Sanctor Primary bright sparks scoop Phendulani Literary Quiz

Sanctor Primary School showed that knowledge is power when its pupils won the 13th Phendulani Literary Quiz, held at Grey Junior School on Wednesday.

The other primary schools that took part were Arcadia, Heatherbank, John Masiza, Papenkuil and Thornhill Primary.

Defending champions Heatherbank came second and Papenkuil were third.

Isuzu sponsored gift hampers for the winners.

Sanctor Primary school teacher Kaylin du Plessis said she was incredibly proud of her pupils.

“They worked so hard these past few months and this win is a reflection of that. They deserved this win.”

Grade 7 Sanctor pupil Aisha Erasmus, 13, said: “I am so thrilled we won. We really enjoy reading and it is important because it opens up your mind to new ideas and creativity.

“I want to be a scientist when I grow up so reading is a big part of the journey to get there.”

The Phendulani Literacy quiz was founded in 2008 by high school teacher Marj Brown, who decided to twin well-resourced schools with under-resourced ones so pupils of disadvantaged schools could benefit from the fun of a literary competition, and to increase access to books by building partnerships.

The aim of Phendulani is also to promote reading and comprehension in a fun way while making sure that books which have been donated are read. 

With the shocking news about how the country’s grade 4 pupils fared in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study — 81% did not reach the study’s low international benchmark — a programme like this is welcomed.

In April, the participating schools each received 12 books to read. These included Roald Dahl’s Matilda, Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens.

Each school enters up to two teams of up to six grade 6 or 7 pupils, who are required to read as many of the books as possible.

The entertaining quizmaster and Grey Junior School headmaster, Grant Butler, kept the pupils on their toes as he asked them questions about the books.

Each team works on the questions together, writing down the answers which are then marked. 

The school librarians from St George’s, Grey, Collegiate, Clarendon and Woodridge as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal Library Services support the participating schools by providing transport to the quiz, lunch packs for the children and prizes for the winners, as well as ensuring that every participant goes home with a book. 

The Eastern Cape region’s quiz is co-ordinated by Grey Junior School librarian Michéle Kerley. 

“What I enjoy most is that I believe the pupils will always remember this moment and the pleasure that reading brings,” Kerley said.

“These good memories hopefully will further encourage the love of reading.”

Butler, who is passionate about literacy, said there was value to being involved in the programme.

“This just shows that there is brightness everywhere.

“Despite the socioeconomic problems and difficult schooling environments, there is brightness but you have to work hard to find it.

“We can never underestimate the importance of municipal libraries and we must encourage our pupils to use them.”

HeraldLIVE