FRIENDS of a North Yorkshire school have thrown themselves in to a new fundraising initiative to immerse a new therapy pool in 21st century technology.
Pupils, parents, teaching staff and invited guests joined in the celebrations at The Dales School, Morton-on-Swale, to officially open the newly refurbished £70,000 Hydro Duck pool project and launch the next phase of the school scheme.
The new Techno Duck Appeal is set to raise an additional £40,000 towards the cost of new changing facilities, toilets and bringing waterside light and sound technology to enhance the poolside learning environment for students with complex needs.
Cutting the official ribbon on the new facility at the Splash and Hatch event, campaigning MP for Richmond Rishi Sunak said: “It is wonderful to be here to celebrate the opening of The Dales School hydro pool.
“The Dales School is a very special place where amazing care and consideration is given to all students and where their dreams and aspirations can flourish and I’m sure that everyone will support the new Techno Duck appeal to help enhance these new facilities even further.”
Invited guests were treated to a buffet and refreshments prepared and served by Northallerton Young Farmers and entertained with a sing-a-long by the Northallerton Variety Company.
Secretary of the Northallerton Variety Company Maureen Willoughby said: “Our group celebrates its 40th anniversary next year and for the past four decades we have been supporting The Dales School in all of its fundraising efforts.
“We helped to raise money for the school’s first hydro pool so it has been great to be involved in the project to refurbish the facility and now once again to help by fundraising to equip it with new technology and changing rooms.”
Assistant headteacher Anne Baker said: “We had a phenomenal response to our first Hydro Duck appeal with all of the £70,000 being raised by the local community through a variety of fundraising schemes, including cake sales, sporting events and dressing in yellow days.
“We hope that everyone will now get behind us once again for our new Techo Duck phase to enable us to provide an even more exciting experience for our students using sound and visual effects to stimulate their learning.”
The new campaign will be driven by Techno Duck, a toy mascot who will continue in the footsteps of Hydro Duck by travelling the world to raise the profile of the appeal.
For more information on the appeal and how to help contact annebaker@thedalesschool.org or visit the website at www.thedalesschool.org or the Friends’ Facebook page.