Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media correspondent

‘Every school should have a library’: Philip Pullman calls for new UK laws

Two girls laughing and reading books in school library
Data produced last year found that 14% of British primary schools have no libraries. Photograph: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

Philip Pullman, the author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, has joined fellow celebrated British writers Michael Morpurgo and Julia Donaldson this weekend in calling on government to legislate immediately to ensure all schools in Britain have libraries.

“The school library is absolutely essential at every level of education, and it needs legal protection and status,” said Pullman. “It is too easy to think that books and reading for pleasure are not essential, whereas nothing is more certain to improve children’s ability – and desire – to read richly and well.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.