Muizenberg Junior School hosted Grade 5 to 7 pupils from six schools for this year’s Phendulani Literary Quiz on Monday, with the hosts taking first and second place.

Phendulani Literacy Quiz is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2008 to promote reading by high school teacher Marjorie Brown, who felt literacy was key to proficiency in all subjects.

Pupils from Sid G Rule Primary in Grassy Park, Heathfield Primary, Claremont Primary, Muizenberg Junior, Westlake Primary, and St Anne’s Primary School in Plumstead worked in teams of six to answer ten questions across four themes on Monday October 7.

“The excitement in the room is always intense, and crescendos when the answers to the questions are read out for each round,” said Ms Brown, adding that pupils had to read 12 books for the quiz.

Muizenberg Junior sports coach Karen Hampson said she was “thrilled” with her team’s achievement.

“We have never reached this level in the quiz,” she said, adding that one of the pupils who had been in the team from Grade 5, Grade 6, and now Grade 7, turned to her and said: “Finally”.

Ms Brown said Muizenberg Junior and Sid G Rule Primary had a tie for second place, so they had to answer a tie-breaker question, and Sid G Rule Primary finished in third place.

All the contestants also had a chance to win R20 spot prizes during the quiz, and a set of books went to the winner of each of the four rounds.

Ms Brown said that during the 16 years that she has been running the Phendulani Quiz it had grown from 10 schools to 200 schools across South Africa.

She stressed the importance of introducing children to local authors, adding that most of this year’s quiz books were written by them.

This year's participants had expressed a preference for local author Jaco Jacobs, whose The Girl with Wings and Waldo and the Werewolf in Red Tackies were particularly popular, and other notable books included Roald Dahl’s BFG and Salamina Mosese’s Disaster at Gogo’s Spa, she said.

For more information about the Phendulani Quiz or to involve your school in next year’s event, visit www.phendulani.com or email Ms Brown at marjoriebrown58@gmail.com.

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Muizenberg Junior wins Phendulani Literary Quiz