool, which incorporates an interactive performing arts studio, will be officially unveiled in December.

Almost £1 million has been raised in the past four years, but the school is to carry on fundraising in order to finance any unforeseen expenses and to subsidise pool running costs for a few months until it becomes self-sufficient.

“During school hours, the facilities will be used by children from Herefordshire special schools and, out of school hours, by children and adults who have special needs,” said headteacher Richard Aird.

“New changing facilities will mean that children and adults can be changed in comfort and transported via a trackway hoisting system directly into the water or, alternatively, wheeled onto the level deck pool floor in a stainless steel wheelchair and have the floor lowered to their preferred depth.

“The interactive performing arts studio will incorporate interactive light and sound beams so that profoundly disabled children and children who have severe autism can compose music, change ambient lighting systems and share in dramatic performances simply by breaking a beam of light or sound beam.

“Light and dark areas will be able to be screened off so even the most profoundly disabled child will have the opportunity to perform in a strictly controlled environment that is properly empathetic to instances of combined physical and sensory impairment.”

Mr Aird said the school would like to thank the owners of TGS Bowling for allowing staff to park on the premises while work is carried out.