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 | You and Yours - Transcript ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 |
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| TX: 15.04.04 - SPECIAL SCHOOLS – Part 6 - School For Deaf Pupils PRESENTERS: DIANA MADILL AND JOHN THORNE |
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| THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE ´óÏó´«Ã½ CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY MADILL American television used it as a stand in for Harry Potter's school Hogwarts and Queen Victoria wanted to buy it and was not amused when she couldn't. Well all this week we've been taking a tour of some of the special schools around the UK and today it's the turn of the magnificent Donaldson's College for the Deaf in Edinburgh. It was built in the 19th Century by the philanthropist Sir James Donaldson and two centuries later it continues to offer special education for deaf children from all over the country. John Thorne has been hearing about its history from the current principal - Janet Allen - as pupils and their parents arrived for the school day. ACTUALITY When did you get up? When did you get up not me. Half five. And you? Nearer six. THORNE Along the echoing early morning corridors of Donaldson's College we meet one of Janet Allen's long distance students. The principal tries to explain why a man with a microphone is there with her. ACTUALITY ´óÏó´«Ã½ people. It's the radio which is not so good for deaf. Great walking the job. THORNE A mixture of sign language and exaggerated speech helps construct the conversation as Janet Allen walks the job, as she puts it, easing her students into school. ALLEN He's saying he got up at 6 o'clock, although his father obviously thought he should have been up at half past five. THORNE Battling his way to get to the classroom. ALLEN Absolutely. THORNE Do lots of your children have to do that if you sort of cover the whole of Scotland? ALLEN The borders come from all over, we have Ruth from the Highlands and another girl from the Highlands, we also have someone from the Western Isles, so he stays at weekends because he can't go home every weekend, he comes from Barra, he has to land in an aeroplane on the sand. So yes he's got a long way to come. THORNE So they battle on lots of fronts, not just against the deafness or whatever else they've got against them as it were? ALLEN That's right, the deafness is the start of it. I guess they would tell you hearing people are their biggest barrier but they've to journey to school and be away from family and friends and community and that's a difficult decision. The ones who come obviously feel it's beneficial. MUSIC THORNE Donaldson's College is a magnificent Victorian edifice, grander than many a grand palace with its massive towers and domes, so grand that in yesteryears Queen Victoria wanted it for herself and in yesterdays it was used as a stand in Hogwarts location. MCGARRY There's a wee story that's connected to the school that Victoria herself was interested in the building and wanted to purchase the property. The trustees at the time rejected the idea and whenever she passed us on the way coming into Edinburgh, before these buildings were built down here, she used to shut her curtains in the coach, so that she wouldn't have to look at us and settled for Hollyrood. So there you go. THORNE The publisher and philanthropist Sir James Donaldson spent his entire fortune building the college to educate the poor and particularly the deaf children of Scotland. Janet Allen explains. ALLEN We started off our history being Donaldson's Hospital, we then became Donaldson's School and now Donaldson's College. I describe it as a supportive learning community in which we aim for every child to reach their potential, irrespective of what that potential is, it's as important for us to address the needs of a child for whom their greatest achievement will be saying Good morning, as it to address the needs of the children who'll go on to university. THORNE But why such an elaborate beautifully architectured building? MCGARRY I think it was the pride, I think he personally commissioned the architects to develop something that would stand out loud and proud and say this is deaf, this is for deaf children, deaf education, it has a place within the society, it shouldn't be shoved to the side, it shouldn't be shoved in a closet. MUSIC TAMSON I'm Anna Tamson, I teach music here at Donaldson's to profoundly deaf children and autistic children. THORNE That seems a contradiction, how is it possible? TAMSON Well a lot of it's done through feeling the beat and a lot of watching - and they're very good at watching, very good at feeling - and they listen with their bodies rather than their ears. MUSIC ALLEN This is a class of primary 1 children who are all on the autistic spectrum. THORNE Mrs Allen continues my tour of the school. ALLEN One of them is deaf and autistic, the others use sign to support their learning. I'm very hopeful that these two will speak reasonably fluently. The other chap we think will use sign as his main language. THORNE Donaldson's is a sympathetic social environment for its children, day and night for about 25 borders, who sleep in the echoing upstairs rooms where once German and Italian prisoners of war were held. Maureen Gregg is deputy head of care. GREGG We're just about to enter into the residence, it's quite an austere building but certainly within the residence it's quite a comfortable homely environment. And we're just about to go in now to one of the senior boys residences, which is right at the front of the school, and we are particularly spoilt by having a panoramic view of Edinburgh, right across the city from our living room window. Certainly having the space when you have 10 teenage young men who are all sharing a flat it's wonderful to have. THORNE And it's the college's own museum that helps today's deaf students realise what advances have been made to help them become a little more integrated into the hearing world. With sign language and speech John McGarry, who's a teacher and also the school archivist, explains the workings of the school's old dentist's chair, complete with its foot powered drill. MCGARRY How does it work, what's missing, what's missing do you think? Here the belt on to that bit there to turn. THORNE For 150 years here in Edinburgh the presence of Donaldson's college has in a city of commanding architecture made a loud and defiantly positive statement for the deaf community. But now the school must turn its back on this impressive Victorian building as it strives to keep abreast of its mission to its students from the world of the deaf. ACTUALITY - PLAYTIME The younger children romp around outside at break time but in her study, as she contemplates an uncertain future, the principal, Janet Allen, can proudly list Donaldson's achievements. ALLEN I think in recent years we've played a significant role in the developing of British sign language, it has now been recognised as an official language of the country by the Westminster parliament. That's been a big milestone for us. Here in Scotland we are the first nation of the United Kingdom to recognise British sign language as a means of answering national examination questions. And that's been significant. THORNE It's a shame that Donaldson's has to leave its grand Victorian base but the college has moved several times during its gradual evolution and the new home will be but another positive page in the long history of Donaldson's college. MADILL JohnThorne ending that report. Back to the You and Yours homepage The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for external websites |
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