A CITY secondary school deputy head turned author has focused his latest book on the increasing importance of vocabulary on how children progress in the classroom.

Alex Quigley has been teaching at Huntington School for 15 years where he leads the Huntington Research School, working with teachers and schools across Yorkshire, and the country, on using research evidence to help improve teaching and learning.

And he says his third book is selling like hot cakes.

Mr Quigley said: "The inspiration for the book came from the challenges I saw in primary and secondary classrooms, including my pupils at Huntington, across York, and even across England.

"With the new curriculum proving bigger and harder, children with a limited vocabulary have been struggling more than ever to get to grips with the academic demands of school.

"In the KS2 SATs, at GCSE and A-level, the texts are more complicated and the vocabulary of school is more sophisticated than ever.

"When you dig into the research it showed that before children ever get to school there can be a huge 'vocabulary gap', with some children hearing 30 million more words words than their peers.

"Some children quickly become "word rich" and flourish at school, but many others prove "word poor" and they need our help.

"Some children are reading a million words a year, about 12 novels, whereas others barely read outside of school."

Mr Quigley said the book, called Closing The Vocabulary Gap, tackles important subjects like how we learn to read, as well as tricky topics like getting spelling right - all with a reference to the vital importance of vocabulary.

He said: "I'm really delighted it is proving a best seller, but this also shows how much of a problem teachers are facing helping children to succeed with harder qualifications at every stage of school."

Closing The Vocabulary Gap is available on Amazon priced £15.33.

This is not the first foray into writing for Mr Quigley, who lives in Strensall with his family, having previously published a book for new English teachers and a second book focusing on developing teachers’ confidence and skill in the classroom.