CATCOTE Academy’s annual summer fair this month will act as the official opening of a wonderful new outdoor space for the community to enjoy.

The Hartlepool school, which caters for students with special educational and physical needs, wants people to come along and experience its new Outdoor Fitness and Learning Zone (OFALZ).

As well as providing the perfect place on the Catcote Road site for those already at the Academy, the OFALZ is also open to bookings from outside groups across the town.

It is the ideal facility to develop new skills or to take part in physical activity, with Catcote Academy inviting anyone interested to head along to the summer fair on Saturday, July 16 to experience it.

Lisa Greig, Catcote Academy’s head teacher, said: “We are really proud of what has been achieved with this fantastic area that everyone can benefit from.

“Whether it is local scout groups, holistic therapists, private nurseries or even fitness boot camp leaders, we believe our Outdoor Fitness and Learning Zone is suitable for a wide-range of people across our town."

“That was the aim when we went through the process of planning and building the zone. Yes, we wanted it to help us deliver a high quality, relevant and balanced education for all our students, but we also wanted to open it up for the benefit of the community as a whole.”

The OFALZ has been specifically designed for children, young people and adults with learning difficulties and disabilities in mind.

But having successfully raised the £443,000 required to build it through funding from Sport England, Wolfson Foundation, Bailey Thomas Trust, Garfield Weston and James Knott, Catcote wants parents, friends and local groups to know they can use it too.

The zone includes a wheelchair friendly track, an alternative rough track that can be used by more able runners, an assault course and two junior football pitches.

There is also outdoor gym equipment, sensory play and environmental learning areas, an outdoor classroom area complete with fire pit and an area for forest school and Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

To have a look at the OFALZ head to Catcote’s summer fair where there will be entertainment including face painting, stilt walkers, live music and a DJ to get everyone in the party spirit with a load of activities for visitors to enjoy.

There will be an opportunity to make bird feeders, go on scavenger hunts, listen to story-telling and toast marshmallows.

And there will also be food and craft stalls to keep everyone occupied on a day when Catcote Academy is keen to promote the brilliant work that goes on as well as highlight what the exciting new learning zone has to offer.

Lisa added: “It should be a fantastic day and it will be nice for the people of Hartlepool to come along and see what we are about at Catcote Academy. Hopefully the sun will shine too!

“We have secondary, post-16 and post-19 students at one of our three Catcote sites across the town who are familiar with what we provide, but we hope our fair will also show others how we are focused on enhancing the life opportunities for young people as they move into the adult word.”

Catcote’s summer fair is on Saturday, July 16 between 11am-2pm and is open to visitors.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054