Imagine walking into the great unknown, where every step is an adventure navigated by touch. Each unfamiliar surface like in uncharted territory to be explored. The quiet tension builds as you journey deeper into wilderness. Your fingertips scour the never-ending wall, tracking its chalky surface, hoping to find the sharp edge of the doorframe.

My name is Hayley Xie, I am 15 years old and I am a visually impaired Student at Woking High School in Horsell. At six, I was diagnosed with Stargardts. At ten, I became a braille user and at 11, I began to constantly use a cane. I regularly faced the challenge of independently navigating unfamiliar public spaces in disabled toilets

Consider this, while tracing the contours of the walls in a disabled bathroom, searching for the sink, I inadvertently tugged on a string, later discovering that it was an emergency cord! Oblivious to the chaos I had unleashed, alarms pierced the air in a separate room, drawing anxious people to my door. But now, a remarkably simple solution exists to prevent such mayhem from happening in the first place.

I have designed and created tactile maps for the accessible toilets in my school in Horsell. I hope to campaign to make this a national standard, rendering these spaces universally accessible. This development would foster confidence and illuminating the path to greater independence for those with blindness, low vision and deteriorating sight.

I am currently working with Zêe Franklin, local MP for Guildford, and my school, Woking High School, who both support my campaign. We are now discussing how to implement this vision in Guildford town centre. My ambition is to take this initiative all across Surrey, to London and then nationwide. My campaign is and will always be to forge a future where truly accessible transit is not a privilege but a ensured standard for every citizen in the world.