There is a moment familiar to English teachers that occurs just after you’ve handed out the class novel and started to outline the background of the text. Invariably, a student informs you with casual insouciance that “Oh, I don’t read books”, attempting to excuse themselves from participation in the way a sick note will get them out of PE.

What they mean is that they don’t read for fun - and this lack of interest in picking up a book for pleasure could have a negative long-term impact on their life chances.

Research highlighted by children’s laureate Cressida Cowell recently shows correlations between reading for pleasure and academic success, good mental health and long-term economic benefit. In a recent radio interview, Cowell also said that if you read for pleasure as a child, you are more likely to own your own home as an adult.

Quick read: Scottish and Northern Irish pupils ‘top at reading’

Pisa global rankings: What does Pisa tell us about Scottish education?

Tes Schools Awards: How the English Team of the Year brings books to life

However, this year’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results, published earlier this month, suggests that homeownership in Scotland is going to fall even further. While the Scottish government focused on the “sharp rise ” in reading ability in what is treated as a World Cup for schools, half of the girls surveyed and 64 perc ent of boys agreed with the statement “I only read if I have to”.  Barely a quarter of girls read for more than half an hour every day and, perhaps unsurprisingly, even fewer boys did. And, according to Pisa’s own analysis, daily reading for enjoyment is associated with better performance in Pisa league tables.

Reading for pleasure

As a child, I read a lot (and I do, indeed, have my own mortgage), mainly borrowing Thomas Hardy and PG Wodehouse books from the local library, but this source of literature is diminishing, with many libraries closing. And the libraries that have survived the cull seem to have more space and less books than I recall as a child.

So as Christmas approaches and you struggle to come up with gift ideas for your young people, why not buy them a book?

The response you receive might not be the most heartfelt “thank you” that you’ll ever get. However, you can at least console yourself in the knowledge that you are doing your bit to improve our Pisa scores.

And, more importantly, who knows the longer-term ripple effects a book may have on a young life?

Gordon Cairns is a teacher of English who works in Scotland