A few months ago, research commissioned by Renaissance UK found that secondary school children are not adequately stretched when it comes to reading material, with “reading age” matching chronological age by the end of primary school, but falling behind by up to three years by the age of 16.
Data was collected from almost one million students for the What Kids Are Reading report, conducted by Keith Topping, professor of educational and social research at the University of Dundee, who said: “The brain is a muscle that literacy skills help train. As it gets more toned, like all muscles, it needs more exercise. Currently, primary schools are exercising it more vigorously by reading more challenging books – we now need to replicate this in secondary schools.”
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