05/12/2017

NI Primary School Pupils Among Best In The World For Reading

Northern Ireland pupils, aged between 9 - 10, are among the best readers in the world.

NI has been ranked 6th in the world in a major international survey.

Figures from the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) revealed that children in only two of the 50 countries, Singapore and Russia, performed better than NI pupils in the international reading study.

The PIRLS study was carried out in Northern Ireland by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) for the Department of Education during 2016.

Department of Education Permanent Secretary, Derek Baker said: "I am very pleased to note that primary school children are very positive about reading and enjoy their lessons. Helping our children to succeed is why we educate our children and I pay credit to all those teachers and principals who work so hard to make this happen. Parents and guardians also play a critical role in helping to develop their children from an early age by reading to them and supporting them with their school work. Results from these reports also show that primary schools have highly qualified principals and teachers with the majority stating they were very satisfied with their job."

Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson Karen Mullan said: "These fantastic results are a testament to the hard work of local schools, children and parents on excellence in reading and literacy.

"The report's authors found that, globally, children who achieved the best reading and comprehension scores, had parents who liked to read to them and had access to books at home.

"These children attended well-resourced schools where reading was prioritised, attended school regularly and were not tired or hungry at school and liked reading in and out of school."

(CD/MH)

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