School Life

Environment

Broken Windows

Here David describes a lack of repair in the school.

Lack of Facilities

Here Michelle describes the lack of school facilities hindering learning.

Feeling Different

Here Alice describes how she feels the school buildings highlighted her difference.

Never the Twain Shall Meet

Here Mavis talks about being separated from the ‘ordinary children’s side of the school.

Sleeping in Cots

Here Tara describes sleeping in cots with covered sides.

The Training Centre

Here Debbie talks to Ursula about her school environment.

Segregated Campus

Here Mark describes being segregated from other students within his school.

First Day

Feeling Shy

Here Joanne remembers her first day at a new school.

Disinfectant

Here Angela talks about her first memory of residential school.

Eating Plasticine

Here Christine talks about being taken to school for the first time.

Quis? Ego

Here David describes his first day at his residential school with a ‘public school culture’.

School Culture

Cotton Wool

Here Zara talks about her special school

An Ally

Here Zara talks about vital support from an officer in her local authority.

An Oral Education

Here Philip talks about having an ‘oral’ education and the equipment he had to use in school.

A Cold Culture

Here Sue recalls a harsh environment at school.

Not special

Here Gordon talks about feeling part of the school.

Visiting every six weeks

Here Ron describes Sunday afternoon visiting for parents.

No talking

Here Ron talks about bedtime at 7 pm for teenagers.

Small Classes

Here Michelle describes the impact of being split into small impairment specific groups, in what was already a small school.

Fun at break times

Nadia remembers having fun.

‘Crippled’ Ships

Here David recalls a military culture within his school.

Learning by Rote

Here Belinda describes the teaching method used in her school.

Being Corrected

Here Deborah talks about the culture of ‘treatment’ within her school.

Distinctive Uniforms

Here Ray describes her pride in her uniform.

From Freedom to Regimentation

Here Angela describes the difference between going to her local special school and residential special school.

Lord of the Flies

Here Haq describes a ‘top dog’ culture at his school.

Smelt like Hospital

Here Richard recalls the atmosphere of a school he attended at age four.

A Craft Curriculum

Here Anthea describes the non academic culture at her school.

Do it Yourself

Here Tara describes a school culture of doing things for yourself, without even friends being allowed to help each other.

Special and Mainstream

Here Maresa talks about the differences she found between special school and mainstream primary.

The Spacesuit

Here Michelle talks about physiotherapy at school

Individual Needs

Here Michelle talks about how her special school did not help pupils to understand each others needs.

School Dinners

Dinner time

Here Etty describes her reaction to being forced to eat food she didn’t want.

Oliver Twist and donk

Here Ron describes asking for more jam.

Fat of Lamb

Here John describes his school lunch times.

Diet Tables

Here Mark describes having to eat on separate ‘Diet Tables’

Oliver Twist

Here Ronald talks about asking his Headmaster for more food.

No Talking

Here David describes the school dining room and the ‘no talking’ rule.

Fed Like Pigs

Here Angela describes her painful experience of meal times at college.

Mashed Potato

Here Christine describes having to eat mashed potato at school.

Oranges for Christmas

Here Mavis describes her school being sent oranges for Christmas.

Lunchtimes

Here Mark talks about being separated at lunchtime.

Ronald the Rat

Here Joanne talks about lunchtimes in primary school.

Curry by Post

Here Haq talks about receiving food from home.

Sports

Being Left Out

Here Michelle talks about not being included in activities at her special school.

Sent to Physio

Here Lynda talks about not being able to join in with PE because of being sent to Physio instead.

Missing Out

Here Sebastian describes being left out of PE at school.

Reading Instead

Here Roger recalls being sent to read instead of doing Games.

Bean Bags

Here Ann talks about having to fit in.

Picking Teams

Here Debbie talks to Stephen and Ursula about enjoying hockey and sports day at school.

Sports Day

Here David describes taking part in the School Sports Day.

Last to be Picked

Here Clenton describes being picked last in Sport.

Fisher Price Basketball

Here Joanne talks about how she felt about being given a ‘toy’ basketball hoop to play with in her Physical Education lesson.

One Goal Post

Here Simone talks about the lack of sports facilities at school.

Jubilee Sports Day

Here Helen talks about feeling included in Sports at school.

Being the Goalkeeper

Here Miro talks about being the goalkeeper for the school.

Swimming Lessons

Here Tara talks about her first experience of a swimming lesson.

Playing Cricket

Here Paul talks about his experience of playing cricket with non-deaf students.

Cricket at Sevenoaks

Here Ronald talks about playing cricket.

Support

I Didn’t Know What Was Possible

Here Joanne talks about not being confident to ask for support

A Lack of Support

Here Lynda talks about having to rely on help from other children.

Exhausting Exams

Here Sebastian talks about having to do exams without any adjustments or support.

Classmate

Here Haq remembers the girl who sat next to him in school.

British Sign Language

Nadia describes some of her communication support in school.

Feeling Included

Here Miro talks about his experience of feeling well supported at primary school, by everyone in the school.

Help with Hearing

Here Donna talks about wearing a portable hearing loop in class.

D is for Dunce

Here Clenton talks about his struggles at school due to his Dyslexia not be recognised.

Velcro Support

Here Michelle talks about the downside to having what she describes as ‘velcro’ support assistants in school.

Lipreading in School

Here Christine talks about her difficulties trying to lipread in school and how that impacted on how she felt about herself.

Inconsistent Support

Here Ajay talks about the difficulty of having a different support worker each day.

Dialogue

Here Maresa talks about learning support in school.

The Death of Friends

Here Mark talks about the lack of pastoral support at his school.

Cotton Wool

Here Zara talks about her special school

Trips

Being Left Out

Here Michelle talks about not being included in activities at her special school.

Sherlock Holmes

Here Joanne talks about feeling excluded from school trips.

Awful Sundays

Here Ron remembers the indignity of being marched to church.

Scarborough

Here Debbie talks to Ursula about her school trip.

Mr Freake

Here Mark talks about a wonderful primary school teacher.

Not Allowed

Here Clenton describes his group not being allowed to go on trips with the rest of the school.

The Walk to Church on Sunday

Here Ronald describes the shame he felt every Sunday when he walked to church with school.

Feeling Left Out

Here Joanne talks about a trip to the fair, a school journey and trips to the theatre.

Snowdon with a Pac-a-Mac

Here Richard talks about taking part in field trips at school.

Nature Walks

Here Gordon describes being pushed in a pram so that he could join in.

Dad Driving

Here Miro talks about his dad arranging for friends to accompany him in his dad’s car.

Manhandled Up the Mountain

Here David describes taking part in a school trip to the Lake District.

A Pleasant Surprise

Here Zara describes being surprised by her school’s attitude to include her on the school journey to Russia.

World War Two

Greyness

Here Ronald describes a trip to London during the war.

Sharing School

Here Ray recalls moving into a nearby girls’ school during wartime.

Geography

Here Ron describes learning geography during the daily wartime news discussions.

Incendiaries in the park

Here Ron describes finding bombs in the park.

War starts

Here Ron remembers the school’s preparation for air attacks.

Sheltering in the Church

Ron describes being led through the woods to shelter.

Dogfight

Ron describes arriving at his second wartime school.

Explosives

Here Ron describes discovering unexploded bombs.

Buzz Bombs and Doodlebugs

Here Ron describes the effects of relentless bombings on school life.

Shelter

Here Ron talks about the whole school sheltering in a small cellar.

The Glow over London

Here Ronald describes sheltering in the church hall during an air raid.