This is an amateur appeals film made in support of the Percy Hedley Centre School and Clinic as well as their Hostel and Workshop in Newcastle. A phantom passenger ride in a vehicle along a busy street opens the film. The vehicle passes a triangular road sign for a school. A blue mini-bus pulls into a driveway, a sign on one of the doors reads, ‘Percy Hedley School for Spastics. This Bus Was Presented By The (Chronicle …) Fund’ A sign outside one of the main buildings reads, ‘Percy Hedley...

This is an amateur appeals film made in support of the Percy Hedley Centre School and Clinic as well as their Hostel and Workshop in Newcastle. A phantom passenger ride in a vehicle along a busy street opens the film. The vehicle passes a triangular road sign for a school. A blue mini-bus pulls into a driveway, a sign on one of the doors reads, ‘Percy Hedley School for Spastics. This Bus Was Presented By The (Chronicle …) Fund’ A sign outside one of the main buildings reads, ‘Percy Hedley Centre School And Clinic’ Outside in the sunshine near an open doorway to a classroom, two boys play with a see-saw which uses a metal frame to rock backward and forwards, nearby two others play on a conventional see-saw. Other children gather in a corner of the building as their attention is taken with a rabbit hutch. A girl wearing a Brownie uniform, with the aid of a walking frame, walks past a classroom window. Two boys in Cub Scout uniforms, one pushed by the other in his wheelchair, make for a climbing net which is mounted on a metal frame. The boy who was pushing the wheelchair climbs the netting. The boy in the wheelchair stands up, grabs hold of the netting, and pulls himself up. Other boys join in with the exercise. A change of scene as a boy holds a large white rabbit while two girls stroke its fur. Along a window-lined corridor, a boy and a girl walk towards the camera, the girl uses a walking frame with support from the boy. In another room and assisted by staff, children play with a small sandbox. Small children entertain themselves with an oversized beach ball. A sign on a door reads, ‘Parent’s Day Room’, inside, a small dining table and comfortable lounge chairs furnish the room. Another room is equipped with beds and a cot. Another door sign reads, ‘Infants 1’, inside young children work at small desks. One boy sits at a typewriter, a girl places numbered cards over pictures of objects which depict the matching the number. Her name ‘Margaret’ is attached to her chair. Another room sign follows which is ‘Nursery’. Inside children, including one in a wheelchair play with a table-top sandbox. Another girl sits at a table using a small machine that extrudes plasticine into different shapes. Another girl at a small table places coloured tiles into rows. A boy steps into a bright red pedal car. A girl sitting in a chair plays with water in a special sink; she pours water from one vessel into another. In another part of the nursery, a girl opens the curtains and looks out of the window of a small Wendy house. A door opens to show a dormitory, on two of the beds lie prostheses for assisting limb support. In another area, possibly the clinic, a box labeled ‘plaster casts’ sits on a table. A staff member shows examples of cast feet to the camera. Another door sign reads ‘Physiotherapy’. A member of staff manipulates the legs of a child lying on a treatment table. Another walks towards the camera using a walking frame. A sliding door opens, the sign on the door reads ‘Homecraft’. A number of girls work around a table preparing food. One girl pours milk from a pan into a bowl while another girl stirs. Two other girls do the opposite pouring and stirring a liquid from a bowl into a pan. From her wheelchair, another stirs the contents of a pan on a cooker. The open door of an oven shows a cake tin on one of the metal racks. A notice on another cooker reads, ‘Electric Cooker Is ON’ In another area of the room, a girl sews material on a sewing machine A change of view follows as a boy pedals a tricycle in one of the school’s corridors A door sign reads ‘Deputy Headmistress’ A woman holds up a page of writing held in a frame, the title reads ‘Why Three Railway Lines?’ This followed by an account of how railways adopted the standard rail width or gauge they use now. Another sign follows for the ‘Speech Therapy’ room. A picture of the member of staff who was holding the manuscript seen earlier works with a boy in a wheelchair nearby to read the railway text. A member of staff works with a group of children as they sit on the floor. She hands a small model of a house to a young girl, then she gives a boy a model of another building. A change of view follows to a corridor as a boy pulls the wheelchair of his friend out of a doorway and towards the camera. In the workshop, a boy works at a bench from his wheelchair. Another kneels next to a wooden ironing board as he sands it down. At a workbench, a boy uses a power drill on a piece of wood. Another boy at another bench applies varnish or stain to a flat piece of wood. Under supervision, another boy drills a piece of wood with a brace drill. The film cuts to finished pieces of furniture on display. The film moves on to a view of a full-size kayak taking up the width of a corridor. A general view shows a dining hall where tables and chairs are set out. Children come into the hall, sit down and wait for their meals to be served. A general view shows all the tables occupied as members of staff serve food, collect empty plates and give assistance when necessary. A sports scene next, as children play a ball game in a hall. In a small training pool, children are helped to float or swim or just enjoy playing in the water. One boy receives physiotherapy in the pool, as he is encouraged to move his limbs in a swimming action. Another swimmer is assisted by the use of a lifebuoy. A view follows of an exterior sign next to the fence which reads, ‘Percy Hedley Centre Hostel And Workshop’ A view follows of the entrance to the building. Inside work goes on at a number of tables. A young man at a workbench helps prepare wire to be made into coat hangers. Two others use special jigs to produce the hook for the hanger. Another turns the length of shaped wire into the familiar triangle form. Two young men help each other form part of the coat hanger at one of its early stages of manufacture. Another worker produces an item which requires nuts and washers to be attached to some bolts. Others working at tables fold thin cards into small boxes. A worker in a wheelchair uses her feet to staple small pieces of paper or card. An exterior sign to a workshop reads. ‘Machine’s Shop Restricted Entry’ Inside a general view shows a number of workers at tables One worker places items on what might be a piece of electrical equipment. Another puts screws in a piece of wood with a screwdriver. At another table, a group of men assembles what appear to be push-button devices. On another machine, a girl attaches the devices to small cans. The film ends with a worker drilling holes in a plastic connector or something similar. Title: Help The Percy Hedley School