A giant wooden sign which cost close to £25,000 is spelling trouble for staff at Lowther Primary School –or should that be Lauther School? Or perhaps Laither School?

It is a question Barnes resident Peter Daines asked himself after the arrival of the large wooden sculpture outside the Stillingfleet Road primary’s walls, which, he claims, spells the school’s name incorrectly.

Mr Daines, of Boileau Road, believes the style of joined up writing that has been used for the £24,499 sign fails to distinguish the letter ‘w’ – making it read more like Lauther.

He said: “Anybody who knows how to do joined up writing would never do that.

“Somebody has really misconstructed it, or does not know how to spell.

“It’s a bit of a let down for a school.

“It will definitely have to be rewritten – a red line put through it saying ‘wrong spelling’.”

But the new addition to the school, which was commissioned as part of a £1.4m children’s centre – an extension to the school building – has proved popular with pupils.

On Wednesday, headteacher Pat Henchie said: “Children starting school today have commented that ‘the big writing’ is just like theirs and spells Lowther.”

She claimed her staff and school governors were “delighted” with the new state of the art facilities, including the sign.

Ms Henchie explained: “The lettering has two primary functions; one, using sustainable materials, it provides a creative screen for the buggy and bicycle park which will be used by families accessing services.

“Secondly, and more importantly, this feature provides a bold statement of the importance of both the services and facilities offered from the school and children’s centre.”

Richmond Council hopes the children’s centre will act as a community hub, offering internet access, health advice and a communal garden, as well as hosting classes for pupils, as the borough attempts to tackle the demand for primary school places.

The council paid £17,699 towards the cost of the sign, with the rest coming from the school’s own budget.

'Thank you for your patients'

Staff at Tesco may need reminding that, when it comes to spelling, ‘every letter helps’.

Customers at Tesco Express in Hampton Hill may have noticed a sign in the window over the weekend, which misspelt “patience” when asking them to be aware of work going on to improve the shop.

It stated: “Thank you for your patients whiles we improve your store.”

A Tesco spokeswoman said: “We have hundreds of thousands of employees, and many training courses for them, but none, as far as I am aware, includes grammar and spelling.

“We do apologise.”

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