Pupils don’t read in their spare time

Two out of three Faroese schoolchildren don’t read in their leisure time, according to a survey into the reading habits of pupils in forms 4, 6 and 9.

Some 1,600 schoolchildren were surveyed, which is 75% of the total national number of pupils in forms 4, 6 and 9, writes Skúlablaðið.

Most participants reported that they do not spend much time on reading, and 65.6% said they rarely or never read in their free time.

Thirty-three per cent of fourth-form pupils said that they read in their free time. For those in sixth form, the figure is 28%, and a mere 12% in ninth form.

This suggests that Faroese children read significantly less in their free time than Danish children, despite the Danish school day being longer and despite Faroese and Danish children spending equal amounts of time in front of screens, writes Skúlablaðið.

A Danish study from 2017 found that 62% of fourth-formers 42% of sixth-formers said they read several times a week in their spare time. This is twice as much as in the Faroes. The study did not include ninth-formers, but it found that 37% of seventh-formers said they read several times a week.

The results of the survey will be presented today at 4 in Smæran, J.H. Schrøters gøta, Tórshavn.