People who attend Pencalenick School describe how it's a life changer

Tindle News

People who attend Pencalenick School describe how it's a life changer.

Transcript

00:00We've asked a parent, a current student and a former student for their opinion on the potential

00:06closure of Pencalynic School's boarding facility. This video is only a snapshot of the depth of

00:14feeling and concern that many people have with the possibility of this facility being lost.

00:22Hi, I'm Lynn. My son went to Pencalynic from the age of 11 to 16 and he used to board initially

00:28a couple of nights a week and then as he got to year 10-11 he boarded four nights a week.

00:34I think it's a really important facility for young people. It gives them the opportunity

00:38to grow in confidence. It teaches them independent living skills so they have to

00:43make sure that their bedrooms are tidy, make their beds, they get the opportunity to cook

00:48and to prepare meals for themselves under supervision. They get the opportunity to

00:52take part in after-school activities that aren't always accessible to those with additional needs

00:58in a mainstream school if they need an extra level of support. It enables them to have friendships

01:06with like-minded individuals. It helps them to engage with lots of other adults that they

01:12perhaps wouldn't encounter if they were just at home and more importantly or perhaps as importantly

01:19it gives us as parents a break, a much-needed break because sometimes our young people can be

01:24very difficult and challenging and just to have that opportunity to have some breathing space

01:30in the week so that we can recharge our batteries and be fully functional to help them through the

01:35weekend is a really much much needed facility. Solo winner. Tell me, where do you go to school?

01:43Panhellenic. And what's your favourite thing about Panhellenic school?

01:49Boarding. Why's that? Because spending time with your friends and going out to the park

01:59and the beach and the shops. Okay and what kind of thing do you do when you don't

02:10go out to the shops or the beach? We play games and chat. And chat, yes.

02:22Play cricket. So you do sports, yeah? Yeah. And is it fun? Yeah. Yeah? And tell me what would you do

02:29if you didn't do boarding? Would you do any of these things? No. Why's that? Because all my friends

02:38live so far away. And do you only get to see them at school? Yeah. Yeah, so you don't have any

02:44friends at home, do you? No. So you'd be at home really? Yeah. Yeah, okay. And when you hear that

02:50they're thinking about closing the boarding, how does that make you feel? Sad. Sad, yeah. And you

02:56don't want it to close, do you? No. We don't want it to close because we know you're having such a

03:00brilliant time. Yeah. Yeah, all right. Thank you, Llywelyn. I'm Jack. I went to Penclin school

03:08and boarded for, well, initially it was one night and then I moved to two nights, which I found to

03:15be very important and helpful for me to learn independent living skills, like for example

03:23doing my own washing and making my bed and also making different sorts of foods, doing like

03:29making meals. And I also found it important because I didn't really have many other friends

03:33outside of school at this time, so it was really nice that I could extend, like have a longer day

03:42because at the end of school, if I wasn't bored and I was just thinking I'm going to go home,

03:47what am I actually going to do? And so it reduced my anxiety because I knew I had friends I could

03:53see. It helped me to learn better because I knew I wouldn't have to travel, which would tire me out

03:59and then I wouldn't be able to concentrate as much. And then for the family, it's probably

04:06very important because it gave us all a bit of respite, just have a fresh new environment for

04:11when I came back. And I tried lots of different things, which I wouldn't normally do, like

04:15we went for lots of nice walks. Everyone was really nice and yeah, it was just a nice little,

04:21I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but like a little family, it was nice. We would have

04:27the opportunity to help with things around school. For example, at Christmas, we could help

04:32put up the Christmas tree and stuff, which was kind of nice because it felt like you're actually

04:36contributing to help the school. I was quite upset too because it is very important and

04:45I know for me and lots of my peers who boarded, it was very important. So those who are there now,

04:52I don't think it's fair that they're going to miss out on the opportunity because

04:58it's a big part of my school experience. I was quite upset because it's like a very

05:06important part of my time there.

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