Story added: 15th October 2013

City striker meets pupils and teachers at the Hall School

Canaries striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel paid a visit to a local school in Norwich to open a sensory garden for the pupils, who all have significant and complex needs.

The garden, at the Hall School in Old Catton, was designed and created by young people who took part in the National Citizen Service scheme in the summer and Ricky received a tour of the garden and met the pupils who will benefit from the new facility.

Thanks to a £400 grant from the Community Sports Foundation’s Sporting Light Appeal, the young people were able to purchase the materials they needed to renovate the area and install fixtures such as wind chimes, a sandpit and a sound tube.

Ricky was impressed with project and was pleased that he could play his part:

“A lot of work has been put into this and it looks great. The kids enjoy it, which is the most important thing.

“The kids seemed really happy showing me around the garden and with me being there. It was lovely to be there.

“Football players and football clubs have to set an example, and to do something like this together with the Sporting Light Appeal is great.”

The Appeal raises money for disadvantaged and disabled people in Norfolk to enjoy the benefits of sport and has held fundraising events such as the Dean Ashton Golf Day, a Celebrity Football match and the Coastal Walk Challenge.

Fifteen young people worked on the Hall School project as part of the social action work period of their involvement with the National Citizen Service, which also sees them take part in two residential camps.