📰 Adult Literacy News Summary
Countries of the World Mapped by Literacy Rate
05-Dec-2025 - Global
Why can almost every adult read in Finland or Andorra, while in Chad and Mali, fewer than one in three can? This countries by literacy rate list lines up every UN member from highest to lowest adult literacy, showing a world split between near-universal readers and places where reading is still a rare skill.
Read moreZaZa’s Storybox honoured at Downing Street reception
05-Dec-2025 - UK
The owner of this small parent-run business, which brings the joy of reading to young families, has spent this week rubbing shoulders with the great and good of British Politics at The House of Lords and 11 Downing Street. Danni Perkins, who runs Romsey based children's book subscription box ZaZa’s Storybox, was invited to the Small Business Saturday celebrations in London after having her company named one of the UK's 100 most inspiring small businesses.
Read moreNational Literacy Trust’s research reveals ‘worrying skills gap’ in young workforce
04-Dec-2025 - UK
A new paper published today by the National Literacy Trust suggests that the literacy skills young people need to thrive in work are rapidly changing while education and policy systems are not keeping pace, creating a “worrying skills gap that could undermine young people’s prospects”.
Read moreWest Lancashire College hosts annual Literacy Week celebrations
01-Dec-2025 - UK
West Lancashire College celebrated Literacy Week from 24th to 28th November to highlight the importance of reading, writing and effective communication in future job roles. The annual event featured an array of fantastic activities organised by the College’s curriculum team to inspire their students and included interactive workshops, creative writing sessions and staff also hosted a ‘book pick-up’ session during lunch time.
Read moreVolunteers sought to help with children's reading scheme
28-Nov-2025 - UK
Volunteers are being sought for a Keighley scheme which helps children struggling with their reading. The volunteers read weekly with children online. Keighley Town Council and literacy charity Chapter One have partnered to fund up to 10 recruits. This academic year, Chapter One is working with pupils at Holycroft, Merlin Top and St Joseph's primary schools.
Read moreLake District: Grasmere trust launches child literacy appeal
28-Nov-2025 - UK
A Grasmere-based trust is taking part in a national fundraising campaign designed to support child literacy. The Wordsworth Trust, which is based in Grasmere and manages Dove Cottage, is launching its Wordsworth in Schools appeal as part of The Big Give, a UK-wide charitable initiative. The trust claims that one in five primary school children may never have heard or read a poem. They are seeking donations between Tuesday, December 2, and Monday, December 8, through The Big Give platform.
Read moreDavid Hayman: all in for the National Year of Reading
28-Nov-2025 - UK
With the National Year of Reading kicking off in just a month, campaign director David Hayman and the six core Year of Reading team members, based in the National Literacy Trust offices in Vauxhall, London, are preparing for launch while continuing to fundraise towards their £10m goal. “We’ve got big ambitions for the campaign,” Hayman tells The Bookseller, “so that’s looking like a multi-million pound campaign budget, which spreads across the three different buckets of work that we do.”
Read moreOldham primary schools receive £62k boost for pupils' literacy
27-Nov-2025 - UK
Primary schools across Oldham are set to benefit from a significant literacy boost this month, thanks to the Bookmark Reading Charity. The initiative, part of the charity’s acclaimed Your Story Corner programme, will bring new opportunities to inspire a love of reading among young learners. Bookmark Reading Charity is investing £62,000 across 31 schools in Oldham, marking the town as the latest community to benefit from the initiative.
Read moreEdinburgh education well above national average as literacy rates rise in schools
26-Nov-2025 - UK
Edinburg schools are well above the national average in terms of later-years attainment, while literacy levels have improved steadily in primary schools, according to figures detailed by the council. The attainment gap between pupils from the richest and poorest learners narrowed in literacy and later-years attainment, but in numeracy these figures were mixed. One of the City of Edinburgh Council’s stated aims in education is to close this attainment gap and allow learners from the most deprived areas equal opportunities.
Read moreIs AI Changing The Kind Of Jobs The UK Will Have By 2035?
25-Nov-2025 - UK
Researchers from The Skills Imperative 2035 programme report that the UK workforce is moving into a decade shaped heavily by artificial intelligence and automation. Their findings show that jobs linked to routine tasks are shrinking at pace, while roles tied to judgement, communication and problem solving are coming up strongly. They say these shifts are happening faster than early estimates, and this means the shape of work is changing across every region. The research shows early inequalities strongly impacts who reaches high skill jobs later on. They found that gaps in communication, literacy, numeracy and confidence start early and widen through school years.
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