Christmas came early for pupils of an award-winning Llandudno special needs school when local builders turned Santa to deliver a special present.
The North Wales branch of the Federation of Master Builders donated an iPad to Ysgol Y Gogarth on the last day of terms.
The chairman of the branch, Gareth Jones, Managing Director of renewable energy firm Carbon Zero UK, said: “We were looking for a good cause to donate to this year and one of our members suggested the school.
“They do such fantastic work for so many children that we were happy to make the money available to buy an iPad and it is an ideal donation for them as they can make so much use of it.”
The school caters for 170 pupils aged from three to 19 with special needs and has won a host of awards for its work, including the International School and Eco School awards.
Deputy Head Teacher Patrick Roberts said: “We’re really grateful and I know the iPad will be put to good use.
“They are perfect for us because they’re portable and they’re very flexible and they have a special case so they’re even bounceable.
“There are special apps we can get for them with a range of special systems for people with communication difficulties and many children find it easier to use technology than conventional methods of communicating with pens and paper.
“We can also use them across subject areas and as tools for children to communicate – there are endless opportunities to use them in the school.
“They’re portable and easily handled so children can carry them around and use them for communication and to access all sorts of information and they can even use them outdoors which is impossible with a conventional PC and even difficult with laptops.
“We really appreciate when people take the time to come and do something for us and it’s great that the FMB have become involved and nominated us as their charity for the year.”
FMB member Peter Ekins, of NRS Roofing, whose daughter, Francesca, works at the school as a classroom assistant, said: “I’ve heard about the fantastic work the school does and Francesca really enjoys it there.
“They do so much good work with the pupils that they really deserve our support and I was glad to be able to nominate them.”
