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Pupils Shine at National Reading Competition

Published Thu 7 Jun 2018 - By Literature Wales
Pupils Shine at National Reading Competition
Bookslam 2018 winners, Ysgol Sant Baruc, Vale of Glamorgan with judges Eloise Williams a Meinir Wyn Edwards

A team of avid readers from Sant Baruc Primary School, Vale of Glamorgan, have been crowned the 2018 Champions of BookSlam, the Welsh Books Council’s annual reading competition for children.

The national round, held recently at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, saw hundreds of pupils from primary schools throughout Wales competing for the national championship. Their task was to impress the judges in two rounds, namely a 10-minute discussion and an 8-minute dramatic presentation based on their chosen books.

At the end of an exciting day, Sant Baruc Primary School, Vale of Glamorgan, was crowned the overall BookSlam Champions, having impressed the discussion judge with their knowledge of The Shiver Stone, by Sharon Tregenza. In the presentation round they performed their own interpretation of The Black Chair by Phil Carradice.

During the day’s activities, children and teachers also enjoyed a fantastic presentation by author Dan Anthony.

The adjudicators this year were Meinir Wyn Edwards for the discussions and Eloise Williams for the presentations.

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Welsh Books Council, said: “The aim of BookSlam is to get children from all over Wales reading. By discussing and performing what they have read, the pupils gain a deeper understanding of some of the wonderful children’s books we have here in Wales. It was a great pleasure to see the youngsters brimming with enthusiasm during the national round of BookSlam, and our thanks go to the dedicated and hard-working county organisers, teachers and other supporters that make these events possible.”

The 2018 runners-up were Saundersfoot Primary School, Pembrokeshire and Cyfarthfa Primary School, Merthyr, came third.

Thanks to the support of publishers Gomer, Y Lolfa, Carreg Gwalch, Firefly and Rily, every child who took part in the competition was invited to choose a free book to take home as a memento of the day.