Sixth form pupils from St Mary's in Calne and Lady Lansdowne have been trained as sight guides so they can support visitors to Wiltshire Sight's 100th Anniversary concert.

Wiltshire Sight, who, has trained pupils so any visually impaired guests who come to the concert have sight guides to escort them.

The pupils and Lady Lansdowne were given goggles to wear to reduce and restrict their sight by various degrees so they could experience first hand what it would be like to be visually impaired or blind.

They were then given blindfolds and took it in turns to guide each other around the school, negotiating steps, corners and doors.

Lady Lansdowne, said: "It was a very humbling experience to spend time with the Sixth form girls doing the blind guiding session with Wiltshire Sight.

"The girls initial wariness soon dissipated and they all embraced the concepts very quickly. Being blindfold and completely reliant on a guider was an unnerving prospect but the confidence shown by the girls once they knew the basics, was remarkable.

"It was a valuable session and I know this team of girls will be confident to help any visually impaired guests who attend the Derek Paravicini concert. Thank you to Maggie and Laura from Wiltshire Sight for their sensitive training and deep understanding of the needs for the visually impaired."

The concert, featuring visually impaired pianist Derek Paravicini and musicians from St Mary's will be held on Friday at St Mary's School at 7pm. Tickets are £35 and can be bought from www.calnefoundation.org/wiltshiresight.