New classic books initiative launched

New classic books initiative launched

Penguin has published a new list of 100 books as part of a new Classics initiative. They will be offering secondary classroom sets of 30 copies of each of the titles for a total cost of £3,000. Simon Winder, Publishing Director, Penguin Classics said:

"We have chosen 100 books from the Penguin Classics series to continue our tradition of engaging the next generation - to surprise, provoke and delight young readers. The opportunity to work with schools to make these 100 books available to their students is a unique one and we are thrilled to be involved."

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, wants more secondary school children to read together as a whole class and hopes that the offer will allow them to enjoy books that might otherwise be outside of their individual reading level. He said:

"It is important that all pupils in secondary school are taught to read and enjoy challenging books from amongst the world’s greatest literature. The first few years of secondary education is an opportunity for pupils to be introduced to such literature free from the constraints and analysis of public exams.

I welcome this initiative from Penguin and look forward to seeing the list grow so schools can discover great books together."

The full press release can be read on the GOV.UK website.

The offer to purchase classroom sets at the equivalent cost of £1 per book will be available to schools between March and June 2016. Schools can register directly with Penguin to be notified when the offer begins.