In January I’ll be taking part in an Arctic wilderness endurance challenge with a group of my colleagues. Held over a gruelling long weekend in Swedish Lapland, it involves a 35km dog sled race, 20km Nordic ski, ice fishing, orienteering and woodland fire lighting all in ~-25°C and with only around 2 hours of sunlight. I am far from an athlete so have been training hard in the hopes of surviving the Nordic ski!

I’m doing all of this to raise money for the National Literacy Trust.

Lots of people aren’t aware that the UK is currently facing a literacy crisis-

· The number of children that don’t own their own book is rising – to a shocking 1 in 5, among 5-to-8 year olds

· In 2023, over 185,000 5-year olds in England started school without the communication and language skills they need to thrive

· Approximately 40% of children from disadvantaged communities now leave primary school with unacceptably low levels of literacy

· Low literacy means children are much more likely to struggle with their GCSEs or equivalent, and more likely to end up unemployed by their 30s

· Nine children in every single reception classroom are already falling behind

· The NLT estimates that the disadvantage gap in early literacy skills is costing England over £800 million every year

Reading enjoyment has been reported as more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status but this year, the rate of reading for pleasure in under 18s is lower than it has been since records began in 2005.

The NLT works tirelessly to help give children a better start to life. Their plan for the next three years includes (but is not limited to)-

· Calling on the government to urgently form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners

· Accelerating their ‘Libraries for Primaries’ campaign to ensure every primary school in the UK has a dedicated library space by 2028

· Increasing the support for teachers through professional training, programmes and high-quality resources linked to the national curriculum

· Providing families with practical tips, advice, resources and free books to support parents and carers with children’s reading

· Build capacity and capability for reading for pleasure activities in the communities they work in through their network of Literacy Champions

I hope you will agree that this is a really important cause that needs support now more than ever. I’ve set a fundraising goal of £4000 and would be so grateful for any help to hit that target- even a very small donation would be hugely appreciated.