118. A Visit to Treloar’s

Treloar’s is a very special place. It is a residential special needs school, based in Alton, Hampshire. It was established by Lord Mayor Treloar in 1907, so it is 110 years old.

Our Company, and our charity (The Water Conservation Trust) have established an ongoing relationship with the school, by raising funds, providing practical support and using the schools printing service to produce stationery, Christmas cards and our publications.

We were invited to attend the school earlier this week where we met many of the inspirational staff and pupils. We had a couple of very pleasant tasks to perform. Firstly we formally opened the new garden water feature – the sight, sounds and smells in this garden are crucial in developing the well being of the pupils. Secondly we handed over a cheque for £1,280 – the proceeds from our collection at the Myddelton Lunch held at the Mansion House in January.

We were treated to a tour of the very impressive facilities including another sensory garden, the engineering support group (who build key pieces of kit for individual pupils), the technology department (which was incredibly well endowed with IT equipment of every kind) and the printing unit (where we saw the many pieces of equipment operated by the pupils in this commercial operation). All incredibly impressive.

Many thanks to all the staff at Treloar’s for a memorable and inspirational visit.

Photographs show me on arrival (in the courtyard adjacent to reception), Mike Williamson (Thames Warden) and I cutting the ribbon to open the garden, pupil Ryan excitedly enjoying the new water feature, and handing over the cheque to Jon (head of fundraising)