Recent research by OUP has established that increasing numbers of young people have what the publisher is calling a “Word Gap”.  This occurs when children don’t read for pleasure and don’t have much chance to expand their vocabulary.

Initially this was thought to be a primary school problem with just under half of the children in primary school suffering from a noticeable Word Gap.

However further research has shown that by Year 7 that gap still remains for 43% of those in school.

Reading is obviously fundamental to education, but it also affects self-esteem and behaviour, according to the OUP report, as well of course as life chances after school.

In the research 60% of secondary teachers reported that they were working with students with limited vocabulary, and 80% agreed that this affected the student’s self-esteem.

According to OUP one of the main ways in which some schools are overcoming the Word Gap problem is by giving pupils and students access to a wide range of quality texts.

This is where Wordsworth Editions come in, as we have a wide range of books from as little as £1.88 each (with no delivery charge and no minimum order) covering authors from HG Wells to Dickens, from Jane Austen to the Brontës.

If you want to see the full list of over 400 titles currently in print along with a ready to use order form, should you need it, then we have a page with those details.

We also have our offer of a free book just in case you have not come across Wordsworth Editions before.  (Or indeed just in case the notion of books at £1.88 each with free delivery seems just too good to be true.)

So, to receive a free sample of one of our classics without any obligation please do email education@wordsworth-editions.com with your name and the school address, and we’ll put it in the post to you with our compliments.