On July 8, Sarah Cheyette will find out if she won the National Award for People with Learning Disabilities and Autism for Making a Difference.
And she has certainly made a difference to the lives of many students at Lancaster’s Loyne Specialist School who have attended Pound Rockout sessions at her Cheyette Fitness (formerly VVV) at Hest Bank.
Sarah used to lead gym sessions at Loyne School before being asked if her older students could take classes at her studio instead of taking them out of their comfort zone. .
Over a 12-week period, teachers, parents and even Sarah herself were amazed by how students, regardless of their abilities, were able to execute the routines.
“These sessions are an outlet for the kids and it breaks my heart when I see their faces light up and they tell me how happy they are,” says Sarah.
One boy loves exercise so much that he also attends classes outside of school hours, while one mother said she has never seen her daughter able to participate in such an activity before.
Pound Rockout is a practice that combines Pilates with simulated drumming that you can enjoy to any ability.
Sarah, who is married to Simon and has an 8-year-old son Daniel, was inspired to provide gym sessions for Loyne School when her 13-year-old daughter Daisy was a student there.
Daisy lives with an undiagnosed genetic condition and is unable to speak.
The sessions have been so successful that Sarah will also be teaching students from Morecambe Road School as part of their curriculum from September.
Sarah, born and raised in Morecambe, trained as a pastry chef at Lancaster & Morecambe College after leaving Heysham High School.
However, she enjoys taking fitness classes so much that a friend encouraged her to become a trainer on her own 16 years ago.
She opened Cheyette Fitness in January and, along with six other instructors, runs a series of classes at the center.