Editing Literacy (section)

====United Kingdom====
On average, girls do better than boys at English, yet nearly one in ten young adult women have poor reading and writing skills in the UK in the 21st century, which seriously damages their employment prospects. Many are trapped in poverty but hide their lack of reading skills due to social stigma.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coughlan |first=Sean |date=7 September 2018 |title=Kate Winslet warns of 'shame' of illiteracy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-45435973 |website=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

=====England=====
Literacy is first documented to have occurred in the area of modern England on 24 September 54 BCE, when [[Julius Caesar]] and [[Quintus Cicero]] wrote to [[Marcus Cicero]] "from the nearest shores of Britain".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tomlin |first=R. S. O. |title=Artefacts in Roman Britain: their purpose and use |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86012-3 |editor-last=Allason-Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |page=133 |chapter=Writing and Communication}}</ref> Literacy was widespread under Roman rule but became very rare, limited almost entirely to churchmen, after the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]]. In 12th and 13th century England, the ability to recite a particular passage from the Bible ([[Psalm 51]]) in Latin entitled a [[common law]] defendant to the [[benefit of clergy]] and trial before an [[ecclesiastical court]], where sentences were more lenient, instead of a secular one, where hanging was a likely sentence. Thus, literate defendants often claimed the benefit of clergy, while an illiterate person who had memorized the psalm used in the literacy test could also claim the benefit of clergy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=John R. |title=An Introduction to English Legal History |publisher=Butterworths |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-406-93053-8 |location=London}}</ref>

Despite lacking a system of free and compulsory primary schooling, England reached near universal literacy in the 19th century as a result of shared, informal learning provided by family members, fellow workers, or benevolent employers. Even with near-universal literacy, the gap between male and female rates persisted until the early 20th century. Many women in the West during the 19th century were able to read but unable to write.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lyons |first=Martyn |title=Books: A Living History |year=2011 |publisher=Getty |isbn=978-1-606-06083-4 |edition=2nd |location=Los Angeles |page=98}}</ref>

=====Wales=====
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}}
Formal higher education in the arts and sciences in [[Wales]], from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, was limited to the wealthy and the clergy. Following the Roman occupation and the conquest by the English, education in Wales was at a low point during the [[early modern period]]; in particular, formal education was only available in English while the majority of the population spoke only [[Welsh language|Welsh]]. The first modern grammar schools were established in Welsh towns such as [[Ruthin]], [[Brecon]], and [[Cowbridge]]. One of the first modern national education methods to use the native Welsh language was started by [[Griffith Jones (Llanddowror)|Griffith Jones]] in 1731. Jones became rector of [[Llanddowror]] in 1716 and remained there for the rest of his life. He organized and introduced a Welsh language-circulating school system, which was attractive and effective for Welsh speakers, while also teaching them English, which gave them access to broader educational sources. The circulating schools may have taught half the country's population to read. Literacy rates in Wales by the mid-18th century were one of the highest.