The family of a young boy hope to raise more than £10,000 for the school that has supported his learning difficulties by jumping out of a plane.

Jenny Young, her sons Doug, 21, and Greg, 19, and daughter Josie, 16, will fall from a height of about 14,000 feet to raise money for Breakspeare School, where six-year-old Ryan has recently returned to class.

They hope the cash will pay to refurbish the hydrotherapy pool at the school, in Gallows Hill Lane, Abbots Langley.

Ryan suffers from a condition known as Agensis of the Corpus Callosum, a rare birth defect where the tissue between the two hemispheres of the brain fails to develop.

This can lead to symptoms such as developmental delay, learning difficulties, epilepsy, visual impairment and delayed motor development. As well as after-school clubs at Breakspeare, Ryan is also a keen member of Watford Mencap and was part of their recent campaign to raise awareness of the charity's work across the town.

Jenny, from Ganders Ash, Leavesden, said: “He's very young for his age in most ways. His conversation is becoming more relevant to what's going on but he's not connected with what's going on the world. Everything we do with him is a shock to the system.

“All the children at the school love the pool and it needs a face-lift. They're trying to make the school a multi-sensory experience so even stood beside the pool it is an experience for them.

“The school is brilliant. All the children have severe learning difficulties and some have severe medical conditions. It's specialist education and every child received the education they need. It's a really cheerful place.”

Jenny and her three children hope to complete their skydive before winter sets in, but first hope to hit their £10,000 fundraising target.

She said: “I had always wanted to do a skydive but have been put off. I mentioned it to my daughter about doing a mother and daughter thing. The boys wanted to do it as well and that's when it became a family affair and the logical thing to do was raise money for the school.

“If someone could sponsor us for the cost of the jump, then everything else would go to the school.”

To sponsor Jenny and her family, visit www.justgiving.com/jennyyoung.