In November 2023, Scottish Book Trust launched our Christmas appeal with The Herald, asking readers like you to help us bring the magic of books to families across Scotland over the festive period.
It is 25 years since Scottish Book Trust became an independent charity working for the good of people in Scotland. We have become the leading charity of our kind in the world, with a national programme that spans everything from the all-important early years to aiding those living with dementia and their carers.
GIVEN the chaotic events of the past year, it is hardly news to assert we are living in a society in acute crisis. Two recent reports bear this out: the Joseph Rowntree survey Poverty in Scotland 2022, and the Trussell Trust’s State of Hunger, which is the largest study into hunger and food bank use in the UK. Both are utterly terrifying.
Perhaps the most important message concerns literacy, education and equality. Recently, Dundee University blamed poor maths and science learning for difficulties in recruiting more pupils from deprived backgrounds into higher education. The were swiftly followed by St Andrews University having to defend the fact that it had granted places to just 14 applicants from deprived backgrounds last year, despite having an overall population of 7200 students.
