Doncaster celebrates Sign Language Week

People have been asked to get involved with this year’s theme which is promoting British Sign Language (BSL) by learning to sign ‘Welcome to Doncaster, we’re celebrating Sign Language Week’.

Sign Language Week (SLW) is celebrated every March to commemorate the first time BSL was acknowledged as a language in its own right by the UK Government on 18 March 2003.

Alexis Johnson, chief executive of Doncaster Deaf Trust said: “Sign Language Week is a very important week for Doncaster Deaf Trust. Our pupils, at Doncaster School for the Deaf, and many of our deaf staff use BSL as their first language.

“BSL was legally recognised in law by the UK government in 2022 and in 2025 a new GCSE in BSL will be available in schools and colleges across the country.

“We’re pleased that our partners in Doncaster have taken the time to learn to sign a new phrase and we hope that this will inspire even more people to think about Deaf Awareness and learning BSL.”

Doncaster Deaf Trust have a free online course for people who wish to learn the level one content of BSL. The online course is easy to use and can taken at any pace to sign up visit www.doncasterdeafsign.org.uk

For further information about Doncaster Deaf Trust and the services it provides visit www.deaf-trust.co.uk

Watch a video of some youngsters signing https://youtu.be/GkXgt1Cu_V4 ‘Welcome to Doncaster, we’re celebrating Sign Language Week’