The elves and the shoemaker

Vera Southgate (10 March 1916 – 23 March 1995) was a British educationalist who dedicated herself to improving how children were taught to read English from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, a period when many different methods were practised, including the initial teaching alphabet, phonics, and whole language. Vera Southgate was a prolific author of academic papers, developed the Southgate reading tests, and served on the Bullock government inquiry. She also evaluated the initial teaching alphabet on behalf of the British government. Her final major research project was a five-year study aimed at improving the reading skills of older children. The resulting publication, Extended Beginning Reading, won the UK Reading Association's Book of the Year award.