Story: Primary and secondary education

Matthew Wills (left), who suffers from cerebral palsy, was pleased with the assistance he received from other students such as Josh Temple (right) when he began attending Makoura College in 1992. Matthew found stairs difficult to negotiate but was never short of a helping hand. Integrating children with disabilities into state schools, rather than segregating them in 'special' schools, became more common from the 1980s.