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Children’s writing competition launched to address inequality in Nottingham’s literacy levels

A writing competition wants kids to put pen to paper during the pandemic

A writing competition for children aged seven to fourteen is part of a new project to tackle a gap in literacy skills between some groups of children in Nottingham.

The theme of the Read on Nottingham‘s creative competition is ‘Friends, Family and Relationships.’ Every child who enters receives a certificate and the chance to see their work published in a printed anthology.

The aim is to help address literacy inequality during lockdown. Campaigners fear some children from lower income families are unable to access any books at all due to schools and libraries being closed.

Jason Vit, Head of Local Areas at the National Literacy Trust, which runs Read on Nottingham, said: “Young people who read a lot anyway are reading more [now] because they’ve got more free time, but for those who don’t have many books at home it hasn’t been the best of times.”