Councillors on East Renfrewshire’s education committee found out that dreams really do come true.

For at their first meeting back after the summer, they found out about the success of the annual ‘dreams come true’ weekend in Lochgoilhead.

The annual event is organised for senior pupils at Isobel Mair School, East Renfrewshire’s only school for children with additional support needs, and pupils with additional support needs in mainstream secondary schools. For some pupils the outdoor adventure will count towards their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.

The pupils are accompanied by ‘buddies’ from each of the seven East Renfrewshire secondary schools.

The weekend, at the National Outdoor Centre at Lochgoilhead saw 36 young people with additional support needs and their ‘buddies’ go to the centre and take part in team building games and outdoor activities. The experiences they shared included hiking, rock hopping, sailing, canoeing, abseiling and orienteering and camping.

For the first time a group of pupils with more complex needs went along, and the weekend gave them their first taste of spending time on holiday with young people their own age and the opportunity to push boundaries and try new skills.

Isobel Mair pupil Stuart Cherry said: “For the first time I went hiking, and took a stick because it felt better to use a stick. I learned how to put up a tent and slept in a tent for the first time, and learned how to work together with others.”

East Renfrewshire education convener, Councillor Elaine Green, said: “We were lucky enough to hear first-hand from some of the pupils and their buddies from Woodfarm High about their experiences and the range of fun activities everyone got involved in at Lochgoilhead. Dreams Come True is an excellent event each year and I’d like to thank all of our organisers and the buddies for making it such a worthwhile, rewarding and enriching experience for everyone involved.”