page_title: Royal National College for the Blind
section_title: Notable people and alumni
hierarchical_section_title: Royal National College for the Blind / Notable people and alumni
caption_attribution_description: English: Charles, Prince of Wales outside the White House on an official visit to the United States in 2005. Español: Carlos, Príncipe de Gales fuera de la Casa Blanca, en una visita oficial a Estados Unidos
context_page_description: The Royal National College for the Blind is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged over 16 and blind or partially sighted. They can study a wide range of qualifications at RNC, from academic subjects such as English and mathematics to more vocational topics such as performing arts. Alongside regular further education subjects and vocational training, the College offers training in mobility, independent living and personal development.
  Founded in 1872 in London as the Royal Normal College and Academy for the Blind, the college had a number of homes before moving to its campus in Hereford; it was renamed the Royal National College for the Blind in the late 1970s. It has been a pioneer in the education of visually impaired people in Britain since the Victorian era, and, as of 2010, is the only college for visually impaired students in the United Kingdom to have been awarded Beacon Status in recognition of its outstanding teaching and learning.
context_section_description: The college is a charitable organisation and is registered with the Charity Commission, the government body which oversees charities in England and Wales. It has a number of high-profile supporters which include Charles, Prince of Wales, who is the current Patron, a position he has held since 1997. The current president is Mrs Jessica White, and there are several public figures who serve as vice presidents. These include the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of Westminster, Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Michael Buerk. In 2008 the BBC sports presenter Gabby Logan and Daily Mail columnist Des Kelly both became Patrons of the England Blind Football team.
  Since the Principalship passed outside the Campbell family in 1934 a number of individuals have held the position. Among them are Lance Marshall who was principal at the time the college moved to its Hereford campus in 1978, followed by Colin Housby-Smith and then Roisin Burge. Christine Steadman oversaw the college's restructuring during her tenure in the late 2000s and proved to be unpopular with staff and students; Steadman resigned in November 2008. Geoff Draper, a former Colonel in the British Army, was appointed to the position on 7 December 2009. Sheila Tallon succeeded Draper in September 2011. Mark Fisher took over from Tallon after her retirement in December 2015.
  Graduates of the college include David Blunkett, British Labour Party politician and former Home Secretary, and Alfred Hollins, English composer and organist. Giles McKinley, who starred in a groundbreaking television commercial for Sauza Tequila during the 1990s, is a former RNC student. The actor Ryan Kelly, who in 1997, became the first completely blind student to join the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and plays the role of Jack "Jazzer" McCreary in Radio 4's The Archers, attended RNC. The Paralympic cyclist Anthony Kappes also studied at the college.
caption: Prince Charles has been the college's Patron since 1997.
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