Deaf student follows movie dream

A deaf student who wants to become a film maker has described how studying photography helped him to "hear" and understand the world around him.

Luke Blackburn's ambition to do a film degree was sealed when he earned a grade A in GCSE photography.

"For me pictures are a source of information, they are how I hear things, they are how I learn," said the 23-year-old from Reading, Berkshire.

He has been offered a place at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

I had a personal tutor, they provided a computer, they did so much for me here Luke Blackburn

Mr Blackburn also achieved Bs in A-Level media studies and AVCE - Advanced Vocational Certificate in Education - media studies last week.

The keen sportsman spent years drifting from job to job before deciding that he wanted to embark on a career in the media.

A skilled lip-reader, Luke's return to study was aided by Newbury College which provided trained communicators to accompany him to lessons to provide sign language translations and note taking.

"The teachers here completely adapted to the way I communicate and the way I speak to people," he said.

"They really did support me a lot, I had support staff in the form of communicators, translators, I had a personal tutor, they provided a computer, they did so much for me here."

He said he was ambitious to achieve something in the media.

"I would really like to get into film and television in the future since I have had so many ideas about what I could do," he said.