High achievers: Winners of Oxford’s reading contest announced

200 schools from 26 cities participate in the competition

LAHORE: The Oxford University Press (OUP) on Sunday announced national winners of its school reading programme called Oxford Big Read (OBR).

A statement issued by the OUP said that entries were received for Level 1 (Classes 1 – 3), Level 2 (Classes 4 – 6), and Level 3 (Classes 7 – 9). The book reviews were first judged on the regional level. The finalists then competed at the national level. The reviews were evaluated by a panel of jury comprising educationists, academics, and authors of children’s books.

At Level 1, Iliyin Raza Khan of Heritage Montessori and School, Multan, was declared the national winner; at Level 2, Fatima Khan of Koh-i-noor Grammar School, Faisalabad, was declared the national winner; and at Level 3, Rida Zaneb of Army Public School and College, Azam Garrison, Lahore, was declared the national winner.

Laiba Khan of Jaffer Public School, Karachi, was the 1st runner-up of Level 1; Yahya Asghar of Generations School, Karachi, of Level 2; and Arooba Zahid of Hamdard Public School, Karachi, of Level 3.

The 2nd runners-up were: Rania Iftikhar of Society Public School, Lahore; Zainab Abbas Zaidi of Aal-i-Imran School System, Lahore; and Noman Anwar of Koh-i-noor Grammar School, Faisalabad.

The winners and runners-up will each be awarded a certificate and a gift voucher for books.

The statement said the OBR was launched across schools in Pakistan in September last year. It said that the idea behind the project was to introduce school children to quality reading materials and to inculcate in them a life-long love of reading, leading to appreciation of the written word, and better learning and critical thinking skills.

The contest received around 3,700 entries, the statement said. As many as 200 schools from 26 cities across Pakistan participated in the competition.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2016.