Tackling illiteracy ‘is Europe’s biggest aim’
The London Evening Standard's literacy campaign has been hailed as a blueprint for the rest of Europe, according to the EU commissioner for education.
Get London Reading is showing a great success in the capital, with 700 volunteers signed up to help the cause so far.
Androulla Vassiliou has praised the initiative and has said that it could make a huge difference in European schools.
She has initiated a study of the project which will be offered to EU member states in a bid to improve reading skills across the continent.
The campaign has already won a prize at the Brit Writers' Awards earlier this year.
It was cited as an inspirational contribution to the promotion of literacy and creative writing by judges at the awards and has continued to grow in popularity since.
Ms Vassiliou visited areas of London where the project was in action and saw the benefits to students first-hand.
She commented: "In Europe we have a big problem with one in five 15-year-olds reading to a very low level. Literacy is not just about reading, it is the foundation for life."
Ms Vassiliou described how tackling literacy is one of the top priorities for schools in Europe.
