There has been a sharp and sustained decline in the number of children and young people writing for pleasure, a new report has found.
Only one in four children aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy writing in their free time – a dramatic fall in the rate, which has nearly halved over the last 15 years.
The report points to an increasing disengagement from writing, with worrying consequences for literacy, learning outcomes, and children’s wider development.
The levels of enjoyment are falling fastest among those aged 8 to 11, with girls seeing the greatest drop since COVID.
“Writing has slipped to the bottom of the rankings in national academic performance, falling below even mathematics,” says the National Literacy Trust in a report on National Writing Day.
The findings highlight the critical role writing for pleasure plays in children’s academic and personal growth.
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Those who write regularly and enjoy doing so benefit not only from stronger writing skills, but also improved critical thinking, confidence and mental wellbeing.
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Writing, the report argues, gives children the power to express themselves and to interact meaningfully with the world around them.
In today’s digital-first society, the ability to write clearly, thoughtfully, and critically is more vital than ever.
Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust said: “If children are to get the most out of what AI can offer with the ability to add their own thoughts and check outputs, empowering young people with the writing skills they need is critical.”
“Young people who write with confidence are better equipped to engage with AI-generated content, to question it, and to make it their own,” the Trust added.
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Primary school teacher agreed with the report’s findings, saying: “At primary, the idea of writing for pleasure has just really been lost.
“The problem that we’ve had as primary school teachers is that the curriculum is just so packed, and so full on, that you don’t have a space in it for anything.”
“There’s just too much to cover, not enough time and you’re just constantly bouncing from one subject to the next. And there’s just, you don’t really seem to have the opportunity to get depth with anything, not just writing – just anything.”
His secondary school colleague Gaurav Dubay, a director of English, added: “Writing for pleasure and writing for length generally seems to be on the decline. There isn’t much room on the curriculum for extended creative writing, including fictional and transactional pieces.
“However, there is a growing consensus that this needs to change.”
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Children eligible for free school meals are more likely to enjoy writing in their free time than their peers (31.1% versus 25%), the report found.
The National Literacy Trust is calling for the government to embed writing for pleasure into the National Writing Framework and prioritise it in upcoming Curriculum and Assessment reforms.
The report was conducted by the National Literacy Trust and is the largest ever Annual Literacy Survey, involving over 114,000 children.
