One in four children in England leave primary school unable to read to the expected standard. Difficulties with reading do not only limit a child’s progress in the classroom, but they can also have lasting consequences throughout life. Over the long term, poor literacy is associated with higher rates of unemployment, poorer mental health outcomes and even reduced life expectancy.
Without effective early support, children who fall behind in reading are likely to remain behind, a persistent disadvantage commonly referred to as the literacy gap.
To further live our values, the team at Mayfair selected Social Mobility as a priority topic for our charitable engagement in 2025-26 and, as a result, we are proud to partner with Bookmark Reading Charity.
Bookmark is a children’s literacy charity with a clear and compelling vision: every child should be able to read. Working with schools in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities, Bookmark aims to foster a love of reading and equip children with the skills they need to access a fair chance in life. This is delivered through a flexible, volunteer led reading programme.
At the heart of Bookmark’s work is its one-to-one reading programme, where volunteers spend 30 minutes reading with an individual child, providing tailored support, building confidence and helping to ignite a lasting enthusiasm for reading.
This is an important cause, and we are looking forward to making an impact with Bookmark this year, having kicked things off with a book drive that saw the team collect 105 books to be distributed by the Children’s Book Project across Bookmark Partner Schools.
“We are proud to be working with Mayfair Equity Partners, whose invaluable support is contributing towards our ambitious 2024–27 strategy. By August 2027, through our Bookmark Programmes, we hope to have positively impacted more than half a million children, helping to ignite a lifelong love of reading.”
Victoria, Corporate Partnerships Executive at Bookmark
Learn more about Bookmark’s work and how you can join us in supporting them.
