Deaf News: Exeter to host new Deaf-inclusive outdoor club starting today

Today, from 7-9pm, Exeter Deaf Academy is inviting Deaf people and their families to a free opening of the new Active Outdoors Community Club, at Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre, on Exeter Quay.

Thanks to funding from Awards for All England, who have awarded a lottery grant of £4,655 towards this yearlong community project, the new Deaf-inclusive club will be offering taster sessions of canoeing, kayaking, archery, sailing and caving in an accessible environment.

The ethos of Exeter’s new Active Outdoors Community Club also aims to spread accessible sport across Devon by linking with other community sports clubs where Deaf people may have experienced difficulties accessing. The club’s open evening will be followed by six further sessions, starting Wednesday 15 June, costing £1 per session with booking essential.

Exeter Deaf Academy is a charity specialising in tailored education and care for Deaf young people aged 4-24 in a bilingual English and British Sign Language (BSL) environment.

However, the Academy is not funded in the same way as state schools and relies on funding to support projects such as the new Deaf-inclusive Active Outdoors Community Club which would otherwise not happen.

Exeter Deaf Academy, Deputy Head of College, Geoff Davey, said, “We want our students to feel confident in accessing opportunities that any hearing person would. Deafness should not be seen as a barrier to what they want to achieve. Active Outdoors Community Club will make sport activities more accessible, fun and sociable for Deaf people, their families and carers.”

For more information and to book places on the sessions, email Ben Hedden at Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre on ben@haven-banks.co.uk