Australia crowned Kids’ Lit Quiz world champions 2018 in Auckland

4 July 2018: A team from Australia has today triumphed over national champions from nine countries to win the 2018 world title in the “sport of reading”, at the Kids’ Lit Quiz world final.

The winning team, from Canberra Grammar School, beat out the Singapore team from Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) in second place, and the United Kingdom team from Oxford High School in third place.

The New Zealand team, from Belmont Intermediate School, came fourth.

All competing were their country’s national champions, with teams also representing the United States, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

This is the first time Australia has won the title.

A Kiwi invention, the Kids’ Lit Quiz has been inspiring children around the world for 27 years to become life-long readers, challenging and motivating them to further expand their knowledge of authors and genres.

It has since grown to 13 countries, with more than 8000 children taking part worldwide. This year Indonesia competed for the first time, with Nigeria and Thailand set to take part in 2019.

Kids’ Lit Quiz founder and quizmaster Wayne Mills says the standard gets higher every year and today’s competition was intense.

“The categories and the questions at today’s World final were all unknown to the teams, therefore their reading has had to have been extensive. The winning team’s literary knowledge was comprehensive, global and eclectic.

“These students are the best of the best, and it has been a privilege to watch them bond over a love of books that transcends country and culture.”

These international super-readers are enjoying an action-packed week of experiences while in New Zealand for the final, thanks to sponsorship from the Wright Family Foundation. Highlights of the week-long visit include a trip to Hobbiton in Matamata, a workshop with award-winning young adult author Stacy Gregg, visits to the Star Dome Observatory and Auckland Museum, and a celebratory gala dinner.

Last year’s winning team was from South Africa, while New Zealand has a sterling record on the world stage, winning five of the 14 international finals.

The Kids’ Lit Quiz is supported by the Wright Family Foundation, Whitcoulls, South Pacific Books and Softlink.

ENDS

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