Last week a group of hardy Year 9 students set off to fly to Auckland to compete in the National Readers Cup competition.

It was six o’clock in the morning, on 20th September, when five year 9’s and Librarian Mrs Shipley left Blenheim bound for Auckland and the final of the National Readers Cup Competition.

Our team had studied hard - reading six books for the Regional competition in term 2 and another six books for the final. The flight was silent as all competitors grabbed some last minute reading. Lunch in the boarders dining room at Dilworth School was an experience before we headed to the Hall.

Competition was tough and the questions very hard. Our courageous team came in at fifth place but were only 4.5 points behind the winners Carmel College. A really impressive effort by all!

Here’s what our team got out of the competition ...

Matilda Phelps 

"The readers cup has been such an invigorating experience and reading new books out of my typical genres has been something I’ve enjoyed way more than I thought I would. One thing I will always remember is the excitement of the team as we entered the competition hall."

Antonia Milham 

"I really enjoyed the experience of meeting new people, and being able to travel to Nelson and Auckland for the competition’s. One thing I will always remember is my team always supporting each other with Mrs Shipley's guidance."

Natalie Ellin 

"This experience is something that I will treasure forever. It was such a privilege to be able to travel to Nelson and Auckland and have the opportunity to meet some amazing people. We studied the books hard and spent many lunctimes revising questions, but it was all worth it in the end. One thing I will always remember was our excited and astounded faces when we won the regionals. Couldn't have had a better group of people around me."

Emma Minehan 

"The Readers Cup experience will definitely be one of my most treasured memories about MGC. Reading books out of my usual genre, fantasy, has been both difficult and entertaining and I have found genre’s I may want to continue reading. Thank you so much Mrs Shipley for the time and effort you put into this great experience, we all appreciate it so much, I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat. I loved the amazing people who were part of both my group, and the other Readers cup members, I couldn't wish for anyone else."

Mrs Shipley 

"It was very exciting to see the students grow as readers and they represented the school with class. I was very proud of them."