Episode 2: Youthscan, the 1980s and reading for pleasure

In this second episode, we move into the 1980s to find out how Neville Butler kept BCS70 going during a decade of austerity. We learn about the benefits of reading for pleasure for children’s English and maths skills. We also ask study participants about their teenage years and find out what it was like sharing their 19^th birthday with 4,000 other people at Alton Towers.

We explore all of this and more with:

• Professor John Bynner, former BCS70 director, who worked on a number of reports and initiatives to make cohort study data more accessible to researchers in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Professor Alice Sullivan, current BCS70 director and co-author of the influential study on reading for pleasure.
• Professor Scott Montgomery, epidemiologist and former BCS70 researcher , who worked with BCS70 founder, Neville Butler during this era.
• Study members, who share their memories of life in the 1980s, and taking part in the study.

View and download the transcript for episode 2

Find out more:

• Professor John Bynner
• Secondary Use of National Child Development Study. A Report Prepared for the Economic and Social Research Council
• Professor Scott Montgomery
• Age 10 Survey
• Professor Alice Sullivan
• Reading for pleasure – impact case study
• Age 16 Survey