promoting literary skills.

Education Minister Tim Smith made remarks at the Reading Recovery course completion celebration held at Ariel Sands last week.

Mr. Smith described the programme as an early intervention programme geared toward helping students with reading and writing difficulties after one year at school.

The programme is intended to help failing students catch up with their classmates at the Primary 2 level. The teachers were among the second group to be trained in Bermuda.

Mr. Smith stated: "We have such a small window of opportunity within which to help these children...it is only a few brief weeks in their school career that will have a dramatic effect on their whole lives.'' He praised the teachers for their hard work and presented them with course completion certificates.