This petition is part of our GCSE Citizenship Coursework, to create a campaign to improve the accessibility of our main school building for disabled students, staff and visitors. We hope to gain awareness of the issue and eventually resolve it, by persuading directors at our school to fund ramps and lifts in the Main building.

The requirement for such facilities came to our attention after witnessing a few students and teachers recently, who had experienced injuries, encounter difficulty travelling around the school. Some students had been isolated for lessons due to their inability to move around the school - particularly the Main building and teachers often arrived late for class, unable to move quickly up and down the stairs. This impacted their experience at school, as they could not always remain with their classes and students were also required to leave lessons early, meaning they did not always receive the full benefit of the lessons. Teachers being unable to arrive promptly to lessons also impacted whole classes, as they did not receive a full hour lesson and took longer to get settled before each class. Providing lifts would lessen this impact on student's learning and significantly improve the ease of access at our school. It could also reduce the amount of stress teachers with disabilities face ensuring they are on time for their class.

There are currently some lifts at our school, which exist in the Reception/IT building and the STEM building, but it is crucial some are added to the Main building, as this is where most lessons occur. The lack of lifts and ramps also prevents our school from being accessible to visitors who suffer from physical disabilities, resulting in them being unable to view our college and what we have to offer. Therefore, it is imperative we get as many signatures as possible on our petition, in order for it to be of interest to the directors of our school.