As Bob the Builder once said, “Yes we can”. The latest reading statistics put out by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) show an uplift in reading for pleasure among children and young people for the first time in five years, a welcome fillip during the Year of Reading.

In the 2026 survey – taken between January and the middle of March, across 125,000 schoolchildren – 36.1% of children and young people aged eight to 19 said they enjoyed reading in their free time, up from 32.7% in 2025. It is the first increase since 2021. The headline rise was reported to be evenly distributed between girls and boys, and across most ages, though most pronounced among those aged 14 to 16 and 16 to 18.

Not all the news was good. At the younger end of the age range – five to eight– there was a decline from 62.6% to 61.6%, driven by a decrease in boys’ enjoyment of books at that age. There was also a rising differential between those in receipt of free schools meals and those not (32.1% compared with 37.3%). According to the NLT, this “disadvantage gap” in reading enjoyment more than doubled in the past year (from two percentage points to 5.2 percentage points).

Nevertheless, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the uptick “genuinely fills me with hope”. I get that. I was on an NLT call that outlined the numbers to industry partners, and – even on Zoom – you could sense the mood shift.

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of NLT, said: “After years of decline in children and young people ’s relationship with reading , we’re starting to see some green shoots of recovery.” This is not the battle won, but an indication that it can be.

Kids feel better when they read, particularly when stressed or upset, and they get the most out of reading when books reflect themselves and their interests
back at them

It is too soon to chalk this up as a win for the Year of Reading campaign, but it does vindicate that team’s strategy to seed out the benefits of reading over time, rather than through one big moment. The survey results emphasise that kids feel better when they read, particularly when stressed or upset, and that they get the most out of reading when books reflect themselves and their interests back at them. It also shows the influence of influencers – namely parents and teachers. The research also showed greater uplifts in what the NLT calls “high-priority areas”, and an increase in engagement with “cultural and literacy venues”. For example, the percentage of those visiting a bookshop has risen from 37.9% to 43%, while library visits rose from 43.9% to 47.4%. Seeing books is vital, access is a drug.

We have some way to go – in 2005, the percentage of children and young people who enjoyed reading was 51.4%. We are still in the trough. There have also been rises in the headline number before – during the pandemic, for example, when it rose to 51.5%, and between 2012 and 2016, when it grew consistently to 56.6%. These oscillations show why the most recent decline has been so alarming, and why this year’s current uplift is so important. More hopeful, too, is that the greater uplift is coming from older teens, suggesting that when books are particularly relevant to them, and are talked about in places where they currently congregate (i.e. social media) any drop off at younger ages can be reversed. As we noted at Bologna, “core YA” is now a key area of concern.

The NLT says that it is too soon to tell whether the uplift will be sustained, while the uneven pattern in the changes, particularly among younger-aged boys and those in lower socio-economic groups, means nothing can be taken for granted. But the momentum shift is important, and should embolden us in the months ahead. Not only can we do it, we are doing it – and there is a hint that it is already working.