Masked Singer contestant Alex Brooker supports SEN pupils
TV star Alex Brooker supported over 100 pupils with disabilities and special needs at an inclusive sports competition in Halifax last week.
Alex, presenter of Channel 4's The Last Leg and Paralympics coverage and recent runner-up in ITV's The Masked Singer, visited Calderdale College in a competition run by the charity Panathlon.
Alex was born with congenital abnormalities of his hands and arm, and a twisted right leg which was amputated when he was a baby.
At school in South London, he joined in with PE with his mainstream peers and admits it was "always a struggle because everyone else was more able than me."
Every year, Panathlon gives over 60,000 young people with disabilities and special needs the opportunity to take part in competitive sport in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
At this week’s event in Halifax, pupils from the 14 competing schools around Calderdale revelled in the rare opportunity to compete on a level playing field and represent their school.
"I would've loved to have had something like Panathlon when I was at school," said Alex, 40, who lives in Huddersfield.
"I remember coming last in everything at sports day because I was lumped in with everyone else. I think it's so important to give all these kids an opportunity to take part in a proper, fair competition and not feel like they are struggling."
Alex first saw a Panathlon competition in London in 2013 and immediately became an ambassador for the charity.
Since then, he has raised £25,000 for Panathlon on a celebrity edition of ITV show The Chase and £15,500 on Celebrity Catchphrase.
"I loved Panathlon the very first time I saw it," he said.
"You've got to bear in mind that the world of disability is a very broad church.
"To put on a sporting event that is accessible to everyone is incredibly difficult - take it from me as someone who has covered three Paralympics!
"So for Panathlon to have given 60,000 kids up and down the country these experiences last year alone is incredible."
Alex was able to witness first hand the impact it has on pupils with disabilities and special needs in Halifax, where he couldn't resist joining in at the 10-pin bowling, new age kurling and flight path activity stations.
There were 102 children at the primary and Xtend events at Calderdale College.
The previous day there were another two primary Panathlon events at the college with 114 children involved.
Six-year-old Grayson Winter, from Dean Field Pri