Cornwall Libraries Record Strong Results in 2025 Summer Reading Challenge

Libraries across the South West saw tens of thousands of children take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, with Cornwall standing out in several key areas.

The figures come from the 2025 participation statistics for Cornwall Libraries and The Story Garden Summer Reading Challenge, which ran across the region over the summer.

Cornwall’s results at a glance

In Cornwall, 6,975 children aged 4 to 11 took part in the challenge. That represents 15 percent of all children in that age group in Cornwall, higher than the South West average.

Younger children were also well represented. A total of 873 children aged 0 to 3 joined in through Cornwall Libraries, more than any other library authority in the South West. This was 257 more than the authority in second place.

Across all age groups, children in Cornwall read 52,515 books, eBooks and eAudiobooks during the challenge.

Completion rates higher than last year

Of the children who signed up in Cornwall, 5,434 completed the challenge. This equates to a completion rate of 68 percent, which was higher than the previous year.

How the South West compares

Across the wider South West, 50,454 children took part in The Story Garden Summer Reading Challenge 2025.

This included:

• 37,139 children aged 4 to 11, around 10 percent of that age group across the region

• 4,074 children aged 0 to 3 taking part through their local library

In total, children across the South West read 988,903 books, eBooks and eAudiobooks.

A total of 27,921 children completed the challenge, with an average completion rate of 55 percent across the different library authorities.

Data source

All figures are taken from the Summer Reading Challenge Participation Statistics 2025.