HRH The Princess Royal visits Victoria Education Centre

Comms Team

19/12/13

HRH The Princess Royal visited Livability’s Victoria Education Centre (VEC), Poole, Dorset, on 10 December 2013 to celebrate the recent completion and launch of its new hydrotherapy pool.

VEC students and staff had put together an exciting programme of activities for the event including a disco light show at the pool, a table cricket demonstration and a visit of the school’s radio station suite.

Chris Davies, VEC Principal, said:  “We are delighted to welcome again HRH The Princess Royal to our school. Her Royal Highness launched the start of the building works for the pool a year and a half ago and we are really proud to now be able to show her this fantastic new addition to our facilities. Our state of the art hydrotherapy pool is already making a real difference to the well-being of our students and we would also like to thank everyone who donated  to our Sparkle Appeal for their generosity.”

Livability conducted a Capital Appeal at VEC, the Sparkle Appeal, to put the sparkle into life for its young disabled students by building  an exciting suite of state of the art integrated therapy facilities. Phase I of the appeal, £2.8m for a new hydrotherapy pool, is now complete.  The pool opened in September and is already proving a great hit.

The aim was to:

• Replace the outmoded old pool that was no longer coping with the number of students we wanted to offer aqua therapy to; tackle the issues of the ageing or no longer working facilities such as temperature control of water, lack of comfort cooling, inadequate changing rooms and old hoist equipment
• Install a full range of sensory equipment to stimulate children with profound needs including amazing lighting effects, glitter balls and film projections
• Provide greater resource for more students of all ages, including those with the most complex needs, some life-limiting, some presenting unique medical challenges
• Provide more community resource for other disabled children and adults as well as for non-disabled young learner
• Install a new hoist system will move students directly from the changing rooms to the pool and into the water in one comfortable, dignified move.

The appeal could not have succeeded without the generosity of those who donated funds to Livability.

Livability would especially like to thank the many individuals, groups, companies and charitable trusts nationally and locally including Mr John Marston MBE, The CW White Discretionary Fund, the Hobson Charity Ltd, the Bernard Sunley Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, The Madeline Mabey Trust, The Henry Smith Charity, the Peter Harrison Foundation and the Talbot Village Trust.