New College Worcester is a residential college for blind and partially sighted students aged 11-19 years. Underpinning all that NCW do is the recognition that a young person’s needs are about more than their visual impairment. That is why they offer every student a tailored programme of education, mobility and Independent Living Skills to encourage and enable them to reach their full potential, both in and beyond the classroom.

The students can access the full range of National Curriculum subjects, plus a variety of outdoor and leisure activities, from acoustic rifle shooting to rock climbing. In short, they benefit from a wealth of opportunities, which promote self confidence in an enjoyable way.

The result is young people who flourish, both as students and individuals.

The BWCF has made a grant of £20,000 which NCW used to purchase 9 Braille Connect Units for the students. The units allow visually impaired children to use a computer and be able to read what they have written rather than hear it through a synthesiser. Before the units they would write in qwerty using a standard keyboard and only be able to listen to what they had written which did not allow for correction.

In 2010 BWCF made a further grant of £25,000 to support the purchase of IT equipment.