Boys and Reading

A joint initiative between the DfES and the School Library Association will see secondary schools in England receive free books to encourage teenage boys to read. To read more about the scheme, and see a list of the titles available to schools, take a look at Boys into Books.

The initiative is the latest in a line of attempts to address the achievement gap between boys and girls in school. A detailed investigation into the factors behind this gap entitled Raising Boys' Achievement was published by the DfES in 2005. Or for more information about the reading habits of children of both genders, two reports from the National Literacy Trust - Young People and Reading and Children’s and Young People’s Reading Habits and Preferences - are good sources of information.