New College Worcester

New College Worcester (NCW) is a national residential School and College for young people aged 11 to 19 who are blind or vision impaired.

Every student has an individually tailored programme in 3 key areas: academic achievement, independent living skills and extracurricular activities. These opportunities play a crucial role in the development of confidence and self-esteem and preparation for life beyond our college. Our Outcomes, Wellbeing and Learning (OWL) philosophy provides the daily focus for life at NCW.

We take students with a wide range of visual impairments and some students have additional needs such as a hearing impairment, Asperger’s Syndrome or have limited mobility.

Students come from around the UK and are funded by their own local authority. We also take privately funded students from the UK and around the World.

At NCW students have a wide range of academic ability. They can follow the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3, following onto GCSE and A Level courses. We also offer some entry level and vocational courses in key stages 4 and 5. Students also have Independent Living Skills (ILS), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), mobility and Braille lessons. We also provide ASDAN courses (personal, social and communication skills) for some students. All pupils partake in a range of physical education lessons, and participation in sports is encouraged both in the College and the community.

All teachers are subject specialists, as well as qualified teachers for the visually impaired (QTVI), who have a flair for developing self-esteem. They give our students the individual attention, in small class sizes, that is so important to help them do well academically. Academic facilities include a Learning Resource Centre with a library, three ICT rooms, five science laboratories, a Music Centre and a range of dedicated subject classrooms.