AN autism school and college is rebranding its charity.

Wargrave House Limited, a charity in Newton-le-Willows which represents Wargrave House School, Leap College, and its Sundial Therapy Service, will be renamed Remarkable, with plans for the college to relocate.

The college will be renamed Ascent and a site has been identified in St Helens.

Robin Bush, chief executive for Wargrave House Limited, said: "As the organisation has developed and grown, we’ve developed different services underneath our umbrella charity and it was getting a bit confusing.

"We thought it might be easier for people to have clear identities as to the main charity and each service area that we are delivering.

"Wargrave House as an umbrella charity name didn’t really demonstrate the ambition of the organisation or what we’re hoping to achieve in terms of our autistic population.

"We felt the name needed to reflect the two great resources that we’ve got within our organisation and that’s the people who we support, our autistic people and our staff; we thought both of those groups were remarkable, and that’s how we developed the name."

St Helens Star: The charity has introduced many opportunities to autistic individuals in the community The charity has introduced many opportunities to autistic individuals in the community (Image: Remarkable)

Grand opening of cafe 

The rebrand follows the announcement of the grand opening of a café and preloved shop at the school’s site in Lyme & Wood Hub, Vista Road, Newton-le-Willows.

The site was opened earlier this year to allow Wargrave House pupils to practice hospitality skills and real-life working skills, with a café and shop to be the latest addition to the hub.

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Wargrave House will be welcoming the community to its new café and shop this Friday, November 11, with doors opening 1:15pm until 2:45pm.

The charity has been in the community for more than five decades and has benefited families with autistic children.

Robin added: "We’ve been part of the community for half a century and we felt it was really important to maintain the identity of the school.

"We were initially set out to fill a gap in the local community for autistic children – there weren’t many services available, and families were really struggling.

"From that time, we’ve developed a reputation for providing the best quality services for autistic children, learners and adults across the St Helens area.

"We are very proud to be a part of the community that we serve, and we appreciate the support we get from that community as well as to offer things back."

For further information on the charity, visit https://www.wargravehouse.com/.