Friday 28 April 2023 is the first National BSL Day, celebrating the anniversary of when the British Sign Language (BSL) Act was passed by the UK Parliament, recognising BSL as an indigenous language of Great Britain.

28 April 2022 was a momentous day for the Deaf Community, following years of hard work and campaigning, led by the British Deaf Association (BDA) and the Core Group of deaf organisations who supported the BSL ‘Act Now!’ campaign, sponsored by Rosie Cooper MP and supported by the Minister for Disabled People, Chloe Smith MP.

Our High Storrs Deaf pupils, whose native language is British Sign Language, have been spending lunchtimes teaching some of our pupils and teachers BSL and some have even gone on to enrol in BSL qualifications with Signature, the leading awarding body for British Sign Language.

Signature have been doing important work to create a BSL GCSE which has been piloted in several secondary schools around the UK since 2015. The DfE is currently going through the complex process of developing subject content for a BSL GCSE qualification and is hoped to be available in 2025. This is extremely exciting news for both deaf and hearing students who are interested in learning British Sign Language!

The British Deaf Association (BDA) are asking the Deaf community and signing allies to contribute their ideas to their #WhyILoveBSL campaign, sharing what makes BSL so special for them.

Happy National BSL Day!