RCSLT at 80

RCSLT at 80

Our 80th anniversary

2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), and we were delighted to share so many celebratory moments with our members across the year. Our Southwark Cathedral event in May 2025 was attended by our members, as well as RCSLT president Nick Hewer, RCSLT chair Irma Donaldson and Professor Pam Enderby. The service included performances from the Great Western Hospitals NHS Choir, inspirations readings and poems, and a service user reflection.

The London event was followed by  our touring exhibition of photographs that appeared at speech and language therapy services around the UK, sharing  some of the moments in the daily lives of SLTs.

Our biannual conference also took place in 2025, titled ’80 years and beyond’. SLTs came together for two days in November to celebrate our profession and look ahead to the next 80 years. Many of our members also joined in to mark the occasion by promoting the profession at a local school or careers fair, lobbying their local council or MP to campaign for better resourcing for speech and language therapy or hosting an SLTea party to celebrate.

Read more about the history of the RCSLT and the profession.

Picturing the profession

To mark the 80th anniversary milestone, we commissioned photographers Cat Goryn and John Behets to capture the powerful moments—both big and small—that define the daily lives of SLTs across the UK.

Through their lens, we’ve highlighted the joy, the hard work, the challenges, the connections, and the unwavering dedication that SLTs bring to their work. These images reflect the compassion, resilience, and perseverance of those who tirelessly support people with communication and swallowing needs.

Our photographers were able to share their knowledge and lived experience through their work. John is a psychology graduate with an interest in language and speech after brain injury. He says: “I think it’s important to have an understanding of who I’m photographing in order to have an empathy with the subjects”.

Cat had speech and language therapy as a child. “I grew up shy and quiet, but not having a voice was something else. Like the ability to speak was taken away. Spending time with my SLT in a little quiet room in the depths of Addenbrookes hospital really changed my life. Being able to showcase this profession and the wonderful people in it goes a little way to repaying the impact it has had.”

Download a presentation of the images

Acknowledgements

The photography exhibition could not have been possible without the staff and service users at: Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, HMP Brixton, The Include Project, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

Sharing the stories of our profession

Special 80th anniversary edition of Bulletin

We kicked off our anniversary year with a special 80th edition of Bulletin which includes our special photography feature and cover, plus lots of individual SLT stories and service user voices. The issue turns the spotlight on the SLTs of today to give a picture of the emotion, care and energy you invest in your working lives.

What is speech and language therapy animation

As part of our anniversary, we created a new animation to help explain to members of the public what speech and language therapy is and how it can help them. The animation follows the story of an SLT called Samira along with service users Katie and Patrick, and demonstrates the different ways in which speech and language therapy can be used to help people.

Celebrating the profession at Southwark Cathedral

RCSLT 80th Anniversary Southwark Cathedral

We held a special event to celebrate RCSLT at 80 on Wednesday 21 May 2025 at the history-rich and stunning Southwark Cathedral in London. Open to all members, the event was a wonderful occasion allowing us to come together to recognise the amazing work that has been done over the last 80 years and appreciate everyone who directly or indirectly helps to improve the lives of those with speech, language, communication and swallowing difficulties.

Together, guests listened to readings and reflections from SLTs at all stages of the career path from student to retired members, a powerful talk from a service user following a laryngectomy, and songs performed by the Great Western Hospitals NHS Choir. You can view the full event programme and have a look at images from the event on our flickr.