Be inspired. Video chats with young VI sports stars
The Winter Paralympics are here and we're excited! If the buzz of the snow sport action over the next couple of weeks leaves you feeling inspired to give something new a try, then go for it! These young athletes we chatted to at our Sports Camp did just that... Meet Hester Poole, a Para-Alpine Ski Racer for GB! Hester chatted to the VICTA Student Portal to tell us all about how VI skiing works and how she fell in love with the sport. What started as a tobogganing experience on a dry slope let to [...]
Talking about my mental health
Hi. My name is Johnathan and I am 15 years old. Since it is Children's Mental Health Week, I wanted to tell you about my story and what helped me because I don't think any person should go through those few months. To fully tell this story, we need to go back one and a half years to around the time of the first lockdown. I truly started experiencing mental health issues in the summer of 2020. I became more distant, less interactive and left my room very little. I spent every day just watching YouTube and didn't [...]
Children’s Mental Health Week activity – a letter to your younger self
7 to 13 February is Children's Mental Health Week and this year's theme is 'Growing Together'. Place 2 Be are challenging us to think about how growing emotionally is such an important part of our development. 'Things that upset us when we were younger may no longer overwhelm us as we grow and learn to cope with life’s ups and downs. Challenges and set-backs can help us to grow and adapt.' Writing a letter to your younger self for Children's Mental Health Week You might surprise yourself when you put pen (or braille!) to paper and think about [...]
New opportunity – BBC Young Reporter
BBC Young Reporter Competition The BBC Young Reporter Competition is open until 27 March 2022 for those aged 11-18. It's an amazing opportunity to produce a report on a story or issue important to you. It is a unique chance to tell your story on TV, radio, online or on social media with the help of BBC journalists, producers and programme makers! This year’s theme is ‘Me and My World’. Find out all about the competition and how to enter here: www.bbc.co.uk/teach/young-reporter/competition/zghcydm Need some inspiration? Previous examples include: Ben’s story, produced with BBC Sport, reflects the reality [...]
New opportunity – Join the next wave of VICTA Young Ambassadors!
Each year a new group of VICTA Young Ambassadors come together to help shape STRiVE, our e-magazine aimed at you! Do you have a passion for sharing your voice and communicating with others? Do you have an editorial vision for STRiVE you're dying to share? We have dreams of more video articles, more social content and growing our bank of inspiring stories and honest voices. If you think this could be you, then we'd love to hear from you. More about the programme Our Young Ambassadors Programme is a volunteering opportunity for young adults aged 18 to [...]
Exploring the creative arts – interview with singer Grace Whitford
In November we chatted to singer and actress Grace Whitford about following her dreams of becoming a singer. Grace Whitford initially came across some resistance against following her dream career as a singer. She talks to the Student Portal about discovering her love of music after losing her sight at a young age and the point at which she realised she wanted to pursue it as her career. Grace now performs live at venues and festival and is recording her first EP, she offers some great advice on being determined and working hard to achieve your goals. Watch our [...]
Internship opportunities at Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton UK LLP is part of a global network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms, made up of some 58,000 people in over 135 countries. They have several exciting internship opportunities that give students the chance to work on real projects and take on new responsibilities. Available to second year university students onwards, you will get a unique insight into the business and lots of real-work experience. You will also be on the fast-track to a graduate offer. More information about these internships are available here: https://trainees.grantthornton.co.uk/our-programmes/interns/ A full list of the internship opportunities are [...]
How Braille has changed throughout my life
by Harriet Smith Thinking back over the years, it is interesting to see how braille has changed throughout my life. I don't remember learning braille, but I've been told that I used to feel and sort through a lot of seeds in order for my fingers to become sensitive to it. This is important from a young age because it can be hard to learn braille when you're older as your fingers are less sensitive. I absolutely love braille and would hate to be without it. I think it is wonderful how the development of technology has allowed braille [...]
Christmas treasure hunt!
Sorry, the Christmas competition is now closed but you can still have a go at the treasure hunt just for fun. You will find all the answers at the bottom of the page! Each age group has three Christmassy characters hiding within it. Just follow the clues in your age category, to find a character hidden within a page. If you are using a screen reader the images with have an alt text reading 'Jingle jingle you've found a hidden character' The clues! 10 to 13 age category Clue 1 At Christmas lights shine from afar [...]
STRiVE: My Internship Experience
by Ruyaiya Asim I interned as an Accessibility Advisor for the Project Box. The Project Box is a company that assists students and graduates begin their early careers with world leading accountancy firms. In my role, I helped with making the application and interview processes more accessible for visually impaired people. I did this by going through these processes as an applicant, during which I identified some aspects that could be improved to make them more accessible. Then I presented my findings to Project Box and their clients. While I go through my internship experience, I want to [...]
