Abstract Despite the plethora of studies that have attempted to examine self-esteem in a variety of contexts, few studies have focused on investigating the self-esteem of students with visual impairments as a function of receiving help from their sighed peers within the context of inclusive schooling. Employing a qualitative approach, this study examines the ways sighted students assist their peers with visual impairments in an inclusive secondary school setting in relation to the self-esteem of the help-recipients. It does so, by highlighting the decision for seeking help and threat to self-esteem models. The findings have indicated that, sighted peers assisted their friends with visual impairments in a number of ways despite the fact that, some of the help-recipients were unsatisfied with the help given. Generally, students with visual impairments were comfortable seeking assistance from their sighted peers, with high self-esteem levels despite the concerns raised. Finally, discussions of these findings and recommendations are provided