NI pupils are the best readers in UK, but still lag behind Republic

SCHOOL pupils in Northern Ireland have the highest level of reading comprehension in the UK regions, according to a new literacy study — although the Irish Republic does even better.

The annual What Kids Are Reading report analysed the reading habits of 71,652 pupils here.

The results were compiled by data from assessment provider Renaissance UK and analysed by the University of Dundee.

Last year, pupils here ranked joint UK first with their counterparts in Scotland.

According to the latest report, Northern Ireland pupils have maintained their top ranking within the UK while Scotland has now dropped to joint second place with England.

Wales ranked lowest out of all the UK regions.

However, pupils in the Republic outperform their Northern Ireland and UK peers at primary school.

At primary level, pupils in Northern Ireland are reading less difficult books than their Republic of Ireland peers, and with less comprehension.

However, the gap between children here and their counterparts across the border closes at secondary school level, the report notes.

The study also suggests that if Northern Ireland primary pupils wish to outperform their peers in the Republic, then they should begin reading books matched to the same difficulty levels as the Republic’s.

Overall, the reading habits of 1.1m pupils across the UK and the Republic of Ireland were studied for the report.

For the first time, the study also features attitudinal data — how pupils feel about reading — provided by the National Literacy Trust.

It also concludes that reading for pleasure is key to children’s literacy success.

The study found pupils who read daily are nearly three times as likely to read above the expected level compared with their peers who don’t read daily.

Conversely, pupils who do not read daily are twice as likely to read below the average expected for their age.

The report also found children in primary and secondary school were reading slightly more than last year, with the average pupil reading 240,599 words — a1% increase on the previous year.

University of Dundee academic Professor Keith Topping, who analysed the data, said: “Reading for pleasure is a vital component to literacy success, but it is also important to encourage pupils to read more often and to pick books of appropriate reading difficulty for their age.”

Favourite authors for pupils include JK Rowling, whose Harry Potter books are a hit with primary school children, while David Walliams’ book, Gangsta Granny, remains the top read title among secondary school pupils.