Campaign launched to make English pupils most literate in Europe

A school named in honor of one of Britain's most famous authors was the launch pad Thursday for a campaign to make English children the most literate in Europe.

Government Education Secretary Nicky Morgan visited the Charles Dickens Primary School in Southwark, London to announce a five year target to achieve the ambition she has set.

International surveys show that nine and ten-year-olds in England are currently ranked sixth in Europe.

Charles Dickens was the 19th century writer of many famous social novels including A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.

As part of the campaign, Morgan has called on leading publishers to give secondary schools access to classic novels by Dickens and other great English authors such as Jane Austen and Emily Bronte at low cost to make sure every young person in England "can discover and enjoy the classic works."

She said she wants to tackle the "long tail of underachievement" which is still leaving too many children behind, particularly the most disadvantaged.

"If a child fails to learn how to read, the consequences can be nothing short of devastating, holding them back for the rest of their lives," Morgan said.

"I am absolutely determined to make sure that every child, no matter where they live or what their background, learns to read, to read widely and to read well -- giving them the best opportunity to get on in life. In fact, we're going further than that -- in the next 5 years, I want children in this country to become the best readers in Europe," she said.

Morgan described the launch as a rallying cry to leading publishers, schools and early-years providers to join forces in a bid to make English pupils the most literate in Europe in five years.

She was joined at the launch by television celebrity and children's author David Walliams. "Few things can compete with the joy of getting stuck into a good book and I believe that is something no child should miss out on," Walliams said.

The target set out Thursday is part of an ambitious literacy campaign to create at least 200 new book clubs across the country, as well as seeing every eight-year-old enrolled at their local library.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Evidence shows that children who develop strong reading skills early on are more likely to succeed at school, achieve good qualifications and go on to succeed in their adult lives and the world of work." Endit