A village school has been told it is one of the best in the country when it comes to teaching its youngest children how to read and write.

Schools minister Nick Gibb has written to Crosby-on-Eden School, near Carlisle, to highlight the school’s success in phonics.

He said: “I am writing to convey my warmest congratulations to you, your staff and pupils for the very high standard of achievement in the 2015 screening check. We want to ensure that every child develops a firm grasp of phonics, which is why I was so delighted to see your results.

“With 100 per cent of pupils reaching or exceeding the pass mark in the check, your school is in the top two per cent of all primary schools in the country.”

Phonics is a method of teaching children to read and write. It involves connecting the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters. It also teaches them how to blend familiar sounds and pronounce unknown words.

Schools must carry out a phonics screening check for pupils at the end of year one.

It measures how many of 40 words and non-words pupils can decode.

Ayesha Weston, headteacher of Crosby-on-Eden School, says she is delighted and proud: “Phonics is taught in school in a very creative and engaging way and the children absolutely love it. We are also very fortunate that we have had great support from parents at home.

“Year one teacher, Miss Kerr, invited parents in for a phonics workshop at the start of the year, and explained the mysteries of graphemes and phonemes; this helped enormously in allowing parents to feel secure enough to reinforce what was being taught in school at home.”

She added: “Myself and the governors are so proud of the efforts of everyone involved.”