A FORMER pupil at The Petersfield School (TPS) who suffered dyslexia has funded a Literacy Lab to help students struggling with reading and writing.

Teacher Kit Curtis Raleigh said: “Literacy is a big issue nationally in secondary schools, not unique to here. Quite a large minority of pupils coming here from primary schools have poor literacy skills, poor enough that they can’t access the work they are set here.

“The Literacy Lab funded by Chris Phillips will give them a better platform for life, rather than see them left behind.

“He started his first online company while at TPS, which failed, but he persevered and kept trying and now is very successful.”

Chris, now 31, left the school in 2001 with minimal academic qualifications, and is now the CEO of the multi million pound company he founded, Just Develop It.

He said: “I suffered from dyslexia and struggled at school, I found it quite hard, it just wasn’t for me.

“This had a real bearing on me wanting to help the school, put something back, and hopefully the Literacy Lab will give pupils the extra they need, something that wasn’t really there when I was at TPS.”

But Chris, who went to South Downs College in Havant and Highbury College in Cosham, but not university, also hopes that pupils who aren’t academically gifted will be able to follow his example and make a success of life after school.

He said: “Quite a few of my online businesses failed, but I’m a big believer in hard work and persevering and it paid off.

“I would say to anyone that academic qualifications don’t guarantee success, if you work and persevere you can chase your dream down.”

The Literacy Lab is designed to be less like a classroom and more like a fun place to be, somewhere pupils can enjoy learning away from the pressure of a classroom environment.

Mainly IT orientated with about a dozen computer works stations, it also has an interactive wipe board on which pupils can enjoy literacy competitions and challenges.

Mr Curtis Raleigh said: “There will also be more traditional literacy sessions, with both group and individual work, and the literacy lab is a little bit unusual, and quite an impressive idea, and a very generous gesture from Chris.”