In a spectacular display of literary knowledge, five John McGlashan Year 9 students put on a phenomenal performance at the annual SLANZA Year 9 Readers’ Cup on Tuesday afternoon.
Words by Tomide A, Year 9 Student
Drawing talent from multiple classes, the diverse squad featured Tomide A, Oliver R, Hugh W (all 9NSM), Charlie H (9DSM), and Harry M (9KPH).
Together, they successfully conquered an exceptionally demanding challenge, winning the event. This means they will proudly represent the Otago region at the National Finals!
The road to victory began back in April, when the team was tasked with mastering the six complex, multi-genre books in just a single school term:
Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman
Under the Surface by Diana Urban
Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler
Scar Town by Tristan Bancks
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
Cook’s Cook by Gavin Bishop
The boys spent Term 2 devouring these texts, dissecting plots, and running rigorous practice drills to prepare for the high-pressure event. A massive shoutout goes to Year 10 mentors Tarn E and Ollie B, who generously gave up their lunchtimes to coach the team and sharpen their trivia knowledge.
Hosted at Queen’s High School, the competition was fierce. The McGlashan team went head-to-head with 6 other schools from across the region, including Columba College, King’s High School, and Trinity Catholic College.
After six grueling rounds of quizzing, the boys secured a thrilling victory with a total of 42 points. The results showed that every school was neck-in-neck, with McGlashan clinching the title of Otago champions by a mere half-point!
The team was incredibly proud of their efforts. They were awarded the Champion Trophy for the school and Paper Plus vouchers for each team member.
This is only the second time that John McGlashan College has registered in the SLANZA Year 9 Readers’ Cup, and this historic win wouldn’t have been possible without our librarians, Mrs. Gardiner and Mrs. Watts.
Now that they’ve qualified for the National Finals in Auckland, the real work begins. To prepare for the country’s best, these boys must devour a brand-new reading list.
These boys got six books deep to win in Otago, but to become champions of New Zealand, they’ll have to get six books deeper!
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