The Royal National College for the Blind

THE ROYAL NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND

News CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY ‘ LIVING WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT’ – LIFE THROUGH THE LENS Embargoed until Monday 23 April

Selina, Daniel and Steve are typical teenagers; at college hoping to get the grades to go to university or eventually find work. However, unlike most teenagers Selina, Daniel and Steve are facing a future without full sight. The last 6 months of their lives as students at The Royal National College for the Blind, have been captured by Channel 4 as part of the Cutting Edge series for a documentary called ‘Blind Young Things’ on living with visual impairment, to be broadcast on Monday 30 April, 9pm, Channel 4.

The documentary follows a number of young people (funded by the Learning and Skills Council) who are currently studying at the UK’s leading college of further education and training for people with sight loss, including:  Partially sighted Selina who is blind in one eye and currently experiencing deteriorating vision in her other eye. She is a very bright 18 year old from Leicester with 10 GCSEs and 3 A Levels who has come to RNC to improve her independence before moving into the world of work and finding a job in accountancy. Bubbly and friendly, Selina is a typical young woman, interested in fashion and socialising  Steve also 18 from Rotherham has been totally blind since birth. A keen sportsman and talented musician, Steve is studying Performing Arts at RNC with the aim of moving on to university so he can eventually teach drama and music  Daniel 19 from Bradford has no sight at all. A budding song writer and singer who hopes his time at RNC will improve his confidence, mobility and daily living skills in preparation for a career in the music industry.

The documentary charts the ups and downs for Selina, Steve and Dan as they cope with living away from home, settle into a new town and make new friends, struggle with relationships and face their anxieties about their future but most importantly gain new skills and confidence that will allow them to lead a more independent adult life when they leave college. For Selina the film coincides with a monumental time in her life, a major eye operation that she hopes will at the least halt her deteriorating vision and at best restore some of her vision. Daniel’s family feature heavily in the film and echo the fears shared by parents all over the world when a son or daughter leaves home for the first time. Daniel’s mum encourages him to eat healthily, look after himself and drink in moderation …. Tune in to see if he takes heed!

“I have worked in specialist educational environments before, but I had almost no experience of people with a visual impairment or blindness, “said Zac Beattie, Producer/Director with North One Television Ltd who were commissioned to make the film on behalf of Channel 4.

Continued …..

April 2007 THE ROYAL NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND

“I wanted to make a documentary with some of the students to explore with them their daily lives. It is interesting to see what is different for them and what is the same; their experiences of daily life can be fundamentally altered by their visual impairment yet that doesn’t stop them from having the same hope and fears as a sighted person.”

“Having a camera crew follow you around has been an interesting experience and I have learnt a lot about myself”, said Selina. “It has made me think about sight loss and although I just get on with things, it has given me an understanding of how my visual impairment affects others around me. The film has captured the real me, the ups and downs, good days and times when I have been in a mood. I am sure there are some cringe worthy moments in there, but the film is real life, what I have to go through each day. Being part of this documentary has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, my 15 minutes of fame. I don’t want someone sitting at home watching, to feel sorry for me. I am not weird, just because I am registered blind; I am just human like them. But I hope they get a better understanding of some of the struggles you face as someone without full sight but at the end of the day I can do the same things as a fully sighted person just a bit different.”

Christine Steadman, Principal at RNC hopes the documentary will “fly the flag for specialist residential education and its role in helping prepare people with sight loss for university, the world of work, but most importantly independent living.”

Zac went on to say, “We have made a documentary that is both honest and sensitive and that will engage a mainstream television audience to spend an hour getting to know a group of people with sight loss. We hope it will encourage people to consider what it is like to be visually impaired and more importantly to see through the impairment to the individual.”

Christine said, “The documentary will make the viewing public think differently about the issues surrounding visual impairment, especially in terms of the abilities and potential of people who are blind or partially sighted.” ENDS

Notes for News Editors:  The Royal National College for the Blind (known as RNC) is a residential specialist provider of Further Education and training. Each year more people who are blind or partially sighted choose RNC than any other residential specialist college in the UK.  A Beacon College – awarded by The Department of Education and Skills for excellence and quality  Described by OFSTED as “Outstanding”  Named as “one of the best training providers” by the Chief Inspector of the Adult Learning Inspectorate RNC typically has around 200 learners at any one time, including people on full-time, residential courses, short courses and distance learning programmes.  North One Television is one of Britain's leading independent television production

April 2007 THE ROYAL NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND

companies, boasting a global client base and a production slate that includes major sport, entertainment and factual programmes.

For further information please contact: Cathy Fletcher, Marketing Manager, [email protected], The Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford, Direct Tel: 01432 376622

Photos and Interview opportunities available on request

17 April 2007

April 2007