Inspiring deaf Largs woman Mabel Davis writes new book

Born in Saltcoats, Mabel Davis CBE became deaf when she was only seven years old after taking medication for an infection, and has been able to master lip reading.

Mabel, who is now in her late 70s and lives in Halkshill in Largs, even won a CBE for her achievements and refuses to let the disability stand in her way.

She has now detailed her own experiences and hopes to provide a guiding light for the future by educating others.

She recalls from a young age how she had to endure challenging circumstances, including difficult times growing up.

In 1952, Mable was only seven years of age when she lost her hearing as a result of TB meningitis.

Her amazing journey is captured in her inspirational new book 'The Eyes that Hear' in which she shares the challenges of an invisible disability.

From a young age, Mabel made sure she was educationally talented and read voraciously with a love for Charles Dickens works, and became determined to learn as much as possible.

When she began training in Scotland, Mabel was told she was unable to teach because of her disability.

However, determined to fulfil her dream, she moved to Liverpool where she qualified and was given a job.

After a long career in the industry, which included a role as deputy principal at a school in Brighton, she moved to St Albans.

Mabel has inspired children to reach their potential and believe they can do anything (Image: Newsquest)

Mabel, who is a grandmother, said: "My book 'The Eyes that Hear' is a personal story about how it affected me and my family.

"It also intends to draw conclusions from my experiences of 35 years in education of deaf children which also applies to children of any disability.

"Inclusion is a key word. Inclusion is an ideal and very difficult to implement in a way that does not separate children into special schools.

"Such schools need to partner with mainstream schools without affecting the education of other children."

In 1992, Mabel became the first deaf headteacher to be appointed in the UK.

She became a founding member of the General Teaching Council as representative of the Disability Commission in 2000.

And as a result of her work in education, she was honoured by the Queen with a CBE in 2007.

She dedicated her career to teaching deaf children to aspire high, especially in literacy. She pioneered various inclusion strategies and her proposal for a National Inclusion Strategy was published in the Journal of the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf in 2018.

When Mabel took charge of Heathlands School in St Albans she became the first deaf person in the UK to become a headteacher.

She helped the school grow and reach an outstanding status from Ofsted, and proudly became a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Through her new book, Mabel wants to continue the good work she has started in St Albans and said: ""I want the children to have chances in life.

"I want them to be so confident they can aspire to be anything they want to be.

"I want to show them that they have to believe in themselves and that there is nothing you can’t do if you try hard enough."