Children’s reading is at “crisis” point as the number enjoying it in their free time has plummeted to just one in three, a report suggests.

The number of young people who say they enjoy reading has fallen significantly in the past year – especially among boys, according to research by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) charity.

Only around a third (34.6%) of children and young people aged between eight and 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2024, compared with 43.4% in 2023.

This is the “lowest level” recorded since the charity began the survey in 2005, according to the report.

The gender gap among children who say they take pleasure in reading has widened significantly this year as the number of boys who report enjoying reading has dropped, the survey found.

Fewer than three in 10 (28.2%) boys aged between eight and 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time, compared with two in five (40.5%) girls – a gap of 12.3 percentage points.

Last year, two in five (40.5%) boys said they enjoyed reading in their free time, compared with 45.3% girls – a gap of 4.8 percentage points.

The report said it was “a particular crisis” for secondary school pupils as the fall in reading enjoyment was more pronounced for young people aged 11 to 14 and 14 to 16 than for those aged eight to 11.

Overall, 76,131 children and young people aged five to 18 from 405 schools across the UK were surveyed by the charity between January and March 2024.

Only one in five (20.5%) children and young people aged between eight and 18 said they read something daily in their free time in 2024, compared with 28.0% in 2023.

The report said it was the “lowest daily reading level” since the survey began nearly two decades ago.

Fewer than one in five (17.5%) boys said they read daily in their spare time, compared with 23.2% of girls.

“The declining levels of reading enjoyment and reading frequency are, frankly, shocking and dispiriting,” the report concluded.

It added: “Perhaps a packed curriculum, high academic expectations, and the perception of a challenging future all contribute to children having less time for reading for enjoyment and less mental space to do it.

“It’s likely, too, that the recent pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis have exacerbated these challenges, with many children and young people struggling to access high-quality reading materials.”

The charity is calling on the Government to urgently form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners to address declining rates of reading enjoyment.

The Government’s curriculum and assessment review should prioritise reading for pleasure alongside the skills that are vital in the development of confident, motivated readers, it added.

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the NLT, said: “With children and young people’s enjoyment of reading at an all-time low, and high numbers leaving primary and secondary school without the reading skills they need to thrive, the futures of a generation are being put at risk.

“So many families, schools, libraries, charities, publishers, businesses, and more are already inspiring children’s reading in such diverse and innovative ways.

“But to truly make reading for pleasure a national priority, we are urging the Government to form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners – amplifying our collective reach and influence, strengthening our impact and reimagining solutions to this complex crisis.”