THRASS in Mauritius and S. Sudan – Even More African Children Now Set to Benefit from the THRASS Synthetic Phonics Programme

Press Release - Notes to editors

1. THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills) is a whole-school synthetic phonics programme for teaching learners of all ages and abilities using pictures and keywords. It is a multi-sensory programme that is based on developing Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic skills in learners and helps them to understand the building blocks of the English language by teaching them about the 44 phonemes (speech sounds) of spoken English and the 120 graphemes (spelling choices) of written English.

2. Using THRASS in a balanced curriculum can more than double the normal rate of progress for learning reading and spelling for primary and secondary school children and also for dyslexics and those for whom English is not their first language. THRASS is a truly international programme and THRASS resources are used by teachers, parents, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in thousands of schools worldwide, mostly in the UK, Europe, Africa and Australia and there is currently very strong demand for THRASS in Southern and Western Africa.

3. Alan Davies MSc C Psychol AFBPsS is a chartered educational psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. He is listed on the BPS Register of Competence in Occupational Testing, having successfully secured the Statement of Competence in Educational Testing (Level A). He also has the Dyslexia Institute Diploma and British Dyslexia Association Diploma. Alan is a former teacher, college lecturer and university teacher trainer. Alan has pioneered THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills) resources and courses since 1987 and is the author of the teaching guide, TEACHING THRASS.

4. The DCDM Business School is the leading private tertiary institution in Mauritius, with 1250 full-time students and 70+ full-time and part-time academics. It has five main beliefs/responsibilities of which the fourth is particularly relevant in the context of improving literacy: "We believe that our fourth responsibility is to the community at large. We must strive to become good citizens; participate in the promotion of civic improvement and maintain in good order, the property we are privileged to use." The shared vision at DCDM Business School is "To become the region’s leading centre of academic excellence, revered for its modern and passionate approach to teaching and learning." The DCDM Business School is an academic partner of various universities and institutions around the world including Curtin University and TAFE (Technical and Further Education) in Western Australia and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

5. Southern Sudan is an autonomous region of 10 states with a population of around 9 million intermediate between the states and the national government and is scheduled to have a referendum on independence in 2011. In 1980 there were more than 5,400 primary schools but less than 14 percent were located in Southern Sudan, which had between 20 and 33 percent of the country's population. After more than 20 years of civil war, peace talks between the southern rebels and the government of Sudan made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004.The peace was consolidated with the official signing by both sides of the Naivasha treaty on 9 January 2005, granting Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence. It created a Vice-president position and allowed the North and South to split oil equally but also left both armies in place. John Garang, President of Southern Sudan and the first Vice-president of Sudan died in a helicopter crash at the end of July 2005, three weeks after being sworn in. This resulted in riots, but the peace was eventually restored when Salva Kiir Mayardit was sworn in as Vice-president on 11 August 2005.

6. THRASS Professional Development Courses are held regularly in the UK, Europe, West and Southern Africa and full details can be found at www.thrass.co.uk/courses.htm. Two courses in will take place in Ghana, West Africa on 18-19 and 21-22 September.