Students at East End Primary School have graduated from the school’s first Braille Club and the student who initiated the programme hopes it will spread to other schools.

Big-hearted P6 prefect Ronique Trott came up with the idea to launch the club when she saw her teacher Alicia Zuill working with P4 student Jahshun Simons on a Braille writer. Ronique asked Ms Zuill whether she would consider starting a club so other children could use it to help their visually impaired friends or to help someone in the community. Much to Ronique’s delight, Ms Zuill agreed to speak to her own Braille teacher and ultimately the principal. Both were on board with the idea and the Braille Club was launched in January. Ms Zuill downloaded the programme, Perky Duck, as an educational aid and the vast majority of the 16 students who signed up now know how to read Braille, according to Ms Zuill.

Ronique, who recently graduated from P6, wrote an article on the experience in The Royal Gazette’s Young Observer section, saying: “Although this is my last year at East End Primary School, I am glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of the first Braille club at my school.

“Hopefully, Ms Zuill continues the club in September so that other children will have the same opportunity and exposure to Braille as I had.

“Maybe the idea of implementing a Braille Club will spread to other schools.”

Ms Zuill said that it had been a rewarding experience for her first set of graduates and she planned to continue the club next term.

“The students were excited to learn it,” she said. “In fact, we went on a class trip on Sunday to a hotel for brunch. They saw Braille on the bathroom doors and noticed a couple of letters were missing.

“They have really taken to it — all of them have shown a lot of interest. My focus is on the children and their enthusiasm and them wanting to do that and her taking the initiative to ask me.”