STUDENTS have released an empowering video to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week.

Bolton College aspiring students who are deaf or hard of hearing to the song This is Me from the Greatest Showman to showcase British Sign Language as a language in its own right and to have it recognised in schools — and illustrate that being deaf is not a barrier to achieving success.

Janet Bishop Head of Learner Support said: “This video is an element of why the college is outstanding in D/deaf provision and it is one of the ways learner support contributes to the college’s equality and diversity agenda.

“The video is also testament to outstanding work that is carried out by all members of the D/deaf tutor,and teams to help individual learners to maximise their potential.”

Bolton-based Hear4Kids have also released a video to mark Deaf Awareness Week.

Bolton College’s Deaf Unit provides specialist support for students throughout the North West. Over the past 30 years, it has supported hundreds of learners to progress from entry level to level four across all areas of the college, onto university, employment and independent living.

Many deaf learners arrive at Bolton College from mainstream schools, with very limited experience of sign language, having mostly relied on lip-reading. Learning to sign, alongside the bespoke robust package of support at Bolton College, ensures that the learners flourish and frequently exceed their own expectations.