Great Western Railway (GWR) has introduced Short-Story Dispensers at key stations across its network, encouraging children to continue reading throughout the summer holidays.
At the click of a button, the dispensers will print a variety of folklores for free. They will share stories from Line to Legend Land, a collection of much-loved myths and legends featuring dragons, mermaids, giants and fairies from the South West and Wales.
The tales from Line to Legend Land include: The Miracle Dolphin of Mevagissey by Michael Murpugo, King Arthur’s Camelot, The White Horse of Uffington, and The Faeries of Pennard Castle.
The initiative comes in response to new research commissioned by GWR, which shines a light on the impact the long summer break can have on children’s reading habits and development. One in five parents report that their children’s reading levels and confidence drop during the summer holidays, without the structure and routine of the school term.
Key outtakes from the research include:
- Only half of children read for more than three hours a week, compared to 70% who watch TV, with children spending an average of 4.3 hours per week watching television
- Half of parents report that, without the daily routine of the classroom, independent reading struggles to compete with the lure of other holiday activities, including TV and mobile phone use
- Parents report that it takes an average of 3–4 weeks of the autumn term for their child’s reading confidence to return to pre-summer levels
The dispensers follow the launch of Little Libraries across 10 key GWR stations, all aimed at improving children’s summer reading habits and making books more accessible to families on the move.
The Little Libraries were launched with a special live reading onboard a train travelling to Reading, hosted by acclaimed children’s author Michael Rosen, bringing the joy of storytelling directly into the journey itself.
Through the new Short-Story Dispensers and Little Libraries, GWR hopes to make reading an easy and enjoyable part of family travel this summer – helping children keep their reading going between the end of term and the return to the classroom in September.
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