Be inspired. You Can Succeed; UCAS and Starting University
By Natalia Foster UCAS and University, two small but quite powerful words. For any 18 year old, the UCAS process can be stressful, challenging and all together a mystery until you are on the other side of it. As someone who completed and survived the UCAS journey, I wanted to give you my five top tips for navigating it with ease and confidence! 1. Give your personal statement that personal twist This may seem like an obvious point to make, but you would be surprised as to how much the ‘personal’ part of a personal statement is ignored. Something [...]
Be inspired. Dayzie’s writing journey
Congratulations to Dayzie Simpson whose Peace Essay entitled 'Lead with Compassion' won the MK and District Final and then the National Final in The Lions Clubs' essay writing competition. Dayzie tells us all about her experience writing her winning entry. I’ve never been very ‘creative’ or ‘imaginative’ and that’s what I struggled with when I first discovered my passion for essay writing. Being blind and not being able to see anything, I can’t do the ‘writing’ part, but as technology has advanced and I’ve learnt the skills I need. I have learnt how to touch type on a QWERTY [...]
Reach Out for Anti-Bullying Week 2022
VICTA is proud to be a member of the Anti-Bullying Alliance and from Monday 14 to Friday 18 November we'll be helping to celebrate Anti-Bullying Week 2022. Join in with us on the VICTA Student Portal to highlight this hugely important issue and encourage others to Reach Out. Reach Out The theme this year is Reach Out, chosen to encourage young people to feel empowered to do something positive to counter the harm and hurt that bullying causes. How has somebody reached out to you? Comment on this post or email students@victa.org.uk to let us know if somebody [...]
Be inspired. We chat with Cath Gilby – Head of Para-Performance at the FA
VICTA was privileged to attend the 10 year anniversary of St. George’s Park, celebrating 10 years of success in English football. We were excited to join the celebrations and find out more about the FA's involvement supporting players with vision impairments. The FA are championing disability sport and have high hopes for the blind and partially sighted teams. We were lucky enough to meet Cath Gilby, Head of Para-Performance, who chatted to the VICTA Student Portal about the teams, her role in disability sport and getting more people involved. Watch the interview below and have a think about [...]
Be inspired. Meet the England Men’s Partially Sighted Futsal Team
We were lucky enough to meet the England Men's Partially Sighted Futsal team at their training session and chat to them about the game, their experiences and ambitions! It was clear from seeing the team train that they're going from strength to strength and are on track for big things in the IBSA World Games in Birmingham in 2023. Talking to the players about their journeys into Futsal and how being part of the team has helped them to grow not only as players but also off the pitch, has been truly inspirational. In terms of having a [...]
Be inspired. My Gifted Green World
By Sonal Sumaria, VICTA Young Ambassador (2020/21) Sea green, olive, dark green, forest green, lime, mint, pear, shamrock, emerald, seaweed, parakeet, sage, jade and viridian are a few of many of shades of green – the colour of nature, peace, life, renewal, energy and safety, I’ve seen and worked with. It’s a colour I’ll never be fed up of, it’s in my everyday life and most importantly it’s about my personality as a horticulturist. ‘Green renews and restores depleted energy. It is the sanctuary away from the stresses of modern living, restoring us back to a sense of wellbeing’ [...]
Be inspired. Meet the England Women’s Blind Football Team
On Saturday 21 May, VICTA was privileged to attend the England Women’s Blind Team's first official training camp at the home of England football, St. George’s Park. VICTA's exclusive access granted us front row seats to witness this inspiring team of girls in action, showcasing their talent and teamwork. The team made great use of the Tony Larkin Pitch – a bespoke pitch for blind football and one of only two in existence in the UK. We not only got to see them show off their ability, but also interviewed some of the team and coaches, getting a [...]
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 [...]
My experiences playing blind cricket by Owais
By Owais Niaz I started off playing cricket for fun during my break and lunch times at Joseph Clarke School. After some time playing, I started to improve which caught the attention of the teacher in charge of managing the school cricket team. Noticing my enthusiasm for the sport, she asked me to help her manage the team, a responsibility I really enjoyed. My teacher was so happy with how I took on this task that I was then awarded the ‘Most Responsible’ and ‘Best Manager’ of the month, an award presented to me by Jack Patchy CBE, a [...]
