BROMSGROVE School has been shortlisted as ‘Community Partner of the Year’ in the 2021 Sense Awards.
Sense is a national charity for people with complex communication needs such as deafblindness.
The annual accolades celebrate the outstanding achievements of people with complex disabilities, as well as the people and organisations which support them and their families.
For the past six years, both Senior and Prep School students have had the opportunity to learn about sign language during the Deaf Culture and Communication activity sessions hosted by Dr Rimmer, the School’s Mater of Scholars.
She works during her holidays with Sense.
Many students have developed an appreciation for BSL poetry, signed songs, and other aspects of Deaf/Deaf people’s experiences, and learned some sign language basics.
There have been BSL cafe sessions, where local community members have visited to meet students to give them an opportunity to practise their burgeoning language skills.
Year 8 students embraced a ‘Transition to Senior School Day’ when the whole year group were asked to learn about deafblindness.
They were then tasked with designing a theme park or employment venue for people with multisensory impairment.
They undertook tasks while wearing eye masks and ear defenders to gain an insight into how people with multi-sensory impairments are affected and navigate the world.
The students also learned basic BSL and the deafblind manual alphabet.
Students acted as buddies for young people from TouchBase Pears in Selly Oak, the local Sense community centre, as part of the ‘Get Out There’ programme.
They supported them in bowling, cycling and, on a return visit to school, a swimming session.
Finally, students supported Sense by donating the £1,500 proceeds from a recent Own Clothes’ Day.
Dr Rimmer said: “Having worked these last 20 years with Sense, I was pleased to begin making a connection between the charity and Bromsgrove School.”
She added it was ‘especially gratifying’ the school had been shortlisted as ‘Community Partner of the Year’ at the Sense Awards.
