St John’s Preparatory School clinched a podium finish with a bronze medal at the Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final in Canberra, Australia, on July 10.
The Kids’ Lit Quiz is a prestigious international reading competition for primary school children. As one of the top seven teams in the final, St John’s Preparatory faced fierce competition from schools in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, the US, and Canada.
Despite the challenging questions, St John’s Preparatory demonstrated exceptional skill and secured third place in a tense final.
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Indonesia emerged victorious in the final moments, taking home the trophy.
South African national co-ordinator of the Kids’ Lit Quiz Marj Brown said, “the competition is tough at the regional and national levels, so reaching the international final was a tremendous achievement. Securing a bronze medal there is a superb accomplishment, and we’re incredibly proud of them.”
St John’s Preparatory recognised their team: Benjamin Anderson, Daniel Crane, Joseph Moultrie, and Saahil Shah-Naidoo for their outstanding performance at this prestigious event, often called the ‘Olympics of Reading’.
Founded by former academic Wayne Mills of New Zealand, the Kids’ Lit Quiz is now in its 33rd year. This unique event, held in multiple countries, challenges participants aged 10 to 13 with questions on all aspects of children’s literature from any country and era.
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Mills expertly crafts questions that start with obscure clues and gradually become more obvious. Teams must buzz in with their answers, earning two points for a correct response and losing one point for an incorrect one, creating a dynamic and suspenseful competition.
Mills had topics ranging from: wizards and rivers, to Shakespeare and manga.
St John’s Preparatory’s Nicky Sulter said reading correlates strongly with academic and vocational success, “but the key to becoming a good reader is reading for pleasure. The Kids’ Lit Quiz plays a crucial role in encouraging this.”
The 2025 Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final will be held in South Africa.
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