June 25, 2026
The annual study of children’s reading reveals how reading preferences evolve as young people move to secondary school – and underscores the importance of giving students the freedom to choose books that genuinely interest them.
The findings show that by the start of secondary school, boys and girls follow different reading journeys. Boys remain highly engaged with familiar and much-loved series, with Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid dominating their most-read titles. The enduring popularity of the series demonstrates the power of books that connect with readers and inspire them to keep turning pages.
Girls’ reading choices, meanwhile, broaden across a wider range of genres and authors. Their most-read books include Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Katie Kirby’s Lottie Brooks series, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter.
The research reinforces the finding which shows that children read most successfully when they can choose books they enjoy. Whether returning to favourite characters or discovering new worlds and genres, reader choice remains one of the strongest drivers of reading engagement and achievement.
Secondary (KS3) pupil’s most-read books in Years 7 to 9, are today revealed as:
Boys (Years 7 to 9)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown
- The Hunger Games
Girls (Years 7 to 9)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- The Hunger Games
- Heartstopper Volume 1
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
- The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks
- Heartstopper Volume 2
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- The Catastrophic Friendship Fails of Lottie Brooks
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Lottie Brooks’s Totally Disastrous School Trip
The findings come from the 18th annual What Kids Are Reading report, produced by the learning and assessment company Renaissance, which tracked 23 million books read by almost 1.1 million children across the UK and Ireland in 2024-25. More than 312,000 of them were in Years 7 to 9.
The data shows that many boys reach the age of 14 still reading the books that topped the charts when they were nine.
One reason for this may lie in where, and how often, boys read. Boys spend less time reading outside school than girls, and this gap widens through the teens. The National Literacy Trust found that by the age of 14 to 16, fewer than one in ten boys read daily against 17.6 per cent of girls. This means boys rely more heavily on the reading time provided in school.
And yet that time in school is scarce, especially at secondary. In February, a Renaissance survey of 1,013 teachers, conducted by YouGov, found just 28 per cent of secondary schools allocate at least 15 minutes a day to reading, compared with 62 per cent of primaries. As boys’ independent reading declines, so does the amount of structured reading time allocated to them – widening the gap at the point they need support most.
Today’s report also shows that the books children rate most highly are the ones they understand best. Pupils scored an average of 92 per cent on the comprehension quizzes for their favourite books, against 76 per cent across all their reading.
Bernadetta Brzyska, Head of Research at Renaissance, said the report shows that engagement, not volume alone, is what counts in the classroom.
“Children read best when they read what they love, and that is the thread running through this year’s report. The task it sets schools is twofold: keep widening what boys are offered so they don’t stall on a single series and trust children’s own choices, because the books they pick are the ones they finish and understand. In a Year of Reading, that is where the effort should go.
“This is not an argument against popular series. Familiar authors and box-set fiction pull reluctant readers in. The question is what comes next. Pupils who are steered towards new authors and harder books carry on reading while those left on the same series tend to stall”.
The National Year of Reading, a Department for Education campaign run with the National Literacy Trust, has named teenage boys as the group most in need of help. The Trust’s research found reading enjoyment at its lowest level on record in 2025, with teenage boys the most adverse readers.
Martin Galway, Head of Professional Learning and Partnerships at the National Literacy Trust, said: “This year’s What Kids Are Reading report reinforces a message we see consistently across our research. Children are most motivated to read, and better understand what they read, when they have the freedom to choose texts that genuinely interest them. The strong link between enjoyment and comprehension highlighted in this report underlines just how important it is for children and young people to have access to engaging and diverse texts so they can find books that speak to them.
“At the same time, the growing gap we see in secondary school, particularly for teenage boys, is a clear call to action. Too many young people are ‘stuck’ or disengaging from reading altogether, often because they have not yet found books that feel relevant, accessible or inspiring.
“Through the National Year of Reading and our Go All In campaign, we are encouraging schools, families and communities to work together to surround children with reading opportunities, trusted recommendations and positive reading role models. To get to know what motivates their young readers”.
Victoria Dilly, CEO at the School Library Association said: “This report reinforces what we know about choice and agency – when children can choose what they read and are interested in the subject matter, they are far more engaged.
“It also highlights the importance of supportive adults enabling children’s developing reading journeys: having a school librarian on hand to guide, listen and make reading recommendations is essential in encouraging children to take the next step. The ongoing worrying trend around a total lack of time to discover what to read and then be given an opportunity to enjoy it, clearly needs addressing, as does funding for schools so they can diversify their collections to be as appealing as possible and ensure all children have access to a staffed school library.
“The School Library Association’s Reading Reboot programme takes this formula of time, choice and support and puts young people at the heart of its approach to encouraging reading enjoyment. We are excited to see the impact this has on reading over the next three years”.
World Cup heroes show the power of interest-driven reading
With the World Cup capturing the world’s attention, the report also shows that children are choosing to read about England’s biggest stars, demonstrating how sport can serve as a gateway to reading for many young people.
One name leads by a distance. Marcus Rashford is the most-read Three Lion on the bookshelf, taking over three in ten reads (30%). Captain Harry Kane (24%) is in second place. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (12%) is third on the reading team sheet. Readers do agree with England boss Thomas Tuchel when it comes to Cole Palmer. The Chelsea man doesn’t make the reading starting lineup.
The What Kids Are Reading, most-read, England XI features:
- Marcus Rashford – 31%
- Harry Kane – 24%
- Bukayo Saka – 12%
- Jack Grealish – 10% (not in the 2026 squad)
- Jude Bellingham – 7%
- Phil Foden – 5% (not in the 2026 squad)
- Trent Alexander-Arnold – 4% (not in the 2026 squad)
- Declan Rice – 3%
- Harry Maguire – 2% (not in the 2026 squad)
- Jordan Pickford – 2%
- Jordan Henderson – 1%
The player at the top of the list knows the value of reading better than most. The Marcus Rashford Book Club has given more than 100,000 free books to children in the most disadvantaged areas. Rashford did not read his first book until he was seventeen and says it changed the course of his life.
Ms Brzyska adds that: “These books are no novelty. According to our study, six of the twenty most-read non-fiction titles are footballer biographies.
“For a certain kind of reader, often a boy who has decided books are not for him, a player’s story is the one that gets picked up. They are a staple, not a curiosity, and they pull in children who might otherwise read nothing at all. In a Year of Reading built around exactly those children, that counts”.
A copy of the What Kids Are Reading 2026 report – a free resource for parents and teachers to find new titles for their children to explore that fit in with their favourite reading themes – is available at https://uk.renaissance.com/resources/wkar-2026/
ENDS
Notes for editors
What Kids Are Reading 2026 is the 18th annual report from Renaissance. It draws on data from the company’s Accelerated Reader programme, covering 23,585,022 reading quizzes taken by 1,080,672 pupils (of whom 312,681 were in Years 7 to 9) in schools across the UK and Ireland during the 2024-25 academic year, from August 2024 to July 2025. Most-read rankings reflect the number of pupils reading each title; reading difficulty is measured on the ATOS scale; comprehension is measured by the average percentage of quiz questions answered correctly.
The 28 per cent and 62 per cent figures on dedicated reading time come from Between the Lines: What teachers really think about children’s reading in 2026, a Renaissance report based on a YouGov survey of 1,013 UK teachers conducted in February 2026.
About Renaissance
As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student.
For more information
Mark Cooper at GK & Partners
0203 763 2703 / mark.cooper@gkandpartners.com