The meaning of words like "grapheme" and "phoneme" might be familiar to a linguistic-minded few, but to the 6-10 year-olds at La Lucia Junior Primary, these explanations of the complex English language have become everyday use.

This is the first mainstream government school in the greater Durban area to implement a new world-renowned literacy programme called THRASS *(Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills). This gem of a school has long been known for its rare ability to utilise innovative and progressive teaching methods, while retaining wholesome values and morals.

Principal Morag Bennett says: "We live in an ever-changing environment which ultimately influences education. The changing family unit and the way children play (or don’t), the influence of television and new technology are just some of the reasons why a growing number of children seem to have reading, spelling and language related learning difficulties".

The school’s educators recognised this dilemma and reviewed the literacy programme. "After two years of thorough research, our governing body was persuaded to allocate the considerable funding required to introduce the THRASS programme."

Developed in Britain, THRASS is based on the International Phonetic Alphabet Pronunciation System. It was co-developed by Alan Davies, a teacher, chartered psychologist and expert on dyslexia and occupational testing. Above all, he is also a father who was desperate to help his own daughter and children world-wide with language-related learning problems.

In the English language there are basically 44 speech sounds (phonemes) and 120 spelling choices (graphemes). With THRASS, children are taught from the outset that sounds can be written in different ways, for example the sound "n" can be written as n in "nut", nn as in "dinner" or kn as in "knee". While this might look complicated to the uninformed, this special "alphabet" is taught very effectively with charts, pictures, words and a catchy rap which echoes enthusiastically through the classrooms of La Lucia Junior Primary.

"As early as a year later, an improvement in spelling and language skills has been noted across the school," says Bennett. "It is truly amazing to hear our children actually arguing about how to spell words, or politely saying ‘you’ve made the right phoneme choice but the wrong grapheme choice’. It also complements their individualised reading programme based on our motto that children should not simply be taught to read but to love reading.

The school’s commitment to instil a love for reading has always been prevalent and it was decided about 12 years ago to replace the old system of set readers (books) by combing the books in a special reading room. This brightly coloured and inviting room, along with the adjacent library, has become the heart of the school.

Bennett emphasises that tit takes courage to think and act "out of the box". "Fortunately I am supported by a team of creative and pro-active teachers, parents and governing body who all believe in initiating programmes which are right for the community we serve as well as underpinning the school’s philosophy that ‘you’re doing your best only when you’re trying to improve what you’re doing.’

The school’s approach is that learning is fun, and much emphasis is placed on developing children through participation in sport, music and culture. "Our aim is to lay a sound educational, social, emotional and physical foundation for young learners to equip them to spread their wings with confidence in later years. We have tried to take the best out of traditional teaching and combined it with the exciting new approaches teaching has to offer", adds the principal.

La Lucia Junior Primary started with 22 pupils under principal Clarice Herman in 1970. Over the years it has grown to 300 learners and 25 personnel. Heads of Department Carol Bouwmeester and Sheryl Gane play an integral part in running the school – a task that now comes with a multi-faceted job description from finding an envelope for a missing tooth to being executive director. The school says it is proud of the many successful pupils it has produced but also honours their privacy.

La Lucia Junior Primary is the first government school to implement THRASS in KZN. It is taught at only a few private and specialised schools in the province.