ABSTRACT
Murdstone Hill is a junior and infant school in a small market town of 14,000 people in the Midlands. Agriculture is still the principal industry although the town itself, and the surrounding countryside, are being used increasingly as a dormitory by those who do not mind the drive to Birmingham every morning. Even before the child reaches reading readiness he should have formed a good individual relationship with his teacher. The Key Words system is a complete reading scheme based on the fact – common knowledge backed up by research — that a relatively small number of English words makes up a very large proportion of those in daily use. A large print is used for the early books – small letters are inch high – and the letters a and g are those normally used in handwriting or painting.
