Developing a culture of reading for pleasure: a case study

Discover how Dormers Wells High School (a National Literacy Trust premium member school) applied CPD insights to develop a whole-school reading for pleasure ethos, including creation of their own reading podcast.

Research and rationale

In 2025 National Literacy Trust research found that:

• Just 1 in 3 (32.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoyed reading in their free time.
• The drop in reading enjoyment over the last year has been especially steep among boys aged 11 to 16.

Yet the evidence also shows that when young people enjoy reading, they read more often, helping to build vital reading skills and bringing wider benefits for wellbeing, confidence and learning.

Inspiring practice: a reading for pleasure podcast

Many schools and teachers are working tirelessly to generate a reading for pleasure culture in their schools. They aim to help their students to unlock the benefits, and build a lifelong love of reading. One such school is Dormers Wells High School in West London.

Holding a long-standing whole-school premium membership with the National Literacy Trust, the school recently attended our secondary Reading for Pleasure training, gaining insight and inspiration for new initiatives to engage students.

Importantly, as the case study explains, they were keen to explore different reading formats, adapt to the interests of their students, and embrace the technologies and trends that populate the everyday life of young people.

Their journey through exploring students' preferences and habits, identifying opportunities and developing their own in-school reading for pleasure podcast is compellingly told here by the school's reading lead, Noorie Grewal.