Post-16 transition experience of visually impaired young people in England and Wales: Early findings from a longitudinal study

There is little research into what happens to blind and partially sighted young people as they make the transition from compulsory education into further and higher education, and employment. This article describes a longitudinal study which is tracking the progress of 78 young people with visual impairments in England and Wales as they make this transition. Early findings are presented in relation to the experience of 47 of these participants who had recently completed their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) (age 16 years) and made the transition to life beyond compulsory education. All of them remained in some form of education. The majority reported having enjoyed their studies, achieved well in their GCSE examinations, and had experienced positive transitions. There are some areas of concern: many did not appear to have engaged with the more formal pre-transitional preparation processes of 'transition review'; there was evidence of the young people being restricted in participating in part-time work; and some were reserved about applying to university in the future due to tuition fees.