National Literacy Trust

The University of Birmingham was the first university to partner with the National Literacy Trust (NLT) on founding a regional Literacy Hub. Our research underpinned the Birmingham Hub’s collaborations with local schools, young people, businesses and cultural organisations on a series of engaging activities to spread awareness of the importance of storytelling and literacy at every stage of life.

Our work has been notable for its place-themed focus on local people, the local environment, and local heritage, with projects designed for and with Birmingham’s communities, as represented by our recent joint-published Place-based Literacy pamplet and CPD series.

Notable projects have included:

• Haunted Birmingham, which saw local writers – young and adult – imagining ghostly visions of local heritage sites, schools, parks, restaurants and more;
• Home Words, which invited local people to submit their most cherished words and see these words turned into poems that celebrated our city’s rich multilingual diversity;
• Shakespeare and Me, which invited adult learners in different settings across Birmingham to use quotations from Shakespeare as springboards to discuss their own life experiences; and,
• Story Exchanges, in which, working in pairs, individuals share significant stories from their lives and retell their partner’s story in the first person, as if it were their own.

Such work has been vital given that new research from the NLT has recently highlighted the continued decline in reading and writing for pleasure among children aged 5 to 18, with reading enjoyment at the lowest level seen in 20 years.

Research has also consistently shown a connection between reading enjoyment, frequency, and academic attainment. Enjoying and frequently reading and writing leads too to increased empathy, mental-wellbeing, and social-mobility. 

The University has been proud to be a partner of the NLT for the past seven years, up to and during NLT’s landmark year in 2026 as the Department of Education’s key partner in delivering the Go All In campaign to mark and celebrate 2026 as the UK’s National Year of Reading.

The NLT’s Birmingham Hub is a valued member of the University’s Culture Forward initiative that convenes our academics and researchers with Birmingham and West Midlands-based cultural, community and creative organisations into closer research and educational collaborations.

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that empowers children, young people, and adults with the literacy skills they need to succeed.