Literacy and reading for pleasure is well and truly alive in the London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames.

There has been no better example of this than in the recent Literacy Quizzes that have taken place. Organised by the Youth Development team of Kingston Libraries, the quizzes are designed to test the literary prowess of all who participate. As well as being asked questions on set books, participating students are grilled on their general knowledge of literature as well.

In the Kingston Borough Literary Quiz, open to all schools in the Kingston area and taking place in February, all participating schools are invited to field a Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 team. It was a particularly successful day for Surbiton High School, who emerged triumphant in both categories, which is the first time any school has won both trophies in a given year since the tournament’s inception in 2006. But all schools enjoyed the day, and with the spot prizes of books and book vouchers also up for grabs, everyone had the chance to be a winner.

The Inter Borough Final on Thursday 13 March saw the top three teams from each category in the previous round team up to represent Kingston-upon-Thames against three schools – Hampton School, Lady Eleanor Holles School and Hampton Academy – representing the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames in Middlesex. The Richmond team provided Year 7-10 students from all three schools, whilst the Kingston team consisted of pupils from Tiffin Boys, Tolworth Girls (Year 7/8), Southborough High School, Holy Cross School (Year 9/10) and, of course, Surbiton High School (Year 7-10).

Pride and local bragging rights were at stake, with each Borough striving to prove that they were the most well-read. Immediately apparent to all present was the staggering literary knowledge on display: the impressive answers to some tough questions from both teams in each of the rounds ensured things went right down to the wire. In a nerve-racking finish, it emerged that the teams were only separated by a solitary point… By the narrowest of margins, Kingston Borough emerged victorious, surging in to a 3-1 lead in the overall, head-to-head history of the tournament. Well done to all schools who took part, as it was a close run thing that really could have gone either way. Next year’s competition promises to be hotly contested, but also hugely enjoyable, and all involved are already looking forward to it.

The tournament has proven to be a huge success in enthusing young people about reading, and it has shown what can be achieved when schools collaborate not only with each other but with the local public library service. In an age where libraries are under more scrutiny than ever before, this is ample proof that libraries are as relevant as ever, and play an indispensable role in fostering literacy and a lifelong love of reading for pleasure in children and young people.

Based on information supplied by Joe Humphreys.