Monthly Archives: October 2012

Recent data from the Department of Education has revealed that more than one in seven boys can’t write their own name at the age of five, and figures indicate that 15 per cent of boys struggle to form simple words such as ‘dog’ and ‘cat’ from memory at the end of reception.

When it comes to basic writing, boys are twice as likely to fail as girls, and eight percent of boys cannot count up to ten, compared to five per cent of girls.

This data comes amid concerns that increasing numbers of boys are failing to get a good start to their education, with the Department of Education stating that “girls continue to achieve at a higher level than boys” in areas of development.

Further Figures

The data also revealed a number of other trends:

• 38% of boys were not of able to “attempt writing for a variety of purposes” compared with 19% of girls, this included a basic letter to Santa.
• 5% of

National Short Story Week is an annual event designed to raise awareness of short stories, short story writers and publishers through a series of events and activities. This year’s National Short Story Week is being held between November 12th -18th2012.

The event was first created by Ian Skillicorn of Short Story Radio, where he had been producing and broadcasting short stories for many years. He then became Director of National Short Story Week, of which he has took responsibility for raising awareness of the event and encouraging members of the public to take part.