Thursday 4 December 2014

THE UK NATIONAL FINAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL KIDS LIT QUIZ

After a see-saw tussle between several teams, Litcham School won this year's UK National Final.
Unfortunately Ermysted Grammar School arrived late and may have challenged for the lead if their train had not been delayed; as it was they came second.  Three schools tied for third place, but in a "sudden death" play-off this position was won by Comberton Village School. Today's winning team (Amelia, Sam, Eleanor and Madeleine) and their coach Cathy Berry went away with travel bags from Serco, a cheque from MLS towards their international travel, books & tee-shirts from Walker Books, teddy bears and a trophy from Softlink, goodie bags from Scholastic and MacMillan, a subscription to Discovery World by Bayard Press,  opportunities to attend a SLA Training Day, the UK KLQ National Cup and an invitation to attend the KLQ World Final in Connecticut in 2015.

Our guest speaker, Anthony Horowitz, wished all the teams well and the day's proceedings were masterly conducted by Alec Williams.  Our authors, Lindsey Barraclough, Margaret Bateson-Hill,
Jo Franklin, Alan Gibbons, Frances Hardinge, Marie-Louise Jensen, Sally Nicholls, Samira Osman,
Mark Robson and Teri Terry lead the teams in to the hall to their respective places. The venue was the magnificent Great Hall at King's College Wimbledon where we were made extremely welcome and treated to a wonderful celebration tea, which included an enormous KLQ cake.  Many thanks to Anne Beddoe and Helen Pugh who were the local organisers, and to Jacky Atkinson, Gaynor Cooper, Barbara Hickford, and the rest of the National committee.
Looking forward to meeting you all again next year.
Happy reading
Wayne.

Tuesday 2 December 2014

SOUTH ENGLAND HEAT

The quest to find the best literary teams in the UK has finished.  This  afternoon's final  heat saw some really outstanding performances.  Congratulations to St Paul's B who entered for the first time and came second. But to you: Merlin, Rory, Sophie and William from  Portsmouth B, your first placing was well deserved.  In the third place with another high score was Windlesham B.  The prizes donated by Scholastic and Dorset House were awarded by our author Philip Womack.  Thank you for the well organised heat Mrs Hutchings.
Happy reading.
Wayne,  Quizmaster

Monday 1 December 2014

WALES HEAT

Just as we were getting towards the end of the UK heats we had a three-way tie for first.
One of the tied teams was our authors: Marie-Louise Jensen, and Fleur Hitchcock, but the other two teams were Howell's 2 and Bristol Grammar 2.  The nervous tie-breaker was won by Bristol Grammar 2 thus making Howell's 2 the second.  Daisy, Lottie, Lottie and Christos now have two days to get ready for the National Final.  In third place was Howell's No: 1 team.  Many thanks to the great Year 13 students from Bishop of Llandaff School for assisting with the marking and Mrs Olivari for organising tonight's heat.  There was a great turnout by spectators which I am sure the readers appreciated.

Happy reading Wayne.

Friday 28 November 2014

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND HEAT

This was another new venue today and Tavistock College really made everybody welcome with their kind  hospitality.  Truro Prep School won the heat, and what was amazing about their win, was that they were all year 6's!!  Pats on the back to: Kit, George, Max and Mia.  In second place was Devonport High School team 1 and in third place was Torquay Boys' Grammar School.  Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishers for donating today's book prizes.  A special mention must be made to Lizzie who won £6 from me in spot prizes.  Thank you to Mrs Hubbard and all the staff at Tavistock College
for a wonderful first time heat.    Happy reading
Wayne Mills Quizmaster.

Thursday 27 November 2014

SOUTH LONDON HEAT

Another great event this afternoon.  This heat has certainly grown from last year.  It was supported by six authors -Lindsey Barraclough, Samira Osman, Marie-Louse Jensen, Sophia Bennett, Mark Robson and Jo Franklin  The winning school had never entered before so was thrilled to do so well.  They were Latymer Upper School A.  This was a great achievement by Lily, Isabela, Alex and Tulsi.  The prizes were awarded by the Head of English,  Mr Nick Attwood. and were kindly supplied by Heath Educational Books. In second place was Kings' College Junior School,  closely followed by Emanuel School by half a point.   Kings' College School is the venue for the UK Final next week, and the organisers, Anne Beddoe and Helen Pugh are looking forward to once again hosting us in their mighty hall
Happy reading - Wayne Quizmaster.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

NORTH LONDON HEAT

Wow, what a tense and exciting heat this afternoon.  World-winning school, The City of London School for Girls' team 1, won by two points from host school Arnold House team 1.  These two teams had traded places the whole way through the heat   Well done to Ailish, Rosie, Beatrix and Aviva  and especially to Ailish the only surviving member of the 2014 World Winning KLQ team.  In third place was  Broxbourne School.  Our authors, Piers Torday, Stephen Davies, Marie-Louise Jensen, and Jason Rohan easily ran out the overall winners by ten points.  Todays prizes were kindly donated by Arnold House.  Many thanks to Leonie Flynn  and Arnold House School  The prizes were presented by the Headmaster, Mr Thomas who wished The City of London School for Girls the best of luck in the forth coming UK  KLQ finals
Happy reading  Wayne Quizmaster.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

EAST ENGLAND HEAT

Very fast and and exciting heat this afternoon in Corringham Village Hall.  The title was defended by last year's champions, King Edward V1 School.  Congratulations to James. Oliver, Reuben and Joshua.   In second place was Bancroft's School 1, and in third place Boswell School 1.  All winning teams received a book each,  courtesy of Egmont Publishing.  The Event was organised by Thurrock Libraries staff,  all of whom have done so for a number of years  Happy Reading
Wayne Quizmaster

Monday 24 November 2014

OXON/BERKS HEAT

Tremendously tight scores at the top-end this afternoon.  A half point separated each of the top five teams in descending order.  Todays heats set a record number of teams participating - 45 in total.   The winning tam was Oxford High 2 - a great result was achieved by Connie, Elizabeth, Alice and Becky.  In close Second place was Larkmead and a 1/2 point behind them was the Cherwell School.  It was a very hectic time for the markers and scorers.  We also had two teams of authors participating - they were:  Dennis Hamley, Sally Nicholls, Robert Rigby, Julia Golding Mark Robson, Marie-Louise Jensen, MG Harris, Jo Cotterill and Natasha Narayan.  Many thanks to OUP for giving us 44 copies of Tim Bowler's latest book as prizes.  With such a large number of schools participating the organisation at St Gregory the Great was spot on.  Thank you all for attending and making this a historic heat. The organisation of the team of Barbara, Gaynor, Jacky and Jodie was very efficient.

Friday 21 November 2014

WEST MIDLANDS

Coventry has always proven a popular heat and even though the heat moved to an afternoon one all the teams had a great time. This was Mrs Powell's first time as organiser after taking over from a colleague and it was very well organised. Oundle School came first and third. Well done to Octavia, Alice, Saul and Alexander all from the Oundle #2 team. In second place was Blue Coat 2. The book prizes were generously donated by the Coventry School Library Service and thank you to all the staff from The Coventry School Service for helping out again. I was personally pleased to meet for the first time one of the KLQ sponsors, Ray Dyer, from Peters Books who attended today's heat.
Happy reading
Wayne
Quizmaster

Thursday 20 November 2014

NORFOLK HEAT

For the first time in this series of quizzes we needed a sudden death question to separate third place between Thorpe St Andrew B and Old Buckenham High. In the end it was Old Buckenham High that took out third place. In second place was Thetford Grammar A last year's defending team. But this afternoon's winner by a margin of twelve points was Litcham School A. The prizes were awarded by author and current president of the SLA, Kevin Crossley Holland. Our guest author, Alexander Gordon Smith, and the librarians narrowly pipped the winning team by half a mark.. Today's heat was supplied with books from Macmillan Publishers and efficiently organised by Gail Arnold and the Norfolk School Library service. Thank you City Academy for hosting today's heat.
Happy Reading
Wayne
Quizmaster

Wednesday 19 November 2014

CENTRAL ENGLAND- CAMBRIDGE HEAT

Wow today our authors' team achieved 100/110. The team was Katie Dale, Adele Geras, Chris Priestly, Mark Robson and Julian Sedgwick. Last year's top team defended their title with Jack, Callum, Erin and Anastasia all from Comberton Village College delighted to be going through to London again. In second place was Aylesbury Grammar School and in third was Queenswood School. The heat ran like clockwork and we finished a little earlier than planned. The book prizes were kindly donated by Walker Books. Thank you Mrs Hack and Comberton Village School for hosting today's heat for the first time.
Happy reading
Wayne

Tuesday 18 November 2014

YORKSHIRE HEAT

The gymnasium at King James's School was beautifully set out and the walls were dripping with artworks by students from King James. The school had commissioned a special Kids' Lit Quiz banner by D-Signs which acted as the backdrop when the prizes were awarded. The Mayor and Mayoress of Knaresborough, Mr & Mrs Handley presented the teams with their certificates and book vouchers. First place went to an all-boys' team from Ermysted Grammar. This particular team cleaned up nearly every round. In second place was Harrogate Grammar and in third place was St Aidan's Church of England High School. The books donated by Usborne, Walker, Random House and Hachette Group were distributed by tonight's author Martyn Bedford. Thank you Mrs Bryden for a very efficient heat.
Wayne
Quizmaster

Monday 17 November 2014

NORTH WEST ENGLAND HEAT

Another outstanding performance by Cockermouth School to win tonight's heat.  In the team were brother and sister Louis and David as well as William and Jacob.  This school consistently does well.  The team even out scored the librarians and author team.  Today's author was Kerry Wilkinson who took time to sign his books for his readers.  

In second place was Queen Katherine School B and in third place was Rivington and Blackrod High School A. Tonight's prizes were donated by Orion books.  

This was the second time that the quiz had been held at PendleVale College and they have offered to host the quiz again next year.  Thank you Mrs Vine and Pendle Vale.

Wayne
Quizmaster

Friday 14 November 2014

LIVERPOOL

Today was a high scoring heat and in fact the winning school Kings School Chester A, consisting of Martha, Alchemy, Thomas and Anna, defeated the authors by two points. In second place was Wirral Grammar A. It was great to see four new schools enter and two of these were from the Wirral. In third place was West Kirby B. Our authors Jon Mayhew and Bryony Pearse awarded the prizes to the winning teams. The book prizes were kindly donated by Simon and Schuster.
Thank you Mrs Barry and Merchant Taylor's Girls' School for hosting us for the second time.
Wayne
Quizmaster
Ps those cookies at the break were the best I've tasted

Thursday 13 November 2014

NORTHERN IRELAND HEAT

It was a very busy, colourful heat this afternoon as there were prizes for Best Costume (the Snow Queen), Best Poster (Anne Frank) and Best Mascot (Belfast High). Today's guest author was historical fiction writer Paul Dowswell. There was a strong batch of winners; Methodist College Belfast was first followed by Sullivan Upper in second and Enniskillen Collegiate was third (first time in the top three). Thank you Miss Jennings and Wellington College for another great heat. Thank you also to Scholastic for their sponsorship of prizes and provision of the Book Fair.

Wayne
Quizmaster

Wednesday 12 November 2014

NORTH EAST ENGLAND

Another very tense heat in the NE tonight. This heat is always very competitive. The winning team was Hexham Middle School A.  Congratulations to Daisy, Lizzie, Charlotte & Joel and their librarian Janet Hughff., followed by Durham Johnston B and in third was Ovingham Middle A. Our marking team was very efficient and results were quickly processed. The coordinators (Trevor & Diane Darwin) trialled  a speedier system giving schools a number which aided collating rather than using the school's name. The Librarians narrowly defeated the authors by half a point but it was a see-saw tussle. Thank you Lucy Coates and Linda Strachan for giving up your writing time in taking part in the quiz signing books and awarding spot prizes. Thank you Steve from Seven Stories for staffing the bookshop. The book prizes were kindly donated by Scholastic UK.
Happy reading
Wayne
Quizmaster

Tuesday 11 November 2014

CENTRAL SCOTLAND

We had a 50% increase with the number of schools partipating in today's heat and this may even have been greater if some schools had not had to withdraw because of Armistice services. The team of St Thomas of Acquins B had not won before so they were delighted to win today's heat. In second place was George Heriots B and in third place was George Heriots A. Remarkably only a point separated each team. All the schools were challenged by a team of authors ( Linda Strachan, Matt Cartney and Keith Charters), a librarian's team and a teacher's team. Todays prizes were  sponsored by Scotia Books- this company is a big supporter of the Kids' Lit Quiz in Scotland. The banner competition was won by Blawearie High School. Thank you Mrs Babbs and Liberton High School.
Wayne
Quizmaster

Monday 10 November 2014

WEST SCOTLAND

Today's heat ended dramatically when the fire alarm went off just as we finished awarding the prizes to the winners. It certainly cleared the hall quickly. The winning team was the Librarians but they were happy to just challenge today's teams so will not be going to the UK Final!! .
The winning quiz team though was Hamilton College 1.
Congratulations to:Dylan, Eva, Hannah and Sophie. 
In second place was Glasgow Academy 2 and in third was also Glasgow Academy 1.
Well done to these schools. Our team of authors: Matt Cartney, Keith Charters, Kirkland Ciccone and Kathy Macphail came third. The banner competition was also won by Hamilton College. Thank you Kilsyth and Mr Boyle for another great heat.
Wayne Mills  Quizmaster

Friday 7 November 2014

EAST MIDLANDS HEAT

Well we are now underway with our quest to find the next UK KLQ Champion.  This was a new heat
in the East Midlands held by Ecclesbourne School who won the event. Congratulations to Mary, Tom, Edward and Oliver and also to Lin Smith their Librarian.   Also to be congratulated are Highfields School from Matlock who came second,  followed by St Thomas More School from Buxton.  Thank you Ecclesbourne School for hosting us today and running such a smooth event,  The book prizes were donated by the SLA

Wayne Mills. Quizmaster.

Thursday 6 November 2014

KIDS LIT QUIZ 2014

Hello Everyone
I collected our Quizmaster Wayne Mills from Heathrow this morning and after he has rested to get over the long flight he will be all ready to start quizzing on Friday at the East Midlands Heat.
Welcome to Lin Smith who is the Regional Organiser of this new heat.
Good luck to all the teams who will be competing this year in the 18 Regional Heats.
The National Final will take place on the 4 December at Kings' College School in Wimbledon and the winning team will be  invited to fly out to Connecticut in the summer of 2015 to compete in the International Final

Jacky Atkinson, UK National Organiser