Our Annual Report 2023/24 is out now!

We’re excited to share our Annual Report, a look at the work we’ve delivered over the last academic year – we’re immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished at Bookmark.

We want every child to read. This vision remains as vital as ever. Through the unwavering support of volunteers, partners and donors, we’ve been able to strive towards our vision, delivering our highest number of reading sessions and introducing new initiatives to deepen our impact.

We remain committed to closing the literacy gap, by fostering a whole-school reading culture and offering meaningful support to children in schools located in areas of high-deprivation.

Face-to-face bookmark volunteer session outside with young boy who is excited to read a book with his volunteer — Face-to-face volunteering session

In the last year, we’ve:

Reached 2,056 children through our One-to-one Reading Programme.
Doubled the number of sessions provided just two years ago, delivering 43,779 reading sessions.
Launched two new programmes: the Story Starter Programme and the Literacy Partner Programme.
Provided 58,000 children with brand new books.
Distributed 447,600 copies of The Story Corner magazine.
Grown our volunteer base to 2,937.

Teachers recognised the effectiveness of our programmes with 99% reporting a positive impact on pupils. 94% of teachers also observed an increase in confidence in pupil’s reading abilities, with one of our partner schools – Athelstan Primary School – highlighting the significant transformation of reading engagement and school culture.

This year, driven by the generosity of our partners and donors, our income grew as we received a significant philanthropic gift. This has supported the expansion of literacy programmes, the distribution of books and provided teacher training. A significant portion of our surplus has been designated to support the future roll out of our new Literacy Partner Programme.

As outlined in our three-year strategy, we aim to benefit 500,000 children across 1,000 partner schools and expand initiatives like Your Story Corner, Book Clubs and the Literacy Partner Programme. This is so we can continue to encourage reading for pleasure across the whole school, with a focus on areas of highest need.

I’m really delighted to share the highlights from the 2023/24 academic year at Bookmark Reading Charity. This report does not just reflect our financial position, which remains healthy, but the impact we’ve had over the last 12 months in supporting more children to read. As we enter the first year of our new three-year strategy, we’re in a fantastic position to continue to grow and develop our 10 literacy programmes to make sure 500,000 children benefit from our work by 2027!

Frankie Smith, Chief Finance and Operations Officer