Books have been a big part of the learning process in a number of fashions for hundreds of years across the world, but more schools, particularly in the US, are now turning their backs on the traditional paper medium; so are e-books helping to bring the age of the paper book to an end?

According to the The National Literacy Trust, more schools are now starting to use e-books, although in England the use of them is still somewhat sporadic. E-books in schools tend to be those which are uploaded to either tablets or laptops the pupils own. 

However, the National Literary Trust's research into the benefits of e-books, carried out over the last year, could prove the catalyst to seeing England become more like America in the adoption of new technology. In the US, two-thirds of schools now make use of electronic reading materials. 

As part of the research, the Trust asked 800 children in around 40 schools nationwide to make the move from paper to electronic ink with regards their reading materials. In the four months that the experiment ran, it was discovered that both boys and girls experienced improvements, with the former seeing the best progress levels. 

Boys involved in the experiment made 8.4 months of reading progress in just four months of using e-books. This was compared to the 7.2 months of reading progress that was made by girls in the same period. 

It was also discovered that there was a much better level of engagement with reading when the move is made from books to e-materials. Reluctant readers made good progress during the research, which saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of boys who were reading daily. 

Irene Picton, from the National Literacy Trust, said: ''In focus groups children said the adaptability of e-books gave them more confidence to read. The text can be enlarged and the screen colour can be changed.' 

''I'd describe e-books as a tool in the toolbox for anybody who knows a child who doesn't seem to like reading very much."