A WINCHESTER school has praised the impact of an Oscar-winning film in raising awareness of deaf people.

A spokesman for the Hearing Impaired Unit at The Henry Beaufort School said it was delighted to hear that The Silent Child received an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

The film is about a profoundly deaf four-year-old girl named Libby who is born into a middle class family and lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her the gift of communication.

Alison Strevens, a teacher of deaf pupils, said: “As a deaf-friendly school, we are excited by the impact The Silent Child is having by raising awareness of the barriers that deaf children can experience, particularly in accessing education.

“Our students are fortunate in that they have support from specialist teaching assistants and teachers who are fully trained in meeting the needs of our deaf students in order to access the curriculum.”

The school supports students with various degrees of hearing impairment, including a weekly signing club for all students and staff, deaf and not, to learn British sign language (BSL). Lessons are delivered by instructor Emillie Bailey, who herself is profoundly deaf.

Ms Bailey said: “I would fully support the introduction of BSL in the national curriculum as it would open up far more opportunities for the deaf community and help bridge the gap between deaf and non-deaf people.”