HISTORY

The origins of Blatchington Court Trust go back two centuries.

In the 1840s there were no special schools for blind or partially sighted children in Sussex until a Brighton resident, William Moon opened his house to a small group of blind boys.

From this early Initiative a small school for blind boys was established and occupied two classrooms for educating blind children at the Central Schools in the town.

In the 1860s as a result of a public appeal the Brighton Asylum for Blind Boys opened which was recognised as a model of its kind.

After the Second World War a property was purchased in Seaford which became Blatchington Court School for partially sighted children.

The school closed in 1985 following the Warnock Report which recommended that people with disabilities should return to mainstream life.

In 1992 the main school building at Seaford was sold together with adjacent land and the monies realised from the sale invested.

Since then the Trust, governed by a board of Trustees has become a registered grant-making charity, helping vision impaired people up to the age of 30 years

In Autumn 1999 an independent consultancy evaluating the Trust's first five-year strategy reported very positively.