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College Celebrates 15 Years of Deaf Base

Walsall College’s Deaf Base recently celebrated its 15 year anniversary with a special celebration evening. The event included a selection of student awards and took a look at the Deaf Base’s past and present, including a speech by its founder, Sue Brown.

The Deaf Base was formed and established in 1994 to enable deaf learners to access further education independently alongside their hearing peers. Since its humble beginnings, it has now greatly expanded and has built up a national reputation for quality, with over 35 members of staff supporting over 50 students this year alone.

Walsall College now prides itself on being one of the biggest and best providers of support for D/deaf and Deafblind students in Further and Higher Education, and was noted as being ‘outstanding’ during a recent Inspection Health Check. The centre offers a unique blend of discrete teaching which utilises educational interpreters, note takers and one to one learning support to maximise the potential of its deaf students. This innovative approach allows deaf students to achieve on a variety of mainstream courses, from Child Care to Motor Vehicle.

Curriculum Manager for Walsall College’s Deaf Base Louise Timms said, “We are very proud to be celebrating 15 years of our Deaf Base. We offer extensive support to our deaf learners, allowing them to flourish in mainstream education and gain the skills that employers are looking for. Our Deaf Base also creates a social point for the College’s deaf community, providing somewhere for them to make friends, socialise and go arrange trips together. We are now working to expand and improve on the Deaf Base even further as we move into the brand new Wisemore Campus in September”.

Walsall College Deaf Base student Jack Smallwood, who won the National Deaf Children Society’s Young Citizen of the Year in 2008 said, “Being part of the Deafbase at Walsall College is fantastic – it’s allowed me to meet new people and build my confidence further. I have encouraged many of my deaf friends to come here too – it’s a way to travel from Wolverhampton but it’s definitely worth it.”


  • Ofstead Good
  • Matrix
  • Positive About Disabled People
  • Training Quality Standards
  • National Skills Academy
  • Investors in People
  • Ofqual
  • Department od Children Schools, and Families