The Hampshire Book Award is a prestigious annual event celebrating outstanding works of children's literature. This award offers Y8 pupils a unique opportunity to engage with contemporary fiction, share their perspectives, and help select the best paperback fiction title published in the previous year for the 11-14 age group.

How does the Hampshire Book Award work?

Reading: 

Pupils will be provided with a shortlist of six books, carefully selected for their quality and appeal.

Discussion: 

They will engage in discussions with their peers, both within our school and with pupils from other participating schools across Hampshire. These conversations will allow them to explore different viewpoints and deepen their understanding of the books.

Voting: 

After reading and discussing all six books, pupils will have the chance to vote for their favourite, considering factors such as enjoyment, enrichment, and engagement.

Award ceremony: 

The author of the winning book is invited to a presentation ceremony in the Autumn term, providing a chance for pupils to meet and interact with the writer.

How can Y8 pupils get involved?

If they're interested in joining this enriching experience:

Sign up: 

If your child would like to take part in this year's Hampshire Book Award, they need to let us know by either speaking to one of their teachers (their Tutor, English or History Teacher), or going to see Mrs Payne in the Library. Pupils can also fill out this form: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6cFkYpjp7k0ykidfwwFx1ZE9lV3rg0YxlZr4YarmkoHR4WQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Collect reading materials: 

Once registered, your child will be able to borrow one of the six shortlisted books to begin their reading journey. We have several copies available in the Library, and some are available on Sora.

Participate actively: 

Pupils will then engage in scheduled discussions and activities related to the books, sharing their insights and listening to others.

Cast their vote: 

After completing the readings and discussions, we will visit another participating school and they'll have discussions with other pupils and vote for the book they believe deserves the Hampshire Book Award.

Is this for your child?

This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to broaden their reading horizons, develop critical thinking skills, and be part of a county-wide literary community. We encourage all interested Year 8 pupils to participate and look forward to embarking on this literary adventure together.

We do need them to read six books between the launch of the event in April (before the Easter holidays) and early July, when the voting takes place. We have room for 12 students to participate in the voting process; if we have more than 12 pupils who have read all the books, names will be randomly drawn.

We're looking forward to sharing this year's books with pupils and hearing their opinions.