Dreaming to be the best British Sign Language teacher

When pupils at a Croydon school were asked to ‘dare to dream,’ one girl had no hesitation in telling her peers she wants to be the best British Sign Language teacher.

​And Amala knows how important the skill is because she is the child of deaf adults (CODA) and is already fluent in sign language.

“I started learning sign language from the minute I was born. You may have heard people say ‘Are you deaf?’ or ‘Can you hear me?’, but what if they can’t hear you - and what is wrong with that?” she said.

Chestnut Park Primary School, a member of the GLF Schools Multi-Academy Trust, recently held a week where pupils were encouraged to think about their futures and the myriad of possibilities that were in front of them.

Among the children taking part was Amala, who wrote down her dream as part of the sessions.

“Every time I go to the shops, or meet my teachers, I always have to translate, or there is an interpreter,” she explained.

“I am sometimes really shy, but I have to overcome my fear someday and so you you. In the future I want to be the best BSL teacher, and I am working really hard to meet the standards.”

The Dare to Dream week proved to be a huge success for the primary school which welcomed visitors from across the board of potential careers from the law to musicals.

Another pupil, Dorcas, shared her dream and told how she wants to be an author - or anything that involves a love of the written word.

“Ever since I was a toddler I’ve always fantasised about becoming an author. Whether it was writing poems, or imagining myself as a journalist, I knew my future had to be something special and filled with words,” she says.

Rose told her peers, in poetry, about her dreams of becoming an artist - and is positive she can achieve what she wants.

This is Me,
Full of ambitious dreams
I know I can achieve
Nobody to stop me

Executive Headteacher Rachel Jacob said the week had been a huge success and pupils had enjoyed every element.

“We wanted to open our children’s eyes to the wider world around them, and to know they can be anything they want to be,” she said.