Hello! I am a student and I’m studying at the Royal National College for the Blind. This is my second year and I am studying massage. After College I am planning to go to university and study physiotherapy or psychology.
I came to the UK more than three years ago from Ukraine. I only knew basic English, and it made my life hard at the beginning of my journey. I had to learn the English language as well as braille grade two at school. It was very difficult at first. I also had other subjects like English, maths and science and because I couldn’t understand a lot I had to work twice as hard. It was also hard for my teachers and my TA to explain something because my vocabulary wasn’t that good at the time.
After a while I started to understand a bit more as well as talk a bit more which made life a bit easier for me and my teachers. When I couldn’t understand something, my TA was creative so I could understand a word or a question that I was given a bit better.
I had a very interesting experience of the mainstream school and there are some parts I like about it and some parts that I dislike. My social life wasn’t the best at school because I couldn’t talk to people at first. I only had a few people who talked to me, mostly from Ukraine, but some were born in England.
After two years I came to RNC. I really enjoy it here because I’ve got a lot of friends.
In the future I am hoping to study psychology or physiotherapy at university. I’m hoping to work close to the medical industry: I can’t be a doctor due to my sight. Additionally, I want to be able to travel to some countries like Spain and possibly Finland. I would love to visit Italy because it is nice and warm.
Vasilisa Kokhana, 28 May 2026