Love Football, Loathe Reading? Premier League Reading Stars Can Help.

Edge author Dave Cousins explains how a love of ‘the beautiful game’ can inspire an interest in reading for reluctant readers.

Premier League Reading Stars is an innovative programme run by the National Literacy Trust in partnership with the Premier League. The scheme is designed for schools to use with target groups of children aged 9-13 years who “love football but lack motivation to engage with and achieve in literacy.” Building on evidence that footballers can influence the way young people view reading, PLRS offers a range of resources for schools that tap into children’s passion for football. Results show that participation in the project can have a significant impact on attainment and attitudes to reading and writing, particularly among boys and those on free school meals.

Here's a short video about the scheme.

Since kicking off its inaugural season three years ago, thousands of children have enjoyed taking part in Premier League Reading Stars. A 2014 evaluation reported that three out of four children taking part made at least six months’ reading progress during the ten week scheme, with one child in three making a year’s worth of progress! 

“On average, the reading progress of participating pupils was 50% higher than peers not taking part in the programme.”

A third of participants go on to join their local library, and the number of children who develop a daily reading habit as a result of the course is more than double. Nearly two thirds of the children involved say that seeing Premier League footballers read, made them want to read more. One of the participating school’s Ofsted report stated: “Both their reading and writing scores rose considerably as a result of their involvement in this initiative.”

The closing date for enrolling your school is Wednesday 30th September 2015. 

The new enhanced programme for 2015-16 includes a wealth of resources and benefits, including:

—1 year membership to the National Literacy Trust Network. 

—Author events with a range of venues, dates and authors.

—New season resource pack (for 20 children) including teacher’s manual, children’s activity books, certificates, stickers and posters. 

—recommended reading list for 2015-16, including the best of football-related reading online. 

—staff training sessions, held regularly across England and Wales, (September to November). 

—NEW mixed box of 20 books specially chosen to appeal to reluctant readers .

—NEW access to our updated website, with interactive challenges, competitions and quizzes, plus entry to the National PLRS Competition with the chance for pupils to win tickets to Premier League matches.

Visit the National Literacy Trust Premier League Reading Stars website for more information.

Charlie Merrick’s Misfits in Fouls, Friends and Football, written and illustrated by Dave Cousins is out now, published by Oxford University Press.

At the Edge of the World Cup: Football and Reading—a winning combination?

By the time this post goes live, we will be eight days into the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals. It’s hard to escape football, with news and comment from Brazil dominating the airwaves and filling the streets. I like football, but I appreciate it’s not for everyone. In fact, I imagine some readers will be on the verge of clicking away to another post—but stay with me.

There are a lot of young sports fans out there, most of whom would much rather be outside kicking, or hitting, a ball than settling down with a book—but maybe sport and reading have more in common than we think. 

As a supporter of an extraordinarily unsuccessful football team, I’ve long been aware of the drama inherent in the game—in fact, what is a football match if not the classic quest story? All the ingredients are there: a closely knit band of brothers (a fellowship if you will) in search of a mythical trophy (believe me, for many fans, such trophies are indeed the stuff of legend). These protagonists are watched over by a manager or coach—an older, sometimes enigmatic figure—guiding them with words of wisdom from the sidelines. We have conflict—adversaries trying to stop our heroes from obtaining their goal. These opposing forces are often more powerful and ruthless than our plucky idols. There is a beginning, a middle and an end; a repeating series of try/fail cycles where our players attempt to use what skills they have to achieve their aims; we have characters, heroes and villains: the angry one; a young hopeful; the mercurial maverick; the legendary almost magical one; the unlikely hero waiting on the bench. As for the setting—what could be more dramatic and evocative than a full football stadium? That palpable sense of anticipation, hope and fear, carried across the floodlit field by thousands of voices raised in song. If you like stories containing heroism, a struggle against the odds, conflict, glory and failure … the World Cup Finals might not be such a bad place to look.

But can sport provide a way into reading? Once the finals are over, there will be many young fans feeling a sense of loss—a World Cup shaped hole in their lives—and there are thousands of great books that could plug that gap. Apart from the many biographies and magazines, there is a wealth of sports fiction available. I wish authors like Mal Peet, Tom Palmer and Helena Pielichaty had been writing when I was growing up, not to mention the impressive list of authors who have written about football on the National Literacy Trust’s Premier League Reading Stars website.

Here are a few links to resources that may be helpful in tempting young sports fans to pick up a book …

Premier League Reading Stars FREE World Cup resources

The Reading Agency Kick Off! Football Action Chatterbooks Activity Pack

Oxford University Press Charlie Merrick Free Football Resources

A list of my top 11 football books

Charlie Merrick's step by step guide to drawing a football action scene

Charlie Merrick’s Misfits in Fouls, Friends and Football by Dave Cousins, is out now, published by Oxford University Press.