National Literacy Trust in Doncaster

18/06/2026

Doncaster's Primary Ambassadors have launched a competition to find Doncaster's best 'extreme reader' - send them a photo before 10th July. Perfect for a summer term school project or to try at home! 🤩

17/06/2026

We did it – 365 penguins!🐧

Throughout Doncaster's Remake Learning Festival, families joined us for a series of creative workshops inspired by the picture book 365 Penguins, exploring how stories can spark maths, creativity, play, and learning.

From Windhill Primary School, Bentley My Place, to Mexborough High Street, families worked together to create penguins of all shapes, sizes, and personalities.

Thanks to everyone's enthusiasm, we reached our goal of making 365 penguins together🐧🐧🐧

The completed display is now proudly on show in the window of the Haberdashery on Mexborough High Street. If you're passing by, see if you can spot your penguin among the flock!

A huge thank you to RWM (Reading Writing Maths) Doncaster and everyone who helped bring this project to life. It was wonderful to see so many families getting creative together and celebrating the power of storytelling.

16/06/2026

If you work with children or young people, you could inspire them to develop a love of reading that will not only support their learning and life chances, but build their confidence and wellbeing too.

Our latest research shows an upturn in children and young people's reading enjoyment for the first time in five years. But there's still more work to do to ensure every child as the support they need to discover a love of reading.
..That's where you come in! We're looking for volunteers to take part in Books Out Loud - an initiative to encourage a love of stories through reading aloud with children and young people.

You don’t need to be an expert in books or storytelling to take part. Your understanding of the young people you work with is more important.

Find out more ➡ literacytrust.org.uk/books-out-loud

15/06/2026

We're reflecting on our first-ever Global Story Exchange at the Corn Exchange in Doncaster Market – a celebration of the cultures, communities and stories that make our city so special🌍

The event featured storytelling, arts and crafts, draw-alongs, book gifting and delicious food as part of the ‘Big Lunch’, the UK's annual celebration that brings neighbours together to share food, friendship and fun.

One of the highlights of the day was the fantastic African drumming workshops, led by Ajide Adeyemi and his team, which brought energy, rhythm and plenty of smiles.

A huge thank you to Well Doncaster, our partner organisations, local charities and our amazing Literacy Champions who helped make the event such a success. It was wonderful to see so many people sharing stories and celebrating together!

10/06/2026

Today our new research shows that children and young people's enjoyment of reading has risen for the first time in five years.

📚More than a third (36.1%) of children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time
📚1 in 5 (20.3%) said they read daily in their free time

And our work in communities like Doncaster is making a difference. Children in the schools where we work most intensively were 15% more likely to enjoy reading in their free time and 34% more likely to enjoy reading at school, compared to their peers across England.

Despite these gains, children’s levels of daily reading and reading enjoyment across the UK are still low. With your support we can keep this momentum going and help more children in Doncaster develop the literacy skills they need to thrive.

Find out more about the research: https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/our-latest-research-shows-modest-rise-in-childrens-reading-engagement-but-levels-remain-low/

09/06/2026

07/06/2026

This , we’re celebrating our incredible team of literacy champions in Doncaster, who make change happen. 💙

For our Volunteers Week celebration, Heather hosted a fantastic campfire gathering at Eden G Community Garden.

We’d like to say a massive thank you to Heather, everyone who attended and to our tremendous network of Literacy Champion volunteers, who do such an amazing job spreading the joys of literacy across Doncaster all year long.

There were marshmallows, cups of hot chocolate and fun chatter between our lovely Literacy Champion volunteers.

Once again, a huge thank you to all our literacy champions in Doncaster, and Happy Volunteers Week!

05/06/2026

Join us tomorrow (Saturday 6 June) for the Global Story Exchange, a celebration of the multicultural stories that make up Doncaster🌍

There’ll be storytelling, arts and crafts, draw-alongs, book gifting, and even drumming workshops.

Drop in to the event at the Corn Exchange, Doncaster Market, from 10.30am until 3.00pm. The African drumming workshop and performance will take place at 11:30am - 12:30pm.

We hope to see you there to celebrate our wonderful city's culture!

26/05/2026

If your child loves animals or crafts, come and help us reach our target of 365 penguins...

Last week, we visited Windhill School to kick off our series of ‘Mission: 365 Penguins’ workshops as part of the Remake Learning Festival.

Our fun challenge is inspired by the picture book ‘365 Penguins’ and we’re inviting children and families to build a penguin-filled display, exploring maths through stories, creativity and play. 🐧

Children did a great job creating the first 144 penguins this week. Find us at Bentley My Place tomorrow (Wednesday 27 May), and Mexborough High Street on Friday 29 May to continue the fun.

Pop by to hear the ‘365 Penguins’ story and create your own penguins!

Discover more: https://remakelearningdays.org/events/?fwp_search=penguins&fwp_region=doncaster-uk

22/05/2026

Join our free event for families! 👋

Together, on the 6 June, we’re celebrating the many cultures that make up Doncaster.

Come along and hear stories from around the world, enjoy fun activities inspired by multicultural tales and take home a new book to keep. 🌎 📚

This is a free event at the Corn Exchange, Doncaster Market, 10.30–3pm in partnership with Well Doncaster.