Blind and partially sighted further education students from RSBC’s Dorton College celebrated their achievements in an uplifting and joyful ceremony on 11th July 2024, hosted at the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) Life Without Limits Centre in the heart of the City of London.
The event recognised and celebrated the college students’ hard work and achievements over the past academic year. 18 young people received certificates of achievement covering subjects from media studies to politics, group enterprise, cookery, Spanish, and life skills.
RSBC Dorton College, located in Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, is the only specialist college for vision-impaired young people (aged 16-25) in the South East of England. Students are supported by a specialist education team, including Qualified Teachers of the Vision Impaired and specialist Learning Support Assistants, and many of them have additional needs.
Demand for places at Dorton College has steadily increased in recent years, with student numbers growing by 56% since 2020.
Attended by over 100 Dorton College friends, family members and supporters, the prize giving event included a speech from keynote speaker Amie Fox, corporate social responsibility manager at Scope Eyecare. RSBC Chair of Trustees, Patrick Plant, thanked the students for playing an increasing role in RSBC’s decision making process, and read out a letter of congratulations from His Majesty King Charles III. Guests were also treated to performances by two of the college’s students, Jude Kalaimaran and Amy Valle.
Student Matthew Saveljev from Bromley received the Scope Eyecare Achievement Award 2024, which was presented by Emily Quaile from Scope Eyecare. He said: “I was shocked to win this award, but I’m really happy with all I’ve achieved during the year.”
In addition, Camilla Carter, commercial partnerships manager at The Grosvenor Estate, presented certificates to the Dorton College students who provided accessibility feedback from their Belgravia in Bloom tour in June.
Josie Grainger-Francova, education director and principal of RSBC Dorton College, said: “We could not be prouder of our amazing young people. We see their dedication, tenacity and progress every day, and their passion for learning shows that vision impairment needn’t hold them back. It was very special to have the chance to celebrate our students and all of their achievements.”