'I'm hoping that children like me will have a much better time fitting in at school after this'

A deaf student says she is ‘excited’ that sign language will be offered as a GCSE. It was recently announced that British Sign Language (BSL) will be an option for students from September 2025.

The government say pupils will learn around 1,000 signs and the classes will teach the history, culture and significance of BSL. Speaking to the M.E.N., University of Manchester student Amy Worrell welcomed the announcement and said she hopes the move will give young deaf people a better chance at ‘fitting in at school’.

Reacting to the news, Amy said: “I'm really excited for the GCSE news because I'm hoping that children like me will have a much better time fitting in at school. I'm also excited to be able to communicate with more people.

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“I get so happy when I randomly bump into people that sign! The bartenders at my local pub at home have all learnt to sign 'thank you' - it brightens my day up every single time I buy a drink even though it's been a year now that they've implemented that.

“I have some cousins that are secondary school age too, so it'd be amazing if I was able to communicate better with them!.”

20-year-old Amy was diagnosed as deaf at just two-years-old after battling with encephalitis. Encephalitis is a rare but serious infection in which the brain swells.

Originally from Derbyshire, Amy was born to two deaf parents but she didn’t learn to sign until she was seven as her mum and dad were ‘raised orally’, meaning they could speak and were not taught BSL themselves.

The ancient history student says that before learning sign language