When the World Was Ours by Liz Kessler has won the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2022 following a vote by Year 7 and 8 pupils in secondary schools across the county.
The annual Award is hosted by Warwickshire Schools Libraries Services (WSLS) with the objective of encouraging more students to enjoy reading for pleasure through school and library settings.
The Warwickshire Secondary Book Award is a spring term initiative delivered in secondary schools between January to March each year, with an exciting reading list selected by the experienced WSLS team alongside valuable input from several secondary school librarians. The shortlist of books chosen for students to read this year included:
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Cardboard Cowboys by Brian Conaghan
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When the World was Ours by Liz Kessler
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Asking for a Friend by Kate Malinder
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The Supreme Lie by Geraldine McCaughrean
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The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny
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The Humiliations of Welton Blake by Alex Wheatle
To participate, year 7 and 8 students were encouraged to read all six books from the shortlist and to vote for their favourite book as the winner, using the criteria that the book must be ‘a page-turner that pupils would highly recommend to others’.
The initiative culminated in a final award ceremony on the 24 March at the Bridgehouse Theatre in Warwick, where students from 14 secondary schools attended to find out which author was pronounced the winner as voted for by their cohort. Three of the authors attended the event to speak with students in-person, with the other three authors in attendance virtually, to provide inspiration and engaging conversations with students about the shortlisted books and what it’s like to be in the publishing industry. Deputy Mayor of Warwick, Cllr Parminder Singh Birdi was also in attendance.
Cllr Andy Jenns, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation, said:
“The Warwickshire Secondary Book Award initiative offers real empowerment to the Year 7 and 8 students taking part across the county. Schools that take part regularly report that their students develop a greater sense of confidence and self-esteem through the Award, and so it’s important for us to continue this work to help Warwickshire’s young people with discovering the many benefits of reading.
“Engaging with the written word is a great way to help young people develop their communications skills, encourage insightful discussions, and connect with each other especially during their early teenage years. To support this personal development our Schools Library Service staff are always on hand with professional advice and guidance to help any schools that would like to further enrich the education of their students.”
Warwickshire Schools Library Service organised and hosted the Award and are grateful to support from Warwickshire Libraries Reading and Learning team, the shortlisted authors and publishers and Warwick Books
WSLS services are available to support schools and education settings through a wide range of reading and curriculum resources, awards, initiatives, training and more that will engage children and young people and help foster a love or reading. To find out more about the WSLS, visit https://sls.warwickshire.gov.uk
If your school would like to take part in the Secondary Book Award next year, please email WSLS at schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk or phone 01926 413461.
To sign-up to the WSLS newsletter, visit https://sls.warwickshire.gov.uk/subscribe