Rydal Penrhos Year 3 pupils recently helped celebrate the grand opening of the new Sense Hub in Denbigh.
Recently, we were thrilled to announce Rydal Penrhos’ partnership with Sense, a charity dedicated to supporting individuals who are deafblind or have complex disabilities. Sense has been at the forefront of providing personalized support for over 65 years, with centres and colleges in communities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Rydal Penrhos’ partnership with Sense, which will span the entirety of the 2023/24 academic year, is part of the school’s ongoing commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of others. Rydal Penrhos is itself a registered charity, advancing the education and learning of children and young people.
However, the school also regularly supports other charities and non-profit organisations. This includes both local bodies, such as Ty Gobaith, as well as vast national and international charities like Blind Veterans UK, Children in Need, and the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
On Friday 12 May, Rydal Penrhos Prep pupils marked our new charity partnership with an event unlike any other! On a sunny morning in Denbigh, our Year 3 pupils gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new Sense Hub. Our pupils were in full costume as knights, adorned with tunics, helmets, and swords, and joined forces with adult knights, some of whom were on horseback, to create a remarkable procession that marched from the Hub to historic Denbigh Castle.
Passers-by couldn’t help but be captivated by the sight of the medieval knights making their way along the country lanes. On their return, the pupils were entertained by the Conwy Jester, whose impressive tricks left the young audience in awe. The highlight of the day came when two adult knights engaged in a thrilling sword fight, showcasing their skill to our captivated audience of pupils.
Rydal Penrhos would like to take this opportunity to thank Sense for inviting us to join in the celebrations. The new Sense Hub is a much-needed resource for anybody needing support with hearing impairments, vision impairments, physical disability, autism and learning disabilities, no matter their age.
This is not the first time that Rydal Penrhos has supported one of Sense’s launches. In March this year, Sixth Form pupils and staff, including Deputy Head Girl Elodie Commissaris, Eco Committee Head Ellise Wallace and Prep teacher Mrs Merrick, visited Sense’s Llandudno location to lend their support to parent, alumnus and Sense fundraiser Rob Lloyd (RS 1976-81), as he launched a campaign to collect 10,000 bags of clothing for the charity’s stores.
Rydal Penrhos has done its upmost to support Rob in his incredible work for Sense over the past few years. For those who are unaware, in 2020 Rob began his ‘Senseless Challenge‘, a twelve-month initiative which saw Rob complete a different fundraising feat each month.
In September 2021, as part of the challenge, Rob ran a charity marathon that began and ended at Rydal Penrhos. The alumnus was joined for the first mile by pupils young and old before receiving a hero’s welcome from our school community as he completed the final part of his marathon later that afternoon.
Rydal Penrhos looks forward to further championing Sense’s important work as the new partnership continues to grow. Admissions and Marketing Manager Maria McLean said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Sense for the coming academic year, having already worked with Rob Lloyd over a number of different events. I am sure our pupils, parents and staff will show their usual enthusiasm in supporting this excellent cause.”
Our next collaboration will be at Rydal Penrhos’ annual whole-school Walkathon in July; a wonderful day out for our pupils in (hopefully) sunny weather, and one which is made all the better by the worthy cause which it supports.
