Nine Richmond schools are taking part in a £351,000 project to develop excellence in literacy teaching, as part of the Mayor of London’s £24m schools excellence fund.

The aim of the project is to develop a toolkit of best practice teaching techniques, by combining international research with practical application in the classroom.

Richmond Park Academy, Kew Riverside Primary, Barnes Primary, the Queen’s School, Sheen Mount, St Mary Magdalen’s, St Osmund’s Primary, East Sheen Primary and Lowther School will work with specialist consultants for the project.

Consultant Nikki Gamble said: “In the UK, schools are good at teaching children to read but this doesn’t mean they will infer deep levels of meaning from text, or will want to read later in life.

“We will be transferring the best practices from the UK and internationally to the classroom, developing proven methods that can be used across the country to help pupils find deeper meaning in reading.

“This project isn’t just about test scores, but the bigger picture.”

The two-year project is one of 100 given backing by the Boris Johnson’s fund.

The programme was established with funding from the Department for Education and the Greater London Authority, with £2.9m put toward literacy projects across 261 schools.