New research (Clark et al, 2024) from the National Literacy Trust (NLT) reveals that only 1 in 3 children and young people aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy reading in their free time (34.6%).
This is the lowest level recorded by the charity since it first started surveying children about their reading 19 years ago. Concerningly, this year has seen an 8.8% drop since last year’s report, a fall the NLT describes as “staggering”.
The research is based on survey findings involving more than 76,000 children and young people across the UK. Last year, this annual research found that 43.4% said they enjoy reading in their free time. This figure has now fallen to 34.6%. In 2016, it stood at 58.6%.
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