• Specialism:
  day and residential FE college for deaf students
• Residential/Day:
  day and residential
• Course Start Dates:
  September
• Course Length per Year in weeks:
  36-38 weeks
• Maximum Student Numbers:
  we currently have residential capacity for 80 students
• Age Range:
  16-24

General Description of College:
The FE College of the Academy has specialist staff (Teachers of the Deaf, BSL Tutors, Communication Support Workers, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Audiologist, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist) that enable students of all levels of ability to excel educationally and achieve greater independence. The Academy is based on a 12 acre site in the beautiful city of Exeter, just ten minutes walk from the city centre. The South Devon coast, Dartmoor and Exmoor are all within a close distance of the Academy. There are over 70 students in the College, with their leaving destinations including Higher Education, employment and supported living placements.

The Curriculum:
Its partnerships with mainstream colleges enable students to access hundreds of courses, with support tutorials delivered at the Academy. Lessons in literacy, numeracy, ICT, BSL and PSHE are also delivered on-site. The College also runs 'Personal Independence and Choices' courses and a 'Personal Achievement and Communication' courses which have nationally recognised external accreditation.

Specialist Facilities:
The Academy has a wide range of specialist facilities, including an indoor swimming pool, gym, playing fields, outdoor games pitch, ICT suite, audiology suite and counselling rooms. Work-related learning and work experience feature on all courses, as experiential learning is key to the development of our deaf students.

Statements:

1. expertise in working with d/Deaf learners
2. expertise in the use of British Sign Language
3. expertise in working with learners with communication difficulties
4. residential provision extending beyond the academic year
5. a range of vocational courses with opportunities for accreditation.
6. opportunities to attend local mainstream colleges with support
7. opportunities to work towards qualifications within Foundation Learning
8. opportunities to improve literacy, numeracy and/or communication skills
9. opportunities to improve Information and learning technology skills
10. a personal development programme
11. a programme to help learners to look after themselves more independently
12. opportunities to take part in a wide range of social, leisure and sporting activities
13. guidance and counselling services
14. in-house speech and language therapy
15. a range of therapeutic services
16. opportunities to experience real work situations
17. opportunities to prepare for further training after college
18. a transition programme into independent living
19. opportunities to develop strategies to promote appropriate behaviour
20. an understanding of the importance to young people of deaf community and culture