Glasgow's Urgent Call: Primary Teachers Tackle Secondary Students' Reading Crisis

In a striking move to combat a deepening education crisis, Glasgow has deployed primary school teachers into its high schools to address a significant number of incoming secondary pupils who lack basic reading abilities. These intensive catch-up classes are now active in 14 of Glasgow's 30 secondary schools, a stark indicator of the fundamental literacy challenges faced by young learners, many of whom have English as their first language. This urgent intervention follows recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 results that revealed a concerning decline in Scottish pupils' reading and math skills compared to other parts of the UK. Experts point to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated an existing attainment gap, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have ongoing initiatives like the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the rollout of systematic synthetic phonics in primary schools, but the scale of the problem highlights systemic pressures on the education system. Looking ahead, Scotland's Education Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, is actively exploring 'creative ways' to encourage more primary teachers to retrain for secondary roles, acknowledging wider teacher shortages in high schools. Glasgow City Council is also considering a central register for non-readers to better target support, signaling a long-term commitment to improving foundational literacy. This multi-faceted approach aims to ensure that no child leaves school without the essential ability to read, which is increasingly viewed as a fundamental human right.