A MARYPORT school is celebrating after being commended for its phonics teaching.

The Minister of State for school standards, Nick Gibb MP, wrote to Our Lady and St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School congratulating head Jacqueline Hampson, staff and pupils on the school’s outstanding achievement in the 2018 phonics screening check.

He said: “With 96 per cent of pupils at the school reaching or exceeding the pass mark in the check, your school is in the top seven per cent of all primary schools in the country.”

Assistant head Hilary Long, said: “The teachers, governors and children are all delighted.

“It is all down to hard work.

“We are very proud of this achievement.

“The result reflects the commitment of our Key Stage One staff in striving to achieve the very best outcomes for our children, as well as the hard work of the Year One children themselves.”

She added their result was down to high quality daily phonics lessons, which are never missed, where the children learn, consolidate and apply new skills in phonics every day, in order to build and extend their understanding of letters and sounds.

She added: “Year Two teacher, Rebecca Nicholson, is a senior leader in education for phonics and has led the successful teaching of phonics in the school, as well as advising other schools on improvements in phonics.

“She has worked closely with Year One teacher, Evie Long, to secure this brilliant result for our school.

Our teaching assistants also play a vital role in our success.”

The school follows the Government’s letters and sounds guidance.

This rigorous and systematic approach starts in nursery, and continues through the early years and into Key Stage One.