Pupils who write creatively outside school do better in the classroom

According to research by the National Literacy Trust, children who enjoy writing and who write creatively outside school do significantly better in the classroom.

The trust, which released the new writing research to correspond with National Writing Day today, 21 June, also found that half of pupils say they don’t enjoy writing outside school.

The research report, Writing for Enjoyment and its Link to Wider Reading, also found that all children – regardless of whether they enjoy writing or not – face the same barriers to writing outside school: around half of pupils can’t decide what to write and a third struggle with spelling and grammar.

The report stresses that helping children develop a love of writing is important for their academic success.

Children who enjoy writing outside school are seven times more likely to write above the expected level for their age compared with children who don’t enjoy writing (23.2 per cent vs 3.2 per cent); and children who write creatively outside school are twice as likely to write above the expected level for their age compared with children who don’t write creatively outside school (19.3 per cent vs 7.9 per cent).

The trust says that National Writing Day will play a crucial role in helping children discover that creative writing can be fun and can also boost their attainment, confidence, aspiration and imagination.

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said: “It’s now time to give writing for enjoyment the focus it deserves, which is why we’re so thrilled to be supporting the UK’s first National Writing Day. By giving children and adults new opportunities to get writing, we will show that writing is for everyone!”