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Young people’s reading enjoyment in 2026
In June 2026 the National Literacy Trust reported the first rise in reading enjoyment since 2021. The biggest gains were among 14 to 18-year-olds, though about two in three 14 to 16-year-olds still did not say they enjoyed reading.
The National Literacy Trust published Children and young people’s reading in 2026 on 9 June 2026. Its annual survey, which runs from January to the middle of March, reached 125,375 children and young people aged 5 to 18 in 479 schools across the UK.
The main figures
- 36.1% of 8 to 18-year-olds said they enjoyed reading in their free time, up from 32.7% in 2025, when the trust reported the lowest level in 20 years. The report calls it “the first increase in reading enjoyment since 2021”.
- 20.3% said they read something daily in their free time, up from 18.7% in 2025.
By age
The report’s figures for enjoyment, 2025 then 2026:
- 8 to 11-year-olds: 46.9% and 47.7%
- 11 to 14-year-olds: 29.5% and 33.2%
- 14 to 16-year-olds: 28.6% and 35.0%
- 16 to 18-year-olds: 41.4% and 49.4%
The report says the largest increases were “among those aged 14 to 16 and 16 to 18 where levels rose by around 6 and 8 percentage points respectively”. Daily reading among 14 to 16-year-olds rose from 14.0% to 16.4%.
What it means for English departments
The GCSE years started from the lowest point of any age group in 2025 and rose by more than six percentage points. Even so, about one in six 14 to 16-year-olds read daily in their free time, and about two in three did not say they enjoyed reading.
Two things connect to the figures. 2026 is the National Year of Reading, and the Department for Education is funding state secondary schools in England to buy books that support reading enjoyment, with orders due by 31 March 2027. For what the research says about reading whole texts at a good pace in lessons, see Do students need to read the whole text?
What happens next
The survey runs every year from January to the middle of March, so the next figures will come from the 2027 survey. The 2025 report came out on 3 June 2025 and the 2026 report on 9 June 2026.
Sources
- National Literacy Trust, Children and young people’s reading in 2026 (9 June 2026)
- Christina Clark, Irene Picton and Aisha Arif, Children and young people’s reading in 2026 (full report), National Literacy Trust (June 2026)
- National Literacy Trust, Children and young people’s reading in 2025 (3 June 2025)
- Department for Education, Funding for books and reading materials for secondary schools: guidance for schools (updated 22 September 2026)