In the 20 years since it launched, more than 2.3 million South Australian students have read more than 27 million books through the Premier’s Reading Challenge.

This year saw 122,416 students from 696 South Australian public, independent and home schools take part in the program, which encourages students to read 12 books between week one in Term 1 and week seven in Term 3.

Those students who wish to push themselves further are encouraged to read 20 books as part of the 20-Book Challenge.

The free program is a personal challenge in which students obtain a certificate (first year), a medal (second to seventh year), and a ‘Hall of Fame Reader for Life award’ (eighth year onwards) if they complete the task.

Highlights from the 2023 challenge include:

• 97 per cent of schools (694) from across South Australia had students complete the Challenge in 2023 – four more schools than in 2022.
• There were more than 23,448 first-time Premier's Reading Challenge participants this year – 20,223 of whom were reception students.
• In 2023, 17 students received the Hall of Fame Reader for Life award.
• 49.7 per cent of participants were male with more boys than girls taking up the Challenge in the first year.
• The number of Aboriginal students completing the program in 2023 was 4711, similar to 2022.

To encourage children to continue reading over the summer holidays, Bec Hughes from Raising Literacy Australia shares her top tips to motivate young people to head over to the bookshelf.

Work with your child's interests: As families or parents, we should think about the interests of our child and navigate literature through their interests. That might involve looking at a range of literature, even things like comic books. Working with their interests is a great foundation for creating an ongoing passion for reading.

Find opportunities to read everything: If you're cooking with children take the opportunity to read the ingredients or the cookbooks. We’re very focused on books, which are obviously an amazing and a fabulous tool, but the everyday opportunities can create reading as well.

Slow down and notice the words around you: If you’re in a shopping centre, it could be the signs that direct you to where you need to go and collect the bread, or how to get to the playground. It’s about slowing down and finding those moments. Even in the car it could be reading signs on buildings while you're stopped at the traffic lights.

Join the library: Libraries are such a welcoming and motivating space to discover the wonders and the joy of books. And children can have their own library card, which can be a really powerful tool to motivate reading.

Create a routine: A wind-down routine at the end of the day is a great way to come together and settle and connect. That routine might involve reading in bed together, but it might also be sitting on the couch or another comfy spot that works for the child and the family. It’s an opportunity for books to come out and it is a beautiful way to connect.