This year will be the bicentenary of The Deaf Academy – formally known as Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education – and we are honoured to be holding one of their bicentenary celebration launch events at Fursdon this April.
Links with Fursdon
Fursdon’s link with the Deaf Academy goes right back to its beginnings when Mrs Hippisley Tuckfield (pictured) and Miss Grace Fursdon (born 1801, daughter of George Sydenham) became impressed by the educational potential of a farm labourer’s deaf child living at Fursdon and subsequently helped to establish The Royal West of England Institute for Deaf and Dumb.
Later, in 1990s, Catriona Fursdon became involved as a Trustee, having become interested in the family connection and the work being done by the school. Between 2001 and 2003, she chaired the Board of Trustees and has since maintained an interest in its continued work.
200 years of deaf education
Since its establishment, The Deaf Academy, as it is now known, has innovated and evolved to become a beacon of best practice in deaf education, and it is these achievements that the school hopes to celebrate this year.
As part of the event, Fursdon will welcome a mixture of staff and students of The Deaf Academy to Fursdon, supported by interpreters, with an introductory talk and welcome by Catriona Fursdon followed by two house tours and cream teas.
We look forward to welcoming The Deaf Academy to Fursdon and helping it to celebrate its many achievements over 200 years.