Warrington Disability Day
On Tuesday 11th July, several students from Bridgewater and other schools went to a Warrington Disability Day talk.
- There are over 35,000 disabled people in Warrington (17%).
- 17,000 severe / 18,000 minor limitations for people in day to day life.
- Around 10,000 Blue Badge holders.
- Approximately 5,000 wheelchair users.
- There are over 20,000 carers in Warrington alone.
- It costs up to three times as much to raise a disabled child as it does to raise a child with no disabilities.
Did you know this?
On Tuesday 11th July, some Year 7 and 8 pupils from Bridgewater High school went to a talk about Warrington Disability Day 2017 held in Walton Gardens. Several other schools attended and so the day commenced.
The founder of ‘DAD’ Dave Thompson MBE DL began by talking about the event and how the foundation first came about. Since Thompson first came up with the idea, it has become an annual event each year. Warrington Disability partnership now has the largest disability awareness day in Europe.
There was an interactive game played with students as they attempted to guess the piece of equipment that helps a disabled person in everyday life and it was a fun and engaging game for all.
Personal experiences by Tom Coleridge and John Balashore (see picture above) were shared later on in the day about their disabilities. Pupils attending learned about the different types of disabilities – learning, sensory, mental and physical – and what types Tom and John had.
When the closing remarks were made everyone was sad to have to go. Bridgewater pupils have said “It was really interesting and I’m going to ask if I can go to the ‘DAD’ event on Sunday,” as well as “I had so much fun! I learned so much”.
Make sure to go to the Warrington Disability day in Walton Gardens on Sunday and if you miss it, there’s always next year!
Written by Emmi W, Year 8 press team.
A special thank you to Dave Thompson, Tom Coleridge and John Balashore.
