KIDS hooked on computer games have sent England plummeting down world league tables for reading, it was claimed yesterday.
A study of literacy at primary schools in 41 countries saw our youngsters slip from third to 15th in just five years.
Ministers claimed pupils spend so much time on consoles that they are not burying their noses in books.
New blow ... Ed Balls
Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced plans for a £5million cash boost for libraries to give free books to local nurseries – and urged mums and dads to do more to encourage kids to read at home.
But critics accused him of heaping blame on parents for the Government’s failing schools policies.
England’s score in the international study fell more sharply than any country other than Morocco and Romania.
We finished behind former Iron Curtain states such as Russia, Latvia and Bulgaria in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.
It revealed that English kids read far less at home than those in other countries.
It also showed more than a third of ten-year-olds spend THREE HOURS or more playing computer games after school every day – much more time than foreign pupils.
Mr Balls said: “Today’s youngsters have more choice than in 2001 about how they spend their time.
“Most of them have their own TVs and mobiles and 37 per cent are playing computer games for three hours a day.
“We all need to help our children of all ages to see that reading can bring fun to their lives.”
When England came third in the study in 2001, Labour hailed it at that year’s election as evidence of the success of its education policy.
But yesterday Mr Balls pointed to lack of reading at home for falling standards.
Mr Balls, who postponed his speech to a schools conference to scrutinise the report, added: “Evidence shows that reading at home makes a difference and we aren’t doing enough of it.
“Harry Potter is a great success, but we want more children reading the books as well as watching the films.
“We need to do more to help parents to get that balance right.”
The study is a new blow to PM Gordon Brown’s aim to build a world-class education system.
It comes weeks after a Cambridge University report showed extra millions pumped into schools had made “small impact”.
Tories last night warned England was falling “dangerously” behind other countries.
Shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove said: “It’s time the Government stopped blaming parents and accept the case we’ve been making for a new focus on teaching reading using tried and tested methods.”
And National Union of Teachers boss Steve Sinnott said: “Our prescribed and overloaded curriculum and testing system is sapping young people’s enthusiasm for reading for pleasure.”
