Visually impaired Leeds student on course to boost disability representation in teaching

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A visually impaired student at Leeds Trinity University has set her sights on a career in teaching and hopes to boost disability representation in the profession.

Lily Walsh, 19, is completely blind in her right eye and visually impaired in her left eye as a result of a genetic condition called Peter’s Anomaly.

Deaf and visually impaired Leeds mum's baby son is learning sign language

Research commissioned by Guide Dogs, a charity that helps provide mobility for the blind and partially sighted, has shown that 71% of parents of visually impaired children feel there are not enough people with disabilities in the public eye.

Lily and her guide dog Zen were paired up back in 2019.

The research surveyed 1,700 UK-based Britons with a child aged seven to 12, including parents of 220 children with a visual impairment.

Lily, who is from Liversedge, is now training to be a teacher at Leeds Trinity University despite admitting to realising there are not many teachers with disabilities like the one she has.

She said: “When I was younger I wanted to work with animals, as I grew up surrounded by them, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do until I started college.

“I realised that there aren’t many teachers with disabilities like my own. I think it’s important for young children to see people like them represented in what some people might call ‘challenging professional job roles’ such as teachers.