Published Articles

Explore some of my published works!

My tips for disabled students thinking about university

Gloucestershire Live as been working alongside journalism students at the University of Gloucestershire. We have recently taken the time to come into the university's Park Campus in Cheltenham and use the space we've been provided as a newsroom.

Below, one of the students we have worked with, Amy Woodward, 21, has written her own experience on living with Aniridia (lack of an iris and having better vision at close range) and also advice for any young person considering university with similar c

'My life in Cheltenham as a disabled person'

Over the past month, Gloucestershire Live has been teaming up with journalism students at the University of Gloucestershire. We've recently spent time at its Park Campus in Cheltenham, using the space provided as a newsroom.

One of the students we've worked with, Amy Woodward, 21, has written a first-person piece on life as a disabled person. Amy is a second year student as she explores what life is like living with a visual impairment.

You can read her piece below. If you would like to share

'I'm visually impaired and people just vanish when they see my white cane'

Over the past month, Gloucestershire Live has been teaming up with journalism students at the University of Gloucestershire. We've recently spent time at its Park Campus in Cheltenham, using the space provided as a newsroom.

One of the students we've worked with, Amy Woodward, 21, has written an interview with Derek, a resident of Woodmancote near Bishop's Cleeve. Both Amy and Derek are blind.

Interviewing him at home, Amy explores what it is like to be a blind person and brings up some key di

Aniridia Network 2023 Conference: Amy's experience as a first-time attendee

This a reduced version of the original article, which can be found here.

I have lived with aniridia since birth and no matter how many specialised doctors you see or how many other people with visual impairments you meet, you still feel isolated, different, and misunderstood. This is the exact reason Aniridia Network is important.

There was a mixture of emotions leading up to the conference: excitement, fear, apprehension. I was excited to be able to engage with other people similar to me but

University Work

Explore work I produced during University news days 

Update: Prime Ministers in Their Own Words: Boris Johnson Fails to Impress in Gloucestershire

The day has arrived when Boris Johnson is coming to town… but who will be there to see him? This time last week 53% of tickets hadn’t sold and with less then twelve hours to go 43% of tickets remain unsold.He is coming to the event to promote his new book Unleashed, a tale covering Johnson political career from becoming Mayor of London through to his time as Prime Minister handling Brexit and Covid. Critics are divided over whether the book is full of Johnson blowing his own trumpet or if he is...

Jess Philips Discusses MP Safety and Social Media at the Cheltenham Lit Fest

is time five years ago, at this exact festival, Jess Philips received the news of the death of fellow parliamentarian David Amos who was stabbed at his constituency surgery Southend. Coming back to talk about her new book, Let’s Be Honest, she discusses the last 14 years of government, her own experience of government so far and the importance of safety - for not only ordinary people, but for MPs and the affect that social media is having.

Prime Ministers Time in Office: in Their Own Words

Over 50% of tickets for Boris Johnson’s Literature Festival talk on his memoir Unleashed, haven’t sold.Boris Johnson was one of five Conservative Prime Ministers in the last 14 years. During his time in office, scandal after scandal surfaced from the prorogation of Parliament to Partygate, making him possibly one of the most controversial Prime Minister's of recent times. His book covers the highs and lows of his political career from Brexit to COVID and concludes that Britain is an exceptional...

My Blog

Explore my blog articles 

Labour First 100 Days

It is mad to think that it has been 100 days since I was sat in a sports hall in Gloucestershire at 4am waiting for the election results to be called; it is even more mad that by the time I made it back to my hotel (at around 5:30am) Sir Kier Starmer was making a speech welcoming in a new Labour Government. 100 days since I stood outside 10 Downing Street watching MPs walk in only to come back out as Secretary of State for one department or another.


Throughout Labour’s election campaign they...

Veganuary: My first time experience as a dedicated meat-eater

January is the month to try something new and challenge yourself, with annual events like Dry January, No Spend January and Veganuary. According to Veganuary 9% of British adults have taken part in Veganuary at some point since the campaign was first launched in 2014. Veganuary themselves have estimated that is around 6 million people.

The idea of a “new year, new me” inspired me to try Veganuary for a week. On the whole, I am a dedicated carnivore, so the idea of going vegan for a week was dau

General Election: will the recent boundary changes have an impact?

It has been just over four years since the last general election was held in December 2019, and on 17th December 2024 it will have been five years since parliament sat for the very first time. This means that the UK is due a general election within the next year.

Currently Labour is leading in the opinion polls, but with recent boundary changes the results of an election could be impacted.

Boundary changes are intended to reflect the population so that each constituency has an electorate betwe

Colin Bowley: Life after sight loss

You wake up, get ready for the day, go to work, to the shops, pub, gym. But can you imagine doing these things knowing that you are losing your sight? Or waking up one day and your sight completely gone? According to Fight for Sight a leading UK eye charity 78% of people fear losing their sight.

But this is what Colin Bowley’s life was like before he lost his sight.

Colin Bowley, 60, lives in Broxbourne on the border between Essex and Hertfordshire. He used to work as a Financial Journalist in

The Green Party Revolution Being Planned In Cheltenham

“If they know what they are voting for, they might start questioning it. And you wonder why we are in such a sh*thole”. That was the verdict of Britain’s only Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, in conversation with veteran environmental campaigner Jonathan Porritt.

The Cheltenham Green Party hosted Ms Lucas at the Parabola Arts Centre, on Thursday, with nearly 200 people in attendance.

Before the event started there was an opportunity to socialise with party members and councillors from across Gl

Harmony of the seas 2023 cruise

Harmony of the Seas is a member of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class of ship. Measuring 1,181ft 1in overall and with a gross tonnage of 226,963 this ship can accommodate 6,296 passengers in total with 2,300 crew members. Aside from the size there are 3 key features that distinguish Oasis class from other classes which are: the Central Park area on deck 8 forward, Boardwalk area on deck 6 aft and the 8 different neighbourhoods the ship has.

Royal Caribbean is a US based cruise line which was part of

Aniridia Conference 2023 – My Experience as a first-time attendee

I have lived with Aniridia since birth; and no matter how many ‘specialised’ doctors you see or how many other people with visual impairments you meet, you still feel isolated, different, and misunderstood. Now I don’t speak for everyone when I say that this is the exact reason Aniridia Network is important.

So, when I received an email invite to an in-person conference on the 2nd of September in Birmingham; I jumped at the chance to attend.

When I was booking my place, I noticed that it start

Harmony of the seas – Aqua-Suite Experience

When we arrived at Miami Cruise Terminal me and my sister had no idea what was about to happen. We had no idea that we were about to embark on a cruise where we were staying in an AquaTheater Suite, which is part of Royal Caribbeans Star Class.

Depending on what class you are in you get certain amenities. In Star class you are entitled to complimentary gratuities, complimentary speciality dinning, complimentary minibar and laundry/pressing services, complimentary beverage and refreshment packag

Universal Studios ride rating

I recently went on holiday to Orlando, specifically Universal Orlando. I thought I would give my ranking for all of the rides in the Universal Studios Park..

There are 13 different rides in this park some of which are rollercoasters and some of which are simulators. You can view the full list here.

As a blind person I am going to have different experiences on these rides as I interact with all of these ride differently to how everyone else would.

This is the newest ride in Universal Studios,

Islands of Adventure Ride Ranking

I recently went on holiday to Orlando, specifically Universal Orlando. I thought I would give my ranking for all of the rides in the Islands of Adventure Park.

There are 18 rides in Islands of Adventure. You can see a full list here.

Some of these are rollercoasters and some are motion simulation rides. Unfortunately I will not be including the Cat in the hat ride, One fish Two fish Red dish Blue fish ride, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride or the Caro-Seuss-el ride as I have not be

My Floridian holiday (Summer Holiday Part 1)

Finally after 3 years of waiting I got to go on my 2020 summer holiday. If this is the first blog post that you are reading you may want to read ‘Is summer here??’. Now this holiday is going to be split into 2 parts; part 1 is going to be about Orlando Florida and the Universal parks, part 2 is going to be about my Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas.

On Thursday 10th August I travelled to Heathrow airport and flew out to Orlando Florida. When we arrived at the airport we found out that for

Children eye health awareness month

August is known for being the height of summer often refereed to as the ‘dog days of summer’ due to the star sign Sirius which would appear in the sky.

August also happens to be children’s eye health awareness month. This is primarily celebrated in the US to try and prevent blindness and raise more awareness about taking care of children’s eyes.

Statistics suggest the 1 in 20 children between 3 and 5 have serious eye problems. These problems could lead to permanent vision loss later in life. T

A day out at Colchester Castle

Recently I visited Colchester Castle; as someone who is interested in history this is probably one of the best places to go to experience history. Admittedly as someone who lives in Essex I have probably failed massively as I have never actually been to Colchester castle before meaning this was an entirely new experience for me.

Before I visit anywhere I tend to check what the accessibility is like. On the website Colchester castle seems to be one of the best places for accessibility in general

Deaf-Blind awareness week “I wouldn’t change my disability for anything”

Deaf-blindness is defined as having both your hearing and sight impaired.

Deafblind UK helps people who are deafblind to live with their condition and to build their confidence and independence. They offer comfort, understanding and advice as well as practical support, residential support, care and social opportunities.

I can only imagine what that must be like to be Deaf-Blind, so in the interest of educating myself further and hopefully educating some other people I thought I would interview

Aniridia: My story so far…

My name is Amy i am currently 20 years old and i was born with congenital Aniridia.

Like I said at the start, I was born with a genetic condition meaning I have lived all of my like with a majority -I say “majority” due to the fact I was diagnosed with a few of these later in life- of these conditions affected how I lived my life.

It was fairly easy to let me explore my environment as a child, bayed so,Rome was always in my vicinity if I got myself into anything truly dangerous. Yes I walked i

Aniridia day

But what is Aniridia?

Aniridia is an eye condition which primarily affects the iris (the coloured part of the eye): this eye condition also has a whole host of secondary conditions which affect a person. These secondary conditions include conditions such as Nystagmus, Cataract, Photophobia and Glaucoma just to name a few. like a vast majority of conditions and disabilities Aniridia is a spectrum meaning how one person is affected might be completely different to how another person is affected.

Mid-Essex TEC Roadshow

The Essex TEC show is an event hosted by Essex county council it aims to showcase new and immersing assistive technologies to help disabled people. When we talk about assistive technologies which will help provide care; people will often immediately think of older people with massive buttons or call systems. Admittedly I am also guilty of thinking this; when I first heard about the event I immediately thought of those stereotypical big buttons that you often see in elderly care homes.

With that

American politics terminology

With the American Presidential Election just over a year a way i thought i would attempt to give a run down of some of the key terminology used when talking about American Politics.

DISCLAIMER: all of the knowledge I have about American politics is from my ALevel politics

Direct Primary – this is where only members of a political party can vote for the candidate they want to represent them

Indirect primary -this is where any member registered to vote in that can go and vote for a party candid

United in diversity event

June 21st marked the second annual united in diversity event held by the Essex multi-schools council.This years event was held in Braxted Park an amazing venue with wide open fields and marquees; each part of the venue held different stalls which promoted different organisations which all aimed to help disability.

Whilst at the event I had the opportunity to talk to Mufti-School council leader Kierran Pearce about the Multi-School council, united in diversity event and any plans there was for t

Harmony of the Seas 2023 cruise

Harmony of the Seas is a member of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class of ship. Measuring 1,181ft 1in overall and with a gross tonnage of 226,963 this ship can accommodate 6,296 passengers in total with 2,300 crew members. Aside from the size there are 3 key features that distinguish Oasis class from other classes which are: the Central Park area on deck 8 forward, Boardwalk area on deck 6 aft and the 8 different neighbourhoods the ship has.

Royal Caribbean is a US based cruise line which was part of

Preparing for summer!!!

A couple of months back I wrote an article, titled is summer here, about whether my 2020 summer holiday was finally here (3 years later). Well it is now officially summer; meaning it is now time to start preparing for my (delayed) holiday.

Going on holiday tends to mean one thing… shopping for holiday clothes/essentials. Now I am not the biggest fan of clothes shopping or shopping in general. As somebody who is blind but also isn’t fully comfortable in the way they look this task is made some w

The beginning of the American presidential race

It’s been two and a half years since the last presidential election was held in America. 2020 was the year a huge number of candidates ran for president; and as the candidate announcements have been coming through for the 2024 presidential election a feeling of de ja vu is in the air. Especially with the same two men topping the charts, current incumbent Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump.

Here is what we know so far…

As of June 7th 12 Republican candidates have launched their bid to

Books that have had an impact on my life…

I am an avid book reader, not as avid and enthusiastic as some, but still an avid book reader. Over the years I have read many books which have had an impact on me personally.

Here is a list of some books which have had an impact on my life and why.

I love these books. Initially I thought differently. I started reading these books towards the end of my year 11, mainly because my mum had being going on about it non-stop so to shut her up I started reluctantly reading the first book. Now when I
Load More

Marketing Internship NCW

Explore some of the work I did for my school’s marketing department between 2021-2022

The annual MCC v NCW Cricket Match is back!

There are many school events that as a community, we all enjoy and look forward to during the summer.

One of those events is of course the annual MCC v NCW Cricket Match!

It was a beautiful day for this year’s match, with the sun shining and a light breeze. As the MCC team donned their variety of Sim Specs, the spectators took their places for what is always a fun, but hard-fought competition.

Clive Spencer acted as umpire, and Lynne Newell from the Worcester Old Elizabethans as the scorer.

Raising awareness of Retinoblastoma

This week, 7 – 14 May, is Retinoblastoma Awareness Week.

Retinoblastoma is a type of eye cancer which can most commonly be found in babies and young children and is often spotted by having a white pupil. The condition can cause people to lose one or both eyes, and has significant psychological and physical impact.

Sixth Form student Samih has been blind from the age of 2 due to Retinoblastoma. “It can feel quite isolating because people with Retinoblastoma are a minority within the vision impa

Mental Health Awareness Week

From 9 – 15 May, the UK will be celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week – a week which aims to inspire action to promote messages of good mental health for everyone. The event has continued to grow each year with more and more focus being put on to mental health, and is now one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK!

Last year, the theme given to the week was surrounding nature which was particularly important given the pandemic. This year’s theme is loneliness. This is because of the de

We Will Rock You!

For the last few months, the corridors of school at NCW have been filled with the sound of rock music and singing – it could only be the rehearsals for the We Will Rock You school production!

Staff and students involved in this year’s exciting production have been rehearsing relentlessly, and finally presented their hard work to the school community and parents on Thursday 10th and Friday 11th March.

We Will Rock You tells the story of a globalised future where the world doesn’t have music. A

Children's Mental Health Week 2022

From 7 – 13 February 2022, it is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. The theme for this year is growing together; this is about growing emotionally and finding ways to help each other out. It has made me reflect on how NCW helps young people who are not only VI, but who also suffer with mental health issues.

Vision impaired students can suffer with a range of different mental health conditions, especially coming to NCW from mainstream environments – feelings of worry, social isolation and

"If you work hard, you will get something big out of it!"

Year 13 student Jack joined NCW in September 2014, and has been on a real journey in his time at college – growing in such confidence and independence.

Back in 2010, Jack suffered from a brain tumour which was removed surgically. Soon after the operation, Jack sadly developed meningitis and wasn’t given much hope for the future from his consultants in terms of being able to stand and walk again. The after effects of the surgery has had an impact on Jack’s sight as well as his balance and streng

Students experience pottery with Museum of Royal Worcester

On Wednesday 24 November, Year 7 and 8 students had the wonderful opportunity to have a pottery session with visitors from the Museum of Royal Worcester.

Visitors Kay and Louise brought with them the pop up museum, and were able to let students have an afternoon exploring the creative work from well-known Royal Worcester Porcelain. Students delved into holding rare and decorative pieces from their collection, some of which dated all the way back to the 18th century!

One museum piece was a spec

Experimenting with a new Van de Graaff generator!

The NCW Physics department have got a new Van de Graaff generator, and have been busy investigating the effects of charging a student!

A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which removes electrons from the dome, moves them along a belt and takes them to the bottom of the generator. The positive charges left are spread out on the surface of the sphere.

Mr Stark charged up the Van de Graaff by spinning a wheel which turned the belt and transferred the electrons away from the me

Amy's University Lowdown!

Every student who wants to go to university has to go through the same process when considering where they want to go and what course they want to study. When you have a disability, this process can be made even more complicated – you have to consider various different aspects to get the best out of the opportunities available.

Recently I have been visiting different universities in order to help me decide where I want to study after I have finished sixth form. I’m looking to study Journalism.

Students receive visit from Slam Poets for National Poetry Day

In celebration of National Poetry Day, Dr Jack McGowen and Ruth Stacey from the University of Worcester Creative Writing Department, paid NCW students a visit on Friday 8 October.

Both Jack and Ruth have been writing for a number of years spanning across various writing forms and genres. Students were delighted to sit and listen to poems, as well as having a go at writing their own.

Sixth Form student Amy took the opportunity to interview the creative writers to find out why they enjoy writing

Sixth Formers experience Hamilton on the Westend

Early on Sunday 19 September, a cold and rainy morning, a group of Sixth Formers were preparing to go on a trip to the Westend to see Hamilton the musical.

The idea came about earlier in the year during a drama lesson, where the class were having a discussion about what a great experience it would be to go and see Hamilton on the Westend.

Drama Teacher, Mrs Madden, managed to get tickets and a group of five students (Amy, Samih, Ethan, Martha and Jack) and five staff members were off on a min