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News

Successful Summer Literacy School

Poole Education Committee was delighted to hear of the success of the Literacy School held during the Summer holidays at The Martin Kemp-Welch School.

For a two week intensive period, a group of 38 pupils who were about to join their new school took part in a well resourced and planned programme of activities aimed at raising their standards of literacy. Their studies were centred on text from the very popular "Goose Bump" series of books. In addition to a variety of literacy tasks, they took part in a wider range of activities linked to their studies such as visiting the local public library and Poole Arts Centre.

The benefits to those taking part were considerable. The Co-ordinator of the project, Mrs Sue Hillier, who teaches at The Martin Kemp-Welch School, was most enthusiastic about the outcomes. "The students taking part," she said, "made impressive gains in both their reading and spelling attainment during the two weeks - in a number of cases the equivalent of many months of progress. In addition, we could see a real growth in confidence which bodes well for the future. As those pupils are just joining their new school, this has also proved to be an excellent induction to their new surroundings."

Mrs Hillier was also anxious to recognise the efforts of the many individuals and organisations who helped to make this such a successful venture. "We had superb support," she said, "from a whole range of people - including teachers, learning support assistants, pupils from the school who acted as mentors, the local education authority, police and local libraries. Our thanks go also to those who sponsored - from small local firms right through to large national companies such as Tesco, Max Factor and Marks & Spencer who generously donated a wide variety of resources."

It is hoped that this year’s project will be built on and expanded in the future. The Chair of Poole Education Committee, Cllr Annette Brooke, would like to see such Summer Schools become a permanent feature of the Borough’s education provision. "This is yet another example," she explained, "of the initiatives we are taking to raise standards. The success of such a scheme is very evident and is an excellent base for building further provision in the future."

David Downing, Advisory Officer (Governor Training and Support) Tel. (01202) 687073