A charity for blind ex-servicemen and women is taking its first-hand experience of war into the classroom.

St Dunstan's in Ovingdean has developed interactive teaching programmes linked to the history and citizenship requirements of the National Curriculum.

St Dunstaners will talk about their experiences in conflicts they have been involved in to educate, encourage empathy and provide pupils with a greater understanding of visual impairment.

The Interactive Schools' Presentation on 20th Century Conflict was launched on Remembrance Day on Monday, at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Retired Captain Ray Hazan gave a presentation at the launch. He was born in Cheshire in 1945 and educated at Charterhouse and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Commissioned into the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1965, he saw service in the UK, Cyprus, Libya, Malaya, Kenya and Gibraltar.

He lost his right hand, was blinded and suffered severe hearing loss in an IRA parcel bomb explosion during his second tour of duty in Northern Ireland.

His road to recovery at St Dunstan's was featured in a BBC documentary in 1974.

He is now the charity's Press officer and editor of the St Dunstan's Review, a monthly in-house journal. He is also president of the International Congress of War Blind Organisations.

He said: "As a father, a St Dunstaner and a PR professional, the chance to talk directly to students about how St Dunstan's has affected my life is one I relish and the barrage of questions I face in the classroom shows the children enjoy it too."

The programme has been developed in consultation with teachers and educational bodies and fits into the history curriculum at key stage 3 and the Citizenship curriculum at key stages 2 and 4.

The scheme is being piloted in Sussex prior to a national roll-out next year.

David Salmon, deputy head of Ratton School in Eastbourne, said: "As teachers, we are always looking for ways in which to bring lessons to life for students and provide them with a context upon which to base their understanding.

"St Dunstan's is providing an invaluable resource, the oral history of people who went through life-changing experiences."

St Dunstan's was started during the First World War and spans the 20th Century and its many conflicts from the Second World War to the Falklands, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.