The Lake District Calvert Trust has highlighted the positive impact of bursary funding after hosting sixty students from a special needs school in Newcastle.

To combat the financial pressures facing visitors, the Lake District Calvert Trust utilises bursary money awarded by generous benefactors. 100% of this funding is passed on to guests, enabling those who require financial assistance to receive direct financial support towards the total cost of their break.

Demonstrating the point point, sixty students from Percy Hedley School in Newcastle recently benefitted from a much-needed activity break at Calvert Lakes thanks to the support of Newcastle-based family charitable trust, The LGA Foundation.

The LGA Foundation is a family charitable trust established by Sue and John Reece MBE who are passionate about supporting local people. The foundation aims to support organisations that are involved with improving the health and wellbeing of others. The LGA Foundation granted £10,000 to the Lake District Calvert Trust to ensure people with disabilities from the North East and North West regions are not excluded from the health and wellbeing benefits of accessible activity holidays due to financial difficulties. Both charities hope that this model of partnership working will provide a blueprint for others to follow.

Chair Sue Reece said: “Investing in health and wellbeing is very important to us - whether that be through helping to address food poverty, increasing access to mental health support, or creating more opportunities for people to enjoy sport and leisure activities.  We welcome grant applications to fund projects that offer assistance to those who need it most, from local grassroot organisations and community groups to well established charities in our area. On this occasion we extended our usual catchment area to the North West, where we have enjoyed rock climbing and fell walking for many years. We noticed the important work carried out by the Calvert Trust, so it was a great pleasure to be able to help them.”

Some of the beneficiaries of this bursary were the sixty pupils from Percy Hedley, an independent special needs school based in Newcastle that visited Calvert Lakes. They last had a residential trip away in 2019 and as an organisation set out to make a difference to the learning, wellbeing, and future life chances of children with additional needs. Pupils at the school have a range of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism, and speech and language disorders.

While in the Lake District, the school took part in a wide variety of activities including canoeing, ghyll scrambling, the high ropes course, indoor climbing, the big swing, as well as bushcraft, horse riding and walking in the local area.

Organiser Linda Clay said: “It has been a very difficult 3 years and we as a charity have been affected as so many others have - without the financial help we would be unable to offer this residential visit.  As many of our students live in different areas across the North East, opportunities to socialise with peers can be limited. The residential visit allows the students a chance to spend time with friends and develop social skills within an appropriate peer group.”

Without bursary funding, and the generosity of LGA, Percy Hedley School would certainly not have been able to attend due to the financial circumstances of many of the pupils, and the lasting memories and benefits of a residential stay at Calvert Lakes would never have been possible.

Said Sean Day, Centre Director at Calvert Lakes: “Bursary funding forms an integral part of our operation and enables us to offer help to people with disabilities who without it would not be able to take part in the specialised activities we provide.  With the cost-of-living crisis, demand is higher than ever as many schools, families and individuals struggle to fund that extra dimension to their lives that can make all the difference.  Prices at the centre are subsidised by our own fund-raising efforts, but are still beyond the means of some organisations, families or individuals who would not be able to attend without the extra help from bursary funding. This has become of paramount importance in the current national situation. Our ability to continue to provide much needed respite, and a safe and secure place for people with disabilities to enjoy the unique services we provide, has never been more important.”