Royal Blind School Rises to the Challenge in National Competition

Royal Blind
School
RISEs TO THE CHALLENGE IN
NATIONAL COMPETITION

A team of eight
teenagers from The Royal Blind School, Edinburgh, have overcome stiff opposition to reach the Grand
Finals of the 2009 Fieldfare Kielder Challenge next week.

Having beaten
competition from more than 200 teams at the recent regional heats, the Royal Blind School will now travel to Kielder Water and Forest Park in Northumberland to take part in
a series of large scale problem solving and team-building
activities set in and around the picturesque location.

The Grand Final is
split into two two-day finals between 23rd to 27th September. The Cup Final
sees the top six regional winners compete on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th
September, while the second place regional winners contest the Plate Final on
Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th.

The team, made up
of Jamie Fitchie, James Clegg, Lee Brunton, Gavin
Blaikie, Ewan Blaikie, Natasha Stevens, Saad Attieh and Stephen Clegg - scored highly in their region after taking part in a
regional heat in Scotland
and will now battle it out with five other teams competing in the Cup Final.

Inspirational
Paralympian and 800m gold-medal winner Danny Crates is lined-up to present the
Cup to the victors during a ceremony on the Sunday.

Fieldfare
Trust's director, Andy Johnson, commented:
"The finals are always an incredibly fulfilling experience for both our
volunteers and the teams. It's quite inspirational to see such a diverse
range of youngsters each offer their own unique qualities and skills to the
competition, while the confidence it instils in some of them is a total joy to
behold."

The Fieldfare Kielder Challenge, now in its 25th year, is a unique national outdoor adventure competition which integrates 13 to 16
year olds with and without physical, learning and sensory disabilities. It is
organised by leading UK
outdoor access charity, the Fieldfare Trust, and supported by HSBC in the
Community and the HSBC Global Education Trust.

At the Final,
teams will participate in six games each designed to test their teamwork,
communication and problem-solving skills, whilst
encouraging all team members to work together to gain the most points.

More than 40 HSBC
staff have volunteered their time for the Finals and will work alongside
Fieldfare Trust staff to run the games and act as team escorts.

Peter Bull, Head of HSBC in the Community and a team escort
himself, said: "The staff of HSBC have shown admirable dedication in
their continuing support for the Fieldfare Kielder Challenge, and having been a
volunteer myself for many years, I am delighted that so many others are
offering their time at the grand final - I'm sure that they will
find it to be a personally valuable and worthwhile experience."

For further information about the Fieldfare Kielder Challenge
logon to the website at www.fieldfarekielderchallenge.org.uk or call 01334 657978.

For further information, please contact:

Eve Parkin

Tel: 0115 9486901

Email: [email protected]