Disabled student pays £9,000 a year but is still not be able to access her lectures

By Jacob Phillips, local democracy reporter

A student who uses a wheelchair has not been able to access her university class rooms despite paying £9,000-a-year for the privilege.

Music student Naomi Stenning can only reach one lecture theatre at her Kings College London (KCL) campus in the Strand because the campus is not wheelchair friendly.

The 21-year-old became clinically ill with glandular fever which became so bad her stomach is now paralysed and she has to use a wheelchair.

She was struck down with the ailments while applying to university.

KCL told her there was no point in the access works being done at the college because of Covid.

But when lockdown ended, KCL told Naomi it would take too much time to make the buildings accessible.

Naomi said: “It’s just a bit stupid to be honest. I can get into the main building but I can not enter my department.

“They think putting my lectures in that room is acceptable rather than making it accessible.

“The first time I went up I couldn’t get anywhere. There was a step and I just couldn’t get anywhere. I just sat there. I had to go home.”

While her fellow pupils are able to go into the university and use 30 practice rooms for their music, Naomi has been forced to stay at her Bromley home to practise her clarinet.

The student has been asking her university to install a ramp over the problem stairwell for two years, but Naomi says no improvements have been made.

Naomi added: “They know what the problem is but don’t do anything to fix them.

“The fact that Kings won’t even fit a ramp, despite my constant requests, says a lot about how much they value disabled students.”

Naomi launched a petition demanding her university made the campus accessible and has received over 40,000 signatures so far.

In an email sent to Naomi, she claims KCL say that some of their buildings are of historic importance and have a Grade one listing – meaning they can not make changes to the building.

But the university said in the email to Naomi it has submitted a request for planning permission to make some of the university more disability-friendly.

A spokesman for King’s College London said: “We take accessibility very seriously and continue to invest in and develop our campuses, putting in place individual and estate wide measures.

“We are in touch directly with Naomi and we continue to provide support and progress the plan of alternative reasonable adjustments we have made to support her education. Adjustments include updating the audio-visual facilities in the teaching room to ensure it is fully functional as a music space and we have made accessible practice rooms available. We have thoroughly investigated the options, including the installation of a ramp, which due to the heritage constraints of the building was unfortunately not possible.

“We understand Naomi’s frustration that alternative individual adjustments are necessary for her to study and we apologise for the time this has taken. The heritage nature of our estate which contains Grade 1 and Grade 2 listing buildings means individual adjustments are often necessary.

 “We continue to work closely with our students and staff, to listen to their feedback and adapt our estate on campus and in our residences in response to individual needs, recognising that this will equally benefit future students and staff and provide accessible and flexible spaces to support all our communities.”