Pompey Pirates look to close the literacy gap between rich and poor children

This September, the Pompey Pirates Literacy Hub is to be launched in the Charles Dickens Ward where 44 per cent of children live in poverty. Government research shows children from low-income backgrounds are twice as likely to fall below expected levels of reading and writing by age 11 than their peers from wealthier homes.

The Literacy Hub is an education charity working with The University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth City Council. The hub’s founder, Becca Dean, believes the need to narrow the ‘learning gap’ has become even more apparent since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.