Pupils in primary schools read as few as three books, study shows

London: Children are reading as few as three books in their whole time at primary school because teachers are spoon-feeding them short extracts, research revealed Thursday.

One in eight teachers has never read a book with their class and a similar proportion read only one a year.

The research found that youngsters are growing up ignorant of many of the best-loved stories in children's literature because they never discover the endings. Classics such as Treasure Island, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Matilda are among books routinely left unfinished in class.

The vast majority of 500 teachers polled - 87 per cent - would prefer to teach using whole books only or a mix of extracts and whole books.

But those surveyed said there was a view in many schools that children "can't manage" full texts and that the Government's £500 million (Dh3 billion) literacy drive encourages "extractitis" and a "tick box" approach to reading. They said if they do not read at home, some pupils could read only three books before they move up to secondary school.

The research found that a quarter of primary school pupils read just one whole book in class a year or none at all.

It means 600,000 pupils go a year without finishing a whole book, while a similar number read just one.