South African Boys Crowned World Champions in Literary Competition

Congratulations to South Africa – represented by St John’s Preparatory – for winning the Kids’ Lit Quiz (KLQ) World Final 2017 in Canada this month… crowned the best from over 1,000 schools around the world which competed in the annual competition.

The National Champion teams, all keen readers between the ages of 10 and 13, hail from eight countries: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and USA. The winning team from each country met for the international finals in the Sport of Reading in Oakville on 3 July.

South Africa’s St John’s College won with 40 points, with the US (Woodrow Wilson Middle School) trailing in second position with 27 points, and the UK (Kingston Grammar School) third.

The four St John’s Prep boys – Khelan Desai, Hongjae Noh, Sahaj Mooji and Joshua Bruwer  – led the competition from rounds one to ten before being crowned world champions for 2017.

Hongjae (12) told CBC in Canada that his love for books came from the feel of the book – “the physical appearance, the paper, the ink, the smell of the book”.

He said: “I had a teacher last year who said every book you read is a life you’ve lived; I really took that to heart.”

Each of the South African boys won a gold medal and books (naturally!).

Interestingly, when the competition began back in 1991 over 60 percent of the entrants were girls… compared to over 80 percent being boys this year.

New Zealand founder and quizmaster, Wayne Mills, attributes the boys’ interest to his inclusion of fantasy and comic books in the competition. (His own love for books came from his parents paying him 50c per book he read as a child.)

Teams answer 100 questions over 10 categories, based on any children’s book published in English. The last time South Africa won was in 2013.

#GoSouthAfrica #CongratulationsStJohnsPrep #CongratulationsCoachNickySulter

Watch the Prep Kids’ Lit Quiz team on their awesome (and super successful!) adventure to Canada

https://www.facebook.com/stjohnscollegeSA/videos/2078476005511271/