Elthorne Park School Excels in National Reading Competition

---

Four strong team finishes third ahead of 500 other teams from across the UK

The Elthorne Park Quiz Team

On Wednesday (25 May), Elthorne Park High School finished in third place in the National Reading Champions Quiz from the National Literacy Trust.

The team, comprising of Tara Gallagher, Elena Giarraputo, Isla Milne and Mara Reid, beat 19 other teams from across the UK to the top 3 in the only national reading quiz which is entirely dedicated to knowledge of fiction books.

Held at a central London location, the final saw Elthorne Park battle through eight rounds of fiction quizzing to the top 3. Celebrated children’s authors joined the event in person and via video link including Sir Michael Morpurgo, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Patrice Lawrence, Sarah Crossan and Jasbinder Bilan. The final was hosted by engaging quizmaster Mr Dilly who provided an educational experience for teams taking part.

This is the second consecutive year of the quiz put on by the National Literacy Trust, with funding support from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). Schools from across the country were able to celebrate their star readers while also championing reading culture within schools and encouraging reading for pleasure, reading diversely and the development of reading stamina.

Award-winning author Patrice Lawrence attended the quiz and held a Q&A with the competitors, as well as presenting Elthorne Park High School with 3rd prize.

Speaking about the quiz, Patrice commented, “I feel very privileged to have met so many fantastic young readers – seeing so many of them in one room makes my heart sing. Congratulations to all the teams involved in the final.”

During March, 500 UK teams competed across over 20 heats, meaning that the team from Elthorne Park placed 3rd out of 2,000 students who were involved in the quiz. In recognition of their achievement, every member of the team was awarded a book token.

Every quiz finalist was also sent home with a selection of free books, thanks to generous donations from Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House, to encourage them to continue on their varied reading journey. Finalists were able to select from a range of YA titles at the ‘bookstall’ set up at the venue.

A representative from Elthorne Park High School said, “We are so incredibly proud of our year 8 team – they really threw themselves into the competition and it was amazing to celebrate their love of reading. It was such a fun experience taking part and the team are thrilled to have been involved.”

Henrietta Roberts, Senior Project Manager at the National Literacy Trust, said, “It has been a very special occasion celebrating this year’s finalists, the librarians who support them on their reading journeys and the authors who inspire them - I am in awe of these young people and their reading knowledge!

“The quiz is a really positive experience from the first regional heat to the grand final and it is wonderful seeing the quiz go from strength to strength with the help and support of regional organisers, librarians and the students themselves who bring such energy and team spirit to the competition.

“We look forward to welcoming many more keen readers to the quiz in the future, whether they are defending a regional title or having a go for the first time.

“Reading is for everyone and we can all enjoy the amazing world of children’s literature available today and celebrate our young readers through the National Reading Champions Quiz.”

Barbara Hayes, Deputy Chief Executive at the ALCS, said, “We are delighted once again to have partnered with the National Literacy Trust to put on this fantastic reading quiz. It has been a brilliant opportunity for enthusiastic readers to be proud of their fiction book knowledge but also to learn about what it takes to be an author and how the publishing and copyright industry works. We commend all 22 teams on their hard work and dedication and congratulate Elthorne Park High School on their success.”

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

June 2, 2022