Royal Normal College for the Blind
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| Type | Further education college |
|---|---|
| Established | 1871 |
| President | Jessica White |
| Principal | Mark Fisher |
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Administrative staff
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175 teaching, 56 student support |
| Students | 196 (2008) |
| Location | Hereford, United Kingdom |
| Campus | Venns Lane, Hereford |
| Website | rncb.ac.uk |
Coordinates: 52°04′05″N 2°42′25″W / 52.06806°N 2.70694°W
The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged over 16 and blind or partially sighted. They can study a wide range of qualifications at RNC, from academic subjects such as English and mathematics to more vocational topics such as performing arts. Alongside regular further education subjects and vocational training, the College offers training in mobility, independent living and personal development.
Founded in 1871 in London as the Royal Normal College and Academy for the Blind, the college had a number of homes before moving to its campus in Hereford; it was renamed the Royal National College for the Blind in the late 1970s. It has been a pioneer in the education of visually impaired people in Britain since the Victorian era, and, as of 2010, is the only college for visually impaired students in the United Kingdom to have been awarded Beacon Status in recognition of its outstanding teaching and learning.
RNC hosts the UK's first VI Sports Academy, having begun as the home of the first football academy for visually impaired players and the England blind football team. It hosted the 2010 World Blind Football Championship and also served as a training facility for participants in the 2012 Paralympic Games. The college is actively involved in the development of assistive technology, including student participation in the Tech Novice Cafe, run for members of the public who are not confident in computer use. Two notable devices were developed at RNC; the Mountbatten Brailler, an electronic braille writer, and the T3, a talking tactile device that helped with the reading of maps and diagrams.
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