Parents dive in to help pool... from 12,000ft!

Photo: Tim Bradley

Kingfisher School, Chadderton raising money for the swimming pool.

WHEN a Chadderton couple heard that their son’s school desperately needed funding for a new swimming pool they set about thinking how they could help.

Emma and Marc Brierley’s son Joseph, who is seven today, has loved swimming in the pool at Kingfisher School for the past few years.

However the 43-year-old pool has problems, poor changing facilities and difficulties with accessibility limiting its use by pupils at the Foxdenton Lane school.

The school has launched a “Big Splash campaign” and is aiming to raise the £500,000 it needs to replace it with a brand new £2.2million hydrotherapy pool for pupils.

The school has already received a large number of donations and pledges to fund a replacement but has urged parents and the local community to get involved with the appeal.

Emma said: “Joseph is severely autistic and there is not much that makes him very happy — but he absolutely loves swimming.

“To hear that the Kingfisher Pool is desperately in need of replacement and swimming sessions were limited was heartbreaking for me as a parent.

“We thought about how we can help and came up with the idea of doing a skydive.”

The couple, who are both aged 32, have signed up for a sponsored 12,000ft tandem skydive at the Black Knights Parachute Centre near Lancaster on February 14.

Emma, a dental practice manager, added: “We wanted it to be something big and scary for us to do and that seemed perfect.

“I’m a little bit nervous about it but at least I’ll have my husband with me and we’ll be in it together.

“As soon as we heard about the appeal we wanted to help the school. It has been phenomenal with Joseph and he loves Kingfisher.”

The school has also appealed for businesses to help sponsor the pool by signing up to platinum (£50,000), gold (£20,000), silver (£10,000) or bronze (£5,000) packages to sponsor the pool which will be in a new building at the front of school, making it easily available for non-pupils to use as well.

Kingfisher is also appealing for companies to help if they produce something which could be used in the construction.

Alternatively people can sponsor a tile for £100 or sponsor a particular piece of equipment.

To donate to Emma and Marc’s sponsored skydive visit https://mydonate. bt.com/events/parachute/257650