Meet The Team

Hi I'm Glynn Finney and I am the original creator of this website and the forum. I was a pupil of the school from 1979 to 1992 and enjoyed my time there so very much. My family were a intergral part of the school for sometime after I left, helping out with the ocassional school rummage sale or car boot to help raise funds to buy school equipment of some sort. I can truely say that this school has and always will be a in my heart forever.

On the 9th July 2005 my family and I were invited to attend a final reunion and open day of the place which became my home for so many years. It's very sad to say goodbye to old friends and people that have seen you grow up to be the people you are today but sadly this is life and Western Park is no exception. I was reunited with a great many of my old school friends and teaching staff who were at the school when I was. It gave us a chance to see how much we had all changed over the years.

I had left school in 1992 and started Charles Keene College to qualify some years later in IT. Some had just qualified in their chosen subjects and were looking for a job and some had families, but as usual one thing did not change OUR SCHOOL Western Park Open Air School. The buildings were the same and the people were the same other than being a little older and perhaps wiser.

Hi all, Simon Parry here

I moved on in October 1998 to Leicestershire Society for the Blind (now Vista), continuing my training whilst working in their Fundraising Office as an Assistant, I secured a full time post with them in January 1999. In April 2000 I moved back to Leicestershire County Council, but this time as a permanent member of staff, as a Clerical Assistant in the Training and Development Unit (Does this sound familiar!). Since then, due to a variety of restructures (and I think we are about to have another one!), I'm now a Support Assistant in the Corporate HR Support Team.

Outside of work, my long standing interest is radio. Through a friend at the Society for the Blind, I got involved with an RSL (Restricted Service Licence) station in Market Harborough, HFM, on their broadcast in 2001, where I answered phones and made tea etc. On the broadcasts in 2002, 2003 and 2004 I was a presenter.

Since then, HFM has now been awarded a full time Community Radio licence and will go on air with a full time service to Market Harborough and South Leicestershire later this year (2006)..

Simon joined me in September 2005 and works closely with me in researching the history of our former school. I made him my “Assistant” enabling us to continue to keep Western Park Open Air School living in everyone's heart forever.

On this page I invite you to meet the team of people that help make this site what it is today and help keep the Western Park Open Air School's memory alive.

			Hi I'm Glynn Finney and I am the original creator of this website and the forum. I was a pupil of the school from 1979 to 1992 and enjoyed my time there so very much. My family were a intergral part of the school for sometime after I left, helping out with the ocassional school rummage sale or car boot to help raise funds to buy school equipment of some sort. I can truely say that this school has and always will be a in my heart forever.


	On the 9th July 2005 my family and I were invited to attend a final reunion and open day of the place which became my home for so many years. It's very sad to say goodbye to old friends and people that have seen you grow up to be the people you are today but sadly this is life and Western Park is no exception. I was reunited with a great many of my old school friends and teaching staff who were at the school when I was. It gave us a chance to see how much we had all changed over the years. I had left school in 1992 and started Charles Keene College to qualify some years later in IT. Some had just qualified in their chosen subjects and were looking for a job and some had families, but as usual one thing did not change OUR SCHOOL Western Park Open Air School. The buildings were the same and the people were the same other than being a little older and perhaps wiser.

	While we chatted away about the past and taking a browse through some old photos a large number of people mentioned that a school with so much history and some many happy and sad memories surely could not just disappear into thin air, never to be heard of again. This is where the idea for a website came about and I was asked if I could make that idea a reality. So here it is - a website and forum where the history and memories of pupils, staff and visitors can be documented for future reference and where ex-pupils and staff can still keep in touch. No one is forgotten here as was the case at school. We were all friends no matter what the disability. Caring and sharing in the best way we knew how, the only way we knew how, helping each other through good times and bad and never ever forgetting our friends. Our school was truely a "Very Special School". These days i'm a Volunteer for a couple of hours every week in Leicester's Main Hospital as well as giving 2 hours a month to as a trustee for the disability charity Mosaic, Something I enjoy very much, I'm also main carer for my mum Val and spend quite a lot of my time making sure she ok and able to do what she loves doing which is going down to her caravan in Norfolk.



		Hi all, Simon Parry here I was a pupil at Western Park from 1983 to 1994. Since then, I first went on to Gateway Sixth Form College to do more GCSE's and then some A Levels (I came away with 1, Computing!). I then moved onto a training scheme run by Leicestershire County Council, where I did NVQ's in Business Administration and IT (Levels 2 and 3 folks!). Whilst on this training course I was sent on a work placement to Leicestershire County Council's HQ at County Hall where I spent 9 months working in their Training and Development Unit as a Clerical Assistant.


I moved on in October 1998 to Leicestershire Society for the Blind (now Vista), continuing my training whilst working in their Fundraising Office as an Assistant, I secured a full time post with them in January 1999. In April 2000 I moved back to Leicestershire County Council, but this time as a permanent member of staff, as a Clerical Assistant in the Training and Development Unit (Does this sound familiar!). Since then, due to a variety of restructures (and I think we are about to have another one!), I'm now a Support Assistant in the Corporate HR Support Team.

Outside of work, my long standing interest is radio. Through a friend at the Society for the Blind, I got involved with an RSL (Restricted Service Licence) station in Market Harborough, HFM, on their broadcast in 2001, where I answered phones and made tea etc. On the broadcasts in 2002, 2003 and 2004 I was a presenter. Since then, HFM has now been awarded a full time Community Radio licence and will go on air with a full time service to Market Harborough and South Leicestershire later this year (2006)..

Simon joined me in September 2005 and works closely with me in researching the history of our former school. I made him my “Assistant” enabling us to continue to keep Western Park Open Air School living in everyone's heart forever.





			Hi I'm Keith Hubbard I attended Western Park like Glynn did I joined the facebook group some years ago now and am a regular part of the group chats we have most evenings. About a year ago Glynn wasn't to well and asked if I would be happy to monitor the group chats on facebook and help keep people in order by advising them of the groups rules and sorting out any little problems that might come up. I'm happy to help Glynn in his efforts to keep Western Parks Memory and enjoy chatting with my friends from years gone by and keeping upto date on what going on with our former school site. Come and join use if your a former pupil or member of staff but be warned we keep a tight rain on everyone and everything that is said, We have rules to keep and people to protect.