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| Meeting some of the young people at Burnley Campus on Day 148 of the BRIT 2012 mile walk |
I am continuing my walk through
the North West and today was a busy, but rewarding day as I got to visit three
very different institutions. The students I met were fantastic and even though
I was tired by the end of the day I was still excited from the conversations
I’d had with the students. I am always so honoured when young people choose to
share their personal stories with me, and it is those stories that remind me on
a daily basis of the need to build the BRIT Centre of Inspiration for our young
people in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
I started off Day 148 by visiting
Burnley Campus
The campus has state of the art facilities, along with a variety of services at
reasonable prices. There is an indoor sports hall, a fitness suite with up to
date cardio-vascular and resistance training machines, aerobic and dance
classes are offered along with a climbing wall. Outdoors there is a multi-use
games area and a flood lit all weather pitch.
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| Great fun spending time with the students at Burnley College |
In addition, there is a fully
serviced conference facility that has events and catering staff available to
meet the needs of clients. There is also a Children’s Centre, Multi Faith
Centre and Public Library offering services to the community. Not surprisingly,
Burnley Campus received the Best Community Hub Award in 2009.
My time at Burnley, while not as
long as I would have liked, was instructional and informative. I enjoyed
meeting the students and staff at the campus and appreciated hearing their
thoughts and suggestions for BRIT. All too soon I had to get in the BRIT
gifted Land Rover and drive to my next location.
Up next was Burnley College,
located close by. Burnley
College provides high quality sixth form, university and adult education.
The college combines a Sixth Form Centre, Skills and Adult Centre and a
University of Central Lancashire Campus in one iconic campus. I was impressed
with the careful thought and planning that went in to building the campus. The
environment was focused on in a way to insure the most successful and positive
learning outcomes for students. Truly impressive facilities and gave me some
ideas to incorporate into the BRIT Centre.
Even better was the opportunity
to meet with students and staff. A number of students turned out to walk with
me and I had great fun chatting with them about their studies and goals for the
future, unfortunately I was off again soon and on to my last and final stop of
the day.
My last stop on this busy Day 148
was the Ridgewood
Community High School which is a special school for boys and girls between
11 and 19 years of age with generic learning disabilities. According to their
prospectus the students all have special educational needs including:
Moderate, Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning difficulties, Autistic
Spectrum Disorder, Physical Disabilities, Language, Communication and
Interaction Difficulties and Sensory Impairment.
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| Wonderful Day 148 with Ridgewood Community High School in Burnley, Lancashire |
Ridgewood is co-located with Sir
John Thursby Community College in a purpose built campus to which they moved to
in 2009. Together they promote a culture of inclusive learning opportunities
that challenge and overcome existing barriers. A dedicated staff works together
to provide support to the students. The facilities are just outstanding
at Ridgewood and I was truly impressed with how well they integrate the
learning experiences of their students.
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| Meeting lots of very happy young people today includingAbdul at Ridgewood Community High School |
When I arrived at Ridgewood, I
was feeling quite tired and exhausted from my long day. My tiredness soon
evaporated with the warm and heartfelt welcome I received from the students and
staff. They were excited to be a part of the BRIT 2012 Challenge and their
enthusiasm, good spirits and energy soon picked up my flagging energy levels. I
had a fantastic time with everyone and was quite sad to go at the end of my
visit.
Buoyed by my fantastic Day 148
and the opportunity to meet such outstanding young people, dedicated teachers
and staff I found myself energized and excited.
End of Day 148 and 1013 miles to
go!
Best wishes,
Phil