News, events and schools' information for families across Bath and West Wiltshire

Churchfields, the Village School in Atworth and Monkton Farleigh, is delighted to have received a letter from Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Standards, congratulating the school community for their pupils’ achievements in phonics.

100% of its pupils achieved the expected standard or above for the second year running.

Through the letter, Nick Gibb commented, ‘I would like to congratulate you , your staff and your pupils on your school’s outstanding achievement in the 2018 phonics screening check.

‘Achieving early fluency in decoding is a necessary first step in acquiring the key skill of reading.

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

Headteacher, Simon Futcher, commented, “It is always pleasing to receive external recognition of our successes. A huge congratulations to our pupils and a big thank you to staff and parents for the hard work they have put in to allow this to happen.”

Some of these pupils are pictured alongside Mr Futcher and staff members Maria Genner and Carol Burton.