Read 50 Books a Year

The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has said that children as young as eleven years old should read about 50 books a year.  This would be part of a national drive to improve literacy standards throughout schools in our country.   He claimed literary demands put upon children have been too low for so long that they don't expect to read more than they have to.  Instead, children should be reading a novel a week!

He said that primary schools should encourage children to read lots of books too in preparation for secondary education.  A December report stated that British teenagers rank 25th in an international league table of teenage literacy!

Along with his Coalition Government, he stated that standards had to rise after he discovered that the vast majority of teenagers read only their GCSE core book and no others.

Many pre-school children will be taking comfort from this as so many parents and carers read numerous books to their children each day let alone each week!  Starting the enjoyment of reading at an early age - even before the children can read or talk or even understanding the story - is the best start.