Aston Villa Foundation to begin work with three secondary schools

The Aston Villa Foundation's award-winning Villa Vision initiative has begun work with Summit Learning Trust, to establish the programme into secondary schools for the first time.

Already delivering in all four primary schools within the Trust, the initiative successfully piloted the programme with Year 7 students from Cockshut Hill Secondary School in May 2023, with plans to expand the initiative into all three secondary schools within the trust across the 2023/24 academic year.

Students first took part in an interactive lesson, learning about the importance of eye health using VR headsets and 3D eye models, with children then invited to take part in a vision screening check to test for deficiencies in vision and colour vision.

Of the 145 children seen at Cockshut Hill for vision and colour vision screening, 38 children were identified for additional testing, with 16 children utilising the fully operational custom-designed mobile eye care unit. 10 children were prescribed glasses from the testing, with three of the children also diagnosed with a colour vision deficiency.

Kully Uppal, deputy CEO of Summit Learning Trust, said: “It's been amazing to be involved with such a key community project, one which helps bring our education, health and sport sectors together as one, for the greater good of the children and young people we serve.

“We look forward to seeing this partnership grow over the coming years and thank Villa Vision and the Aston Villa Foundation for supporting us with this invaluable initiative.”

Villa Vision is led by the Aston Villa Foundation in collaboration with Aston University with funding from the University, Premier League, Professional Footballers Association and OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation.

Designed and delivered by the Aston Villa Foundation's dedicated eyecare team, Villa Vision helps to raise awareness on the importance of eye health for both children and adults within the local communities of Birmingham.

Delivered by the Foundation's in-house optometrist Nikhil Sonpal and dispensing optician Toni Maguire, the initiative was the first of its kind in the UK.

Until this academic year, the initiative has delivered workshops, screenings and testing in exclusively primary schools across Birmingham, engaging with children over 10,500 children aged nine to 11. Over 300 pairs of free glasses have been prescribed to more than 160 children since its launch in 2020.

Nikhil Sonpal, Villa Vision project manager and optometrist, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to have worked with several schools within Summit Learning Trust over the last year to deliver our Villa Vision programme, and we are really pleased to have extended our partnership for the forthcoming academic year.

“Thousands of local children have already benefited by learning more about the importance of eye health, with many that were struggling to see in the classroom having been prescribed glasses through our initiative. We really look forward to working alongside the Trust in helping to reach and support more of the community's eye care needs over the coming year.”