A seven-year study by Hull and St Andrews universities at primary schools in Clackmannanshire (Scotland) have shown that children taught to read using 'synthetic phonics', irrespective of their background, are at age eleven upto three years ahead of their peers, taught to read by more traditional methods, in their reading ability.
This teaching method was also featured this evening in a segment on BBC2 'Newsnight', using as an example a primary school in an inner-city area of London, with a high proportion of pupils from homes in which English is probably not the first language. They too seemed to be well ahead of their peers in their reading ability, of whatever background, taught to read by other methods.
Remarkable! I hope that this teaching system will be rolled-out across all UK schools, assuming no flaws are found in the research methodology.
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