British Sign Language (BSL) was recognised by the Government as a language in its own right in March 2003.

BSL is the first or preferred language of Deaf people in the UK. BSL is a visual-gestural language, with its own grammar and principles, which are completely different from the grammatical structure of English.

In the UK one in six people have some degree of hearing loss. That's about 10 million people. This means that you are likely to come into daily contact with a deaf person.