A Bushey infant school is celebrating after being handed three awards recognising its work in specialist areas of teaching.

Merry Hill Infant School and Nursery was firstly recognised by the British Dyslexia Association for the work it carries out in support children with learning difficulties.

The BDA Quality Mark is handed to schools identified as being ‘dyslexia friendly’, displaying good practice in supporting children and improving their learning.

The award makes the Merry Hill Road infant school one of just five in the country to receive the accolade, for which staff have to demonstrate high standards in 29 separate criteria.

Laurie Cameron, the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator, also received a national award for the work in her post and gained a postgraduate certificate in educational research, accredited by Cambridge University.

Mrs Cameron undertook various training exercises as well as completing a 12,000 word assignment to achieve the award.

Finally, headteacher Pauline Hannibal was awarded an MEd in leading teaching and learning from the University of Cambridge. This was the culmination of a two year part-time course, designed to build professional knowledge in order to lead school improvement.

It involved weekend residential and twilight sessions at the University of Cambridge and independent study.

Mrs Hannibal undertook a development project at Merry Hill, two essays and a 20,000 word thesis.

She said: “It is nice to have external validation of what we’re doing – it is not just about the award, it is about the confirmation that we are doing things right. A lot of hard work went into achieving these awards and it is a wonderful start to the new year – a triple whammy.”