The Olive School in top 3% nationally for phonics

Pupils and staff at The Olive School are celebrating after our school was named among the top 3% of primary schools in England for performance in phonics tests.

98% of pupils who took the Year 1 phonics screening test last summer reached or exceeded the pass mark, an “outstanding achievement” according to Minister of State for School Standards Nick Gibb.

In a letter congratulating us on our pupils’ achievement Nick Gibb MP wrote:

“Your success in teaching phonics means your pupils are developing a firm foundation in reading, from which they can become increasingly fluent and develop a lifelong love of reading.”

Phonic decoding is one of the most widely recognised and successful approaches to teaching young children to read. The phonics screening check is a short assessment of pupils’ phonics skills at the end of Year 1.

Our pupils’ phonics result vastly exceeds the national average in the 2017 test, where just over 81% of children met expected standards in phonics decoding.

Our Principal Dawn Forshaw said, “It’s incredibly satisfying that our first ever cohort of Year 1 pupils achieved a 98% pass rate in the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. This demonstrates the high expectations that we have at The Olive School and our relentless drive to ensure that all children achieve the very highest standards.

“Whilst it is fantastic to see children doing so well in securing these early reading skills, we are also determined to instil in them a love of reading, and we know that our parents will work with us to achieve this.”

Added By: Olive Bolton | Date Added: 22nd Nov 2017 | Posted In: Latest News