'National crisis' as children's reading enjoyment plummets to new low Children's reading enjoyment has plummeted to its lowest levels since records began, sparking concerns of a "crisis" across the UK, according to a new report by the National Literacy Trust (NLT).
Only about one in three (34.6%) children and young people aged eight to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2024, down from 43.4% the previous year, according to the research.
Gabriela, a year 11 student at the school, said: "I feel like it's kind of automatic to just kind of, if you have spare time, just pick up your phone and scroll through social media.
The drop in reading enjoyment is particularly stark among secondary school pupils, where the decline was more pronounced for young people aged 11 to 16.
Mary Donnelly-Symes, primary English lead at an east London school, said this has been a challenge: "Now the go-to question, I think, in every classroom is 'can we go on the iPad?'.
