CHILDREN from Foulford Primary School, in Cowdenbeath, were given a glimpse of life in a wheelchair, while one of their classmates stole the show on an eventful day.

Go Kids Go, a specialist national charity which provides training and advice to wheelchair users and their families, went into the school to help raise awareness about how children, such as pupil, Matthew Robson, cope in their day-to-day lives using a wheelchair.

Matthew (9), has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair in school, but this is the first time his classmates have been able to understand the kinds of challenges he faces.

Headteacher, Yvonne Allan, believes the day was a success and opened the eyes of many of the pupils. “We got this opportunity and it was very good for the students to be aware of things they take for granted,” she said.

“They absolutely loved it. It was lots of fun but also serious too, and they understand a lot more about the difficulties wheelchair users face every day.” Games and races featured as part of the day, with Matthew winning every time! The children were also taught how to do ‘wheelies’ in order to get up onto kerbs, and many of them had never realised how much of a struggle some of these tasks were that Matthew makes look so easy.

“I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone who has wheelchair users in their schools,” said Mrs Allan.

“It totally brought home how difficult it can be. Matthew loved it - he was beaming all the time. He listened all the time to what was being said and was proud of himself. It was a very positive experience.”