It was a case of on your marks ... get set ... read
This term, a select group of pupils from St Robert of Newminster School were given the opportunity to take part in a CILIP Carnegie Shadowing Group as a reward for their efforts in English throughout this academic year, writes
The CILIP Carnegie award is given to the author of an outstanding book for children.
It was established in 1936 in memory of Andrew Carnegie, a book-lover who made a fortune and used it to fund public libraries.
Previous winners of the Carnegie award include: Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Phillip Pullman.
Students have really enjoyed getting involved and they have discovered some of their favourite books while reading this year’s shortlist.
Luke Robson, a Year Nine student, stated: “The awards are a great idea! I hadn’t heard of any of the books until we started reading, but Railhead, by Philip Reeve, is already one of my favourites. I had really high hopes that it would win!”
There was a lot of diversity amongst the group, each pupil had their own personal favourite. One of the Year Eight members of the group, Julia Aniol, said: “I think it’s a really interesting opportunity and I think it has widened my knowledge of books.
“I thought Beck would win. It was my favourite because it has a deep meaning and you can tell the author expressed their feelings through it.”
In the end, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys won and, although not everybody had read this book, those who did thought that it was very deserving of the title.