Getting students to read more

Is it worth the fight? How can I make this easier?

Any English teacher will tell you that it massively helps with GCSE exams to have a broad and varied list of books under your belt. However, reading isn't often at the top of a teenager's priority list and it can begin to feel like an unpleasant battle to get them to engage.

• Reading for pleasure is more important for children's cognitive development than their parents' level of education and is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background. ¹

• 16-year-olds who choose to read books for pleasure outside of school are more likely to secure managerial or professional jobs in later life. ²

Very often, there is the concern that students should be reading 'the right sort of thing'. This usually results in students who are forced to read a text which holds no interest for them, and they inevitably resent reading. It is far more useful for students to be encouraged to explore different texts and find the right one for them. Below are some activities, resources and suggesting reading lists that can be useful to get your young person a bit more enthusiastic about reading!

^{1 [Sullivan and Brown (2013) Social inequalities in cognitive scores at age 16: The role of reading]↩}

^{2 [Taylor (2011) Reading at 16 linked to better job prospects]↩}