NZ retains the Paper Plus Kids’ Lit Quiz Cup

News Release

19 June 2006

New Zealand retains the Paper Plus Kids’ Lit Quiz™ Cup

St Margaret’s College from Christchurch successfully defended their world champions title at the final of the Paper Plus Kids’ Lit Quiz™ held in Auckland today, as part of the Storylines Festival. The competition features the best intermediate aged readers from New Zealand and overseas.

The St Margarets’ College team of Zoe Higgins, Sophie Hendren, Caroline Turnbull and Kate Idiens proved too quick on the buzzer to take victory by a clear seven points from South African team Springfield Convent from Cape Town. Experience played a part in St Margarets' win - Zoe and Sophie were in the team last year as well.

Third place was won by Peachgrove Intermediate from Hamilton, after a sudden death play off against another of the overseas teams, Bancroft’s School from Essex in the UK. A team from the International School in Beijing was in the final for the first time and finished a creditable seventh.

In a quiz celebrating the ‘sport of reading,’ the students worked in teams of four to answer questions, astounding the spectators with their literary knowledge in six categories as diverse as myths and legends to first sentences from novels.

Generous sponsorship of the event by Paper Plus, with a total prize pool of over $30,000, saw all contestants in the World Final receiving packs of books and St Margarets College going home with the Paper Plus Cup, an encyclopaedia set for the school library, and $1,000 book vouchers from Paper Plus.

The quiz aims to promote children’s literature among young readers, but it does more than that – it brings together kids from all around the world who share a passion for reading in an event that is truly unique.

The Paper Plus Kids’ Lit Quiz™ was a major feature of the annual Storylines Festival of New Zealand Children’s Writers and Illustrators.

ENDS

Results

1. St Margaret’s College, Christchurch
2. Springfield Convent School, South Africa
3. Peachgrove Intermediate School, Waikato
4. Bancroft’s School, Essex, United Kingdom
5. Glen Eden Intermediate, Auckland
6. Havelock North Intermediate School, Hawke’s Bay
7. International School of Beijing, China
8th Port Chalmers School, Otago (equal)
8th St Cuthbert’s College, Auckland (equal)
9. St Joseph’s School, Nelson
10. Palmerston North Intermediate Normal, Manawatu
11. Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Taranaki
12. Northland School, Wellington
13. Kerikeri High School, Northland
14. James Hargest College, Southland

© Scoop Media