SELF-CONFIDENCE and leadership skills will be honed when a team of eight youngsters from Manor Park Special School in Worcester compete against more than 200 other teams in the 2006 Kielder Challenge.

The challenge is a national competition for teams of 13 to 16 year olds with and without learning, sensory and physical disabilities and aims to integrate youngsters in an outdoor environment. Students from Manor Park Special School in Turnpike Close, Oldbury Road, Worcester, will take part in a day-long heat in the spring where they will compete in a series of interactive games promoting teamwork and integration between team members.

The games will remain a secret until the heat itself, but have in the past included completing giant jigsaw puzzles and negotiating rope mazes.

The project is supported by HSBC Education Trust and managed by outdoor access charity, Fieldfare Trust.

Dame Mary Richardson, the chief executive of the HSBC Education Trust, said: "The Kielder Challenge successfully combines some of our most important objectives in supporting educational causes.

"It gives young people with and without disabilities the chance to compete on equal terms and promotes teamwork, leadership skills and a positive attitude.

"This is essential if a child is to develop self confidence, self esteem and achievement outside the classroom."

The top teams from the regional heats will win a place in the 2006 Kielder Challenge Grand Final which is to take place in Kielder Forest, Northumberland between Wednesday, September 20, and Sunday, September 24.

Manor Park School is set to close next year when Worcestershire County Council restructures special schools in the city.

The restructuring will see single primary and secondary special schools in Worcester.

Further information about the Kielder Challenge can be found at http://www.fieldfare. org.uk/kielder-challenge.htm or by calling 0115 9486926.