All secondary school pupils in England will soon be able to do a GCSE in British Sign Language, the Government has confirmed.
The groundbreaking new GCSE will give pupils at schools nationwide – including those right across Greater Manchester – the opportunity to learn how to “effectively communicate” using British Sign Language (BSL).
Set to provide students with what the Government has dubbed “an important life skill”, and being introduced with the aim of “advancing inclusivity within education”, the news that the new qualification will be available from 2025 comes following a 12-week public consultation.
The Department for Education (DfE) says it received “overwhelmingly positive support” for introducing the new GCSE from parents, teachers and organisations from the deaf and hearing communities – with their responses from the consultation said to be going towards helping ensure the content of the qualification is “knowledge-rich, diverse in its teaching, and challenging”.
The Government is aiming for the BSL GCSE to have exam board syllabuses approved from the start of the academic term in September 2025.
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A GCSE in sign language is to be offered as an option at all secondary schools in England / Credit: gov.uk
In line with all other qualifications, the BSL GCSE will be open to all pupils, the Government has confirmed.
It will also be recognised and accepted in all school and college performance tables.
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Set to be an internationally recognised qualification, the Government says that pupils who study the new BSL GCSE will get to develop ways of expressing and negotiating meaning through visual spatial language, as well effective communication and visual memory skills that will be an advantage to them for the rest of their lives.
As well as learning how to sign, the GCSE will also give students an understanding of the history of sign language in the UK to provide them with “a solid foundation” for understanding how the language reached its current form.
The new qualification will be available from the start of the academic term in September 2025 / Credit: gov.uk
“Studying British Sign Language can open so many doors for young people,” commented Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, as the new qualification was announced this week.
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“It will give pupils an understanding of how thousands of people communicate and ultimately even expanding job prospects.”
Ms Keegan said the new qualification will “not only break down barriers and give young people valuable new skills”, but also “celebrate the history and rich culture of British Sign Language.”
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
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Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Emily Sergeant -
21st December 2023 
