Arianna's Journey to Independence

Meet my amazing sister Arianna. She's 20 years old and we live in North Wales.

In the UK, most students get a government loan to cover thousands of pounds worth of higher education. Arianna has Down's Syndrome and has worked so hard to get GCSEs and work experience, but cannot access funding to get specialist education to release her dream of living independently and working in hospitality.

We're saving all we can to make this happen, but we can't do it alone.

Can you help us give Arianna this life-changing opportunity? Your support will enable her to receive this vital education and give her a fair chance at achieving the life that many of us take for granted.

Arianna is a very sociable, loving person who enjoys dancing, sport and loves Liverpool FC! She has always wanted to go away to university/college to meet new friends and learn to live independently, whilst gaining qualifications to work in hospitality in a front-of-house job.

Since finishing school at 16, Arianna’s education and training path has been poorly designed with no real choices offered to her. She does not seem to have the same rights or opportunities as students without Additional Learning Needs.

Arianna has said “I need to learn to look after myself, use public transport to get to places and learn skills to get myself a job that I enjoy. I would like to live with friends of my own age in a town so I can easily go to places to shop, work and meet friends”.

Helped by our parents, Arianna came across Foxes Academy in Minehead, Somerset. She successfully passed an assessment to be accepted onto a two-year course which matches her career interests and will develop her skills to live independently.

The quality and range of support offered 7 days a week at Foxes means that although fees are high, it will cover the qualifications, life skills, and other important skills such as Speech and Language Therapy and Maths and English support. It is where Arianna wants to go and aligns with her aspirations for her future.

Unfortunately, the Welsh Government Education Department will not fund this course and have told Arianna she can only take a different local course which she knows is not suitable for her.

My parents are using all of their savings and taking on additional jobs to raise as much as they can themselves and I will be organising various fund-raising events over the year, as we truly believe this is what Arianna needs for the next phase of her life.

Although the cost of funding this seems like a lot of money in the short term, the savings in future taxpayer-funded social care costs will be paid back in just a few years, as Arianna will be able to positively contribute to society the way she wants to.

Arianna is capable of achieving so much with the right opportunities and we believe that Foxes will give her the best chance of doing so.

If you feel able to support Arianna and you could contribute to making a real difference to her future, we would be so grateful for any donation or for sharing her story. Thank you for taking the time to read this and we hope to continue to raise awareness of inequality impacting people with learning disabilities.