Literacy project gets royal seal of approval

As reported in last week, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall attended Boots Opticians in Peterborough to see first-hand the projects taking place in the city to tackle poor literacy.

The Duchess of Cornwall, who is the Patron of the National Literacy Trust, saw the links between eye health and literacy and how undiagnosed eye conditions, said to affect over 1m children in the UK, could prevent them from enjoying reading. Low levels of literacy are most common in the poorest communities and it is in these areas that people are often more likely to delay eye tests.

Last year the multiple established a partnership with the National Literacy Trust to increase awareness of the issues. Staff will volunteer 90,000 hours in schools to help with literacy programmes which encourage children to read more for enjoyment and emphasise the importance of having regular eye checks.