HURRICANE Irma permitting, eight very lucky and excited Abbey School students are off on the trip of a lifetime to Florida this weekend thanks to The Children With Special Needs Foundation.

This is a dream the charity has made come true for scores of young people in special schools across the local area over the past 13 years.

The group, accompanied by CWSNF founder Gordon Parris and other volunteers from the charity, as well as school staff who best understand the students’ needs, are due to fly from Gatwick Airport this Sunday for an action-packed 10 days.

However, with Hurricane Irma currently battering the Caribbean islands and expected to make landfall in Florida this weekend, the students are anxiously keeping their eye on Foreign Office advice before heading to the airport.

If all goes to plan, their stellar itinerary includes Discovery Cove, Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, rides on an airboat and the Orlando Eye as well as Walt Disney World, Sea World, Legoland and waterpark.

The children and their families are hugely grateful to the sponsors, host organisations and volunteers who have made the trip possible and to the CWSNF team who have spent months planning and raising support.

Jamie Raven, of Britain’s Got Talent fame, visited The Abbey with representatives of the charity to present the tickets for the trip.

As a spectacular consolation for the students who don’t get to go on this occasion, Jamie performed a few of his magical illusions for the whole school holding them all spellbound.

• If anyone else from the Herald area has been affected by Hurricane Irma, please share your experience by emailing [email protected] or calling 01252 899221.