Three in 10 households do not contain a book

 Reporting on figures from the National Literacy Trust, The Daily Mailreported on the findings of researcher Christina Clark, who polled 18,171 eight to 17 year olds across 111 UK schools. The study found almost 40% of those aged eight to 17 live in homes with fewer than 10 books. However, 85% of those aged eight to 15 own a games console and 81% have a mobile phone. The Evening Standard also ran with this, andfocused on results from London, which revealed one in three children do not have a book of their own at home. The paper is publishing a week of articles focusing on illiteracy in the capital. 'The only book in our house is the Argos catalogue' one nine-year-old boy told a  teacher as new report reveals one in three children in London doesn't own a single book.

Former Ofsted director Sir Jim Rose, author of several reports on literacy, says: "We are in serious trouble. We have entered the era of the Argos catalogue family, those with no books of their own at home. We need to do something urgently. It is a responsibility we cannot afford to shirk."

Three in ten children live in households that do not contain a single book, a poll has found.

The survey of more than 18,000 youths across the country has shown large numbers do not own any books or read on their own, fuelling slumping education standards.

This was coupled with the finding that children with no books are two-and-a-half times more likely to fall below the expected reading level for their age.

One teacher in the capital told how, when he asked his pupils to bring in a book from home to speak about with the rest of the class, a nine-year-old boy brought in the Argos catalogue.

'It's the only book my family have,' the youngster told his teacher.

The study also found almost 40 per cent of those aged eight to 17 live in homes with 10 or fewer books – although 85 per cent of those aged eight to 15 own a games console, and 81 per cent have a mobile phone.

The research, conducted by the National Literacy Trust, follows official statistics showing one in five children leaves  primary school without reaching the expected level of progress in English.

The same proportion leaves school without an A* to C grade in both GCSE English and Maths.

Daily Mail article : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392782/Boy-9-tells-teacher-The-book-house-Argos-catalogue.html#ixzz1O70qiwnB