Kathy breaks the sound barrier to qualify as a teacher

Kathy breaks the sound barrier to qualify as a teacher. Kathy Walker, 27, has overcome the learning challenges of being profoundly deaf to qualify as a maths teacher. Kathy, 27, from Belfast in Northern Ireland, who graduates today with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Mathematics, is now working at Heathlands School in St Albans, Hertfordshire, teaching Maths and Geography to both deaf and hearing children. Kathy came to Sussex because she felt that the University would best suit her needs and help her to realise her ambition to become a teacher. While studying she received support from a Disability Support Allowance (DSA), which funded interpreters for lectures and lessons. But Kathy had to draw on her own personal reserves, too, to realize her dream. She says: "It was important to open people's minds to the possibility of having a deaf person teach mainstream classes of up to 30 pupils, especially where clear communication is vital.