Fearnside House is the Deaf Academy’s Post 19 provision and is the only provision of its kind in the UK to cater for Deaf students aged between 19 and 25. It is a 10-minute walk from the main Academy site and is very close to Exmouth town centre and all its amenities.

Fearnside House is an inclusive, nurturing and empowering environment where students are supported on their pathway to independent living in a person-centred approach. Students at Fearnside House are encouraged to own their life, and this starts with being supported to create the rules of the house for all to follow for the year as well as regular house meetings to collectively problem-solve and be involved in how  Fearnside looks and feels.

The residential element has a large accessible kitchen where all students are expected to cook their own meals, either individual or group meals, with support if needed. To the side of this room is a separate dining room which is the main social space of the house where students can spend time with each other, their friends and the staff team. We also have a laundry room with facilities suitable for a house full. All these spaces allow you to further improve, develop and build on those independent living skills that you have gained during previous years at the Academy.

There are 10 bedrooms on the first floor of Fearnside House, which are accessed either by the stairs or the lift. Two of the bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms and the rest have their own washbasin and shared access to a bathroom, a wet room and an accessible shower room. This floor also has its own social room with a TV and sofas, and a kitchenette where you can make drinks and snacks.

Fearnside has three gardens that include a fishpond, green house and vegetable patch, this garden is maintained by our estates and facilities team but if students have an interest in this area, then they are encouraged and supported to be as involved in this as much as they wish. Students are encouraged to make their rooms feel as homely as possible and to bring pictures and posters to put on the walls in their room to personalise them. Rooms are private and each person is allocated their own key upon joining us. On the ground floor is the self-contained Bradbury Learning Centre with classrooms, a one-to-one room, media suite and social areas.