Exmouth students campaign for BSL equality

Deaf Academy youngsters back proposed law

Youngsters from the Deaf Academy in Exmouth have marched through the town to campaign for British Sign Language - BSL - to gain legal status.

Right now, BSL is not an official language.

But around a quarter of a million people in the UK rely on BSL to communicate.

Now MPs have approved a proposal that will give the students what they are demanding.

The government is not standing in the way of a bill introduced by Labour MP Rosie Cooper.

And disabilities Minister Chloe Smith says legally recognising BSL will help deliver better public services to deaf people. while creating: "a more inclusive and accessible society, improving the lives of deaf people and helping public services to do it right."

The bill now goes to the House of Lords on its way to becoming law.

On Friday, Deaf Academy students paraded banners from their campus on Douglas Avenue, Exmouth and into town.

Teaching assistant Nikki James said the law would mean "better support for parents and children". 

"It will make their world bigger - at the moment a deaf individuals world can be quite small and so we want to improve and enlarge the world for them", she said.

The attached film report is from BBC Spotlight.