On Thursday 21st December, pupils at Cheadle Hulme Primary School had the exciting opportunity to be filmed by BBC News and appear on the national evening news as part of a feature on British Sign Language (BSL).
It comes after the government announced their move to offer BSL as a GCSE in England from September 2025.
At Cheadle Hulme Primary School, children learn how to sign from the moment they start school.
Signing is used in assemblies, lessons, and as part of performances.
As part of the school’s Key Stage Two Carol Concert, pupils in Year 5 have been signing throughout performances within the school and at the local church.
Pupils were praised for their inclusive performances at the local church
Their school performance was broadcast on national television as part of the BBC One Evening News programming on Thursday.
During the feature, pupils discussed why they feel it is important for young people to learn how to sign.
One pupil said; “I believe it’s good because it can help support people to sign to communicate.”
Another said; “I think it would make people that can’t hear well very happy that you’re talking to them.”
Pupils taught some signs to Elaine Dunkley, BBC News Education Correspondent.
In 2022, BSL was officially recognised as a language in the UK following the passing of the British Sign Language Act.
Students taking the new GCSE will learn more than 1000 signs, as well as studying the history of British Sign Language in the UK.
Ryan Thompson, Head of School, said:
“We have children in school who rely upon using signs to communicate with their peers, and for their peers to communicate with them. Signing is an important part of school life, and I would hate for that to end when they leave their primary education.”
Cheadle Hulme Primary School is one of three primary schools within the Laurus Trust.
The Laurus vision is for everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, to be inspired, to thrive in all environments, to recognise what it takes to succeed, to set aspirational goals and work hard to achieve them.
As such, a great deal of importance is attached to developing pupils’ oracy and communication skills, including sign language.
The commitment to teaching BSL, as part of a wide progressive Enrichment Curriculum, is underpinned by the school’s mission to ‘prepare our children for a world we know and a world yet to be discovered.’