Alice
A Year 8 student, Alice joined LVS Hassocks in Year 7 from her local, mainstream primary, and remembers her mum’s reassuring words, as she prepared to begin her new school: “It’s okay to be autistic here”.
“Everyone was so kind and supportive. I thought I’d need the bag of stuff that I had always taken into primary school each day, but I didn’t need anything. Everything we needed was here,” says Alice.
“I’ve been able to make lots of friends. It’s so much easier to make friends when there are other people like you – I feel a lot happier too,” says Alice, whose favourite subjects are art and science, adding that in science they are currently learning about atoms, which she says is a really interesting topic because “everything is made of atoms”.
“My mum and dad think this school is a miracle”
“We have six or seven people in our class, which makes it easier to concentrate – you don’t have anyone distracting you.”
Alice also enjoys the PE lessons, especially as the teacher is very understanding. “When you’re not feeling at your best, they notice and will gently encourage you to give it a go, or to try and do a little bit more. In the summer, the lessons are the best because our outdoor space is really beautiful.”
The school, she continues “helps people like me grow and learn”. “There is a nice and calm environment,” says Alice, explaining that if she hadn’t got a place at LVS Oxford, that she would have been home-schooled. “It was such a big relief to get in and I already feel that I’m doing so much better than when I first arrived. I’d like to continue to grow academically. The teachers are really good too, because they get to know you and notice if you’re struggling and are there to help you.”
She adds: “My mum and dad think this school is a miracle. Before I came here I was hardly learning anything and now I am learning something new every day.”