[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-586227-105":59,"doc-detail-586227-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","children-and-young-peoples-reading-in-scotland-in-2025","Children and young people’s reading in Scotland in 2025","","Regular reading engagement shows broad benefits for individuals and society, yet in 2025 reading enjoyment and daily reading among children and young people across the UK reached their lowest levels in 20 years. Using 2025 Annual Literacy Survey data from 7,739 pupils aged 8 to 18 across 61 schools, the report examines attitudes, behaviours and motivation, and how background factors shape reading in free time. It highlights differences by gender, age and reading format.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/children-and-young-peoples-reading-in-scotland-in-2025/586227/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/children-and-young-peoples-reading-in-scotland-in-2025/586227.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Taylor Morgan","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-12","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":52},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the report say about reading enjoyment in Scotland in 2025?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"In 2025, 3 in 10 (30.3%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 in Scotland said they enjoyed reading in their free time. This means 7 in 10 did not enjoy reading.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How common is daily reading in free time among young people in 2025?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"About 1 in 6 (16.8%) children and young people reported reading daily in their free time, while 1 in 3 (32.5%) read rarely or never.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What motivates children and young people to read in 2025?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Motivations fall into three groups: curious (learning-focused), mindful (wellbeing-focused), and social (connection-focused). Examples include reading to learn new things or words, to relax and be creative, and to feel connected to the world.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},586227,1792211004,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":52,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1099523885336,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Children and young people’s reading in Scotland in 2025  \nChristina Clark, Katerina Stoumpou and Irene Picton, National Literacy Trust and  \nKatherine Wilkinson, Scottish Book Trust  \nJanuary 2026  \nRegular engagement with reading in free time is linked to a wide range of beneĜts for both individuals and society, from higher academic achievement and better career outcomes to improved wellbeing1. Yet in 2025, levels of reading enjoyment among children and young people across the UK fell to their lowest in 20 years. Only 1 in 3 (32 .7%) said that they enjoyed reading in their free time, and just 1 in 5 (18 .7%) reported reading daily2.  \nThe latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed Scotland performing above the OECD average in reading. However, scores in both reading and maths were lower in 2022 than in 20183. Against this backdrop, encouraging children and young people to develop positive reading habits is more important than ever.  \nIn 2023, working with the Scottish Book Trust, we published our Ĝrst Scotlandfocused reports on children and young people’s reading and writing, based on data from 1,141 pupils aged 8 to 18 across eight schools. This report builds on that foundation with a much larger sample: 7,739 children and young people from 61 schools who took part in the 2025 Annual Literacy Survey. Alongside attitudes, behaviours and motivation, the report explores how background factors inĝuence reading in their free time and what might help strengthen children and young people’s reading engagement.  \nWe hope this report helps to shine a spotlight on reading engagement in Scotland and sparks wider discussion about how to support and inspire children and young people to engage more deeply with reading across the UK.  \n1 See, e.g. , Cremin, T. & Scholes, L. (2024) . Reading for pleasure: Scrutinising the evidence base – beneĜts,  \ntensions and recommendations. Language and Education , 1–23; British Land & WPI Consulting. (2021) .  The  \npower of reading for pleasure. ; Sun, Y. -J. et al. , (2023) . Early-initiated childhood reading for pleasure:  \nAssociations with better cognitive performance, mental well-being and brain structure in young adolescence  \n2 Clark, C. , Picton, I. & Cole, A. (2025) . Children and young people’s reading in 2025 . National Literacy Trust.  \n3 Scottish Government. (2023) . Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2022): Scotland’s results-highlights.  \n© National Literacy Trust 2026 1  \nChildren and young people’s reading in Scotland in 2025  \nReading enjoyment in free time  \n􀁸 3 in 10 (30 .3%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 in Scotland said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2025, meaning 7 in 10 (69 .7%) did not enjoy reading.  \n􀁸 Levels of reading enjoyment in 2025 differed by gender and age:  \no More girls than boys enjoyed reading in their free time in Scotland in 2025 (36 .3% vs 23 . 5%) .  \no Across age groups, the highest reading enjoyment rate was  \nreported among children aged 8 to 11 (40 .8%) . This decreased to  \naround 1 in 4 young people aged 11 to 14 (24 .2%) and 14 to 16 (23 .6%),  \nbefore increasing slightly among those aged 16 to 18 (33 .2%) .  \nDaily reading in free time  \n􀁸 1 in 6 (16 . 8%) children and young people told us they read daily in their free time, while 1 in 3 (32 . 5%) read rarely or never.  \n􀁸 Daily reading in 2025 differed by gender and age:  \no More girls than boys read daily (19 .7% vs 13 . 5%, a 6 .2-percentagepoint gap) .  \no Children aged 8 to 11 reported the highest levels of daily reading, with 1 in 4 (24 .2%) doing so in their free time. This halved in young people aged 11 to 14 (12 .9%) and 14 to 16 (12 .1%), before picking up somewhat in those aged 16 to 18 (16 . 5%) .  \nWhat children and young people were reading in their free time in 2025 in Scotland  \nOverall, the most popular reading materials were song lyrics, Ĝction, non-Ĝction and comics.  \n􀁸 2 in 5 (43 .2%) children and youn","cbCaijKceGpiy3q7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijKceGpiy3q7","pdf",898784,18,"English","# Reading enjoyment in free time\n## Gender and age differences\n# Daily reading in free time\n## Gender and age differences\n# Reading materials in free time (2025)\n## Print and digital formats\n# Reading motivation in 2025\n## Curious, mindful, social motivations","[{\"question\":\"What does the report say about reading enjoyment in Scotland in 2025?\",\"answer\":\"In 2025, 3 in 10 (30.3%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 in Scotland said they enjoyed reading in their free time. This means 7 in 10 did not enjoy reading.\"},{\"question\":\"How common is daily reading in free time among young people in 2025?\",\"answer\":\"About 1 in 6 (16.8%) children and young people reported reading daily in their free time, while 1 in 3 (32.5%) read rarely or never.\"},{\"question\":\"What motivates children and young people to read in 2025?\",\"answer\":\"Motivations fall into three groups: curious (learning-focused), mindful (wellbeing-focused), and social (connection-focused). Examples include reading to learn new things or words, to relax and be creative, and to feel connected to the world.\"}]","Children and young people’s reading in Scotland in 2025 | PDF",1792057298,45]