A businessman has been praised as ‘amazing’ by the headteacher of a special education needs school which is trying to raise £2m for a new hydrotherapy pool.

Hadrian School in Newcastle’s West End looks after primary aged children with serve and complex disabilities and needs to raise £2m to install a new hydrotherapy pool and community disability hub on its site.

Headteacher Chris Rollings has praised one local businessman who has helped raise millions for the school so far.

Rob Armstrong, a businessman and entrepreneur from Newcastle has been fundraising for the special needs school for 20 years, when he first helped by replacing stolen computers.

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He also helped Hadrian School raise £1.4m just four years ago to help it build its Rebound Therapy Centre which was named in his honour.

Now the businessman has pledged to help raise £2million to install the hydrotherapy pool and disability hub for the school.

The hub would allow disabled people in the North East to take part in wheelchair sports, disability pilates, yoga, swimming and provide a place to socialise.

Head Teacher Chris Rollings said: “The amount Rob has raised and pledged so far is remarkable. His vision for our school is taking us to a new level in the care, education, and welfare of our pupils and the wider disabled community.

“We are holding a special assembly in honour of Rob and his friends on Friday, July 8, to show him how much we appreciate his kindness.”

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In May, Rob hosted a fund-raising ball which raised a massive £250,000 towards the £2million target.

The ball was hosted by TV star Jeremy Kyle with fundraising messages from celebrities including Piers Morgan, Peter Andre, Chris Tarrant, Eammon Holmes and a host of Newcastle United stars.

Since then, the region’s business community has pledged another £750,000, taking the fundraising total to £1 million.

Rob Armstrong said: “The work that Chris and his team do at Hadrian is amazing and it is my goal to help them to create the regions’ best Community Disability Hub for the benefit of everyone needing its facilities.

“We have a fantastic business community here and the dream of a Community Disability Hub is fast becoming a reality.”

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