Readers Cup Nationals

Readers' Cup National Finals 2026

On Tuesday the 22nd of September, 5 of our ākonga represented our school against Year 9 teams from all over New Zealand. Ashna Smith, Andy Nguyen, Ashleen Kaur, Stella Thomson, and Emma Ronald prepared for the day by reading six novels;
Bear by Kiri Lightfoot
My family and other suspects by Kate Emery                          
And then there were none by Agatha Christie  
Truth needs no colour by Heather McQuillan                                                    
Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Things We Leave Behind -  Clare Furniss 

Each round of the competition was about a different novel, and they were asked very specific and difficult questions about the books. Our team did incredibly well for our first year in the National Finals - coming 9th in New Zealand!

This Tuesday, we had the exciting opportunity to travel to Dilworth School and represent our school at the Readers Cup Nationals. Our team consisted of Stella, Andy, Emma, Ashleen and me. After successfully winning the regional competition, we competed against schools from across New Zealand. In preparation, we read six challenging books and regularly met to quiz one another and strengthen our knowledge of each text. The competition involved answering detailed comprehension questions against the clock, with many questions focusing on specific details, including dates and times. As our school’s second year participating in the competition, Nationals was a memorable experience. We had the opportunity to explore the Dilworth campus, have lunch with the boarders, and meet students from a range of schools and regions, including the South Island. Although we did not place in the competition, we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to represent our school at a national level and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

- Ashna Smith

On Tuesday the 22nd of September we went to Dilworth college to compete in the national readers cup. There were many schools competing from all over the country, even the South Island. It was an amazing experience and we are grateful that our school had the opportunity to compete. Even though we didn’t win, we all enjoyed reading the books in preparation, as they weren’t books we would have picked out ourselves. The questions were very specific, for example, the name of a gramophone recording, breed of a dog, and the specific date, time and day of a death.. 

- Stella Thomson

On Tuesday the 22nd of September, we went to Dilworth College for the Readers Cup Nationals. My team was made up of Stella, Ashna, Andy, Emma,and I, and we had such a fun experience together. The competition itself was very stressful, but it was also a fun experience. The other schools were also very good, and they tried their hardest to get as many points as possible. Even though during some rounds we felt like we didn’t do our best, we still had a lot of fun competing and supporting each other. I think that this will be a memorable experience for us because normally this was not a competition we would normally do. I was very grateful that I had this opportunity to represent my school in a competition at a national level. 

- Ashleen Kaur

Overall, Readers Cup Regionals was a really fun learning experience, and I would definitely recommend it to other students as it is a great way to challenge yourself, meet other schools and read books you wouldn’t have considered choosing for yourself.