Our Philosophy
Oxford BSL believes in inclusiveness and equity for all. As such, we offer a range of services, including Deaf awareness training, Teacher of the Deaf tutoring and English Language support for Deaf and hard of hearing adults.
We also offer British Sign Language (BSL) classes in Oxfordshire. There are over 150,000 BSL users currently in the UK. At Oxford BSL, we firmly believe in communication for all, so we hope that by offering classes more people can learn to communicate with those in the Deaf community.
Oxford BSL is committed to providing an in-depth education, giving you the knowledge and tools to have conversations with confidence and use your skills in a range of situations. We are not just about vocabulary and passing exams, we are about helping you learn a lifelong skill you can use in your professional or personal life.
Director and Teacher
Suzi Sentance
BA(Hons) PGCE PGDip MA
I began to lose my hearing in 2014. I now have a moderate-severe loss and wear two hearing aids. It was a good excuse to start to learn BSL; I'd always been interested in the language since learning how to fingerspell when I was 8 years old! I am currently finishing my Level 6 qualification with Appa in Lewisham, with a view to starting interpreter training next year.
I was a mainstream primary teacher for ten years, in Greenwich and Oxford, before leaping at the chance to become a Qualified Teacher of Deaf Children and Young People (QToD) for Oxfordshire County Council in 2019. It has given me the opportunity to use my BSL skills in a professional setting and have regular access to a wonderful group of highly-skilled signers, both fellow QToDs and the Communication Support Workers in the team.
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I'm very active in my local Deaf community, joining almost every week for coffee mornings and social evenings. It gives me the opportunity to sign with native BSL users, as well as making friends and having fun!