Karachi, 1 March: Oxford University Press (OUP) announced the names of the national winners of its exciting school reading programme—Oxford Big Read (OBR). The first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, OBR was launched across schools in Pakistan in September last year. The idea behind this project is to introduce school children to quality reading materials and to inculcate in them a life-long love of reading, leading to appreciation of the written word, and better learning and critical thinking skills. Students who participated in the competition were required to read Oxford books and write reviews on them. The reading contest, aimed at primary and secondary school students, received an overwhelming response in the form of around 3700 entries. 200 schools from 26 different of cities of Pakistan participated in the competition.
The entries were received from three different levels: Level 1 (Classes 1 - 3), Level 2 (Classes 4 - 6), and Level 3 (Classes 7 - 9). The book reviews were first judged on the regional level and the finalists then competed at the national level. The reviews were evaluated by a distinguished panel of jury comprising educationists, academics, and authors of children’s books.
At Level 1, Iliyin Raza Khan of Heritage Montessori & School, Multan, is the national winner; at Level 2, Fatima Khan of Kohinoor Grammar School, Faisalabad, is the national winner; and at Level 3, Rida Zaneb of Army Public School and College Azam Garrison, Lahore, is the national winner.
Laiba Khan of Jaffer Public School, Karachi, is the 1st runner-up of Level 1; Yahya Asghar of Generations School, Karachi, of Level 2; and Arooba Zahid of Hamdard Public School, Karachi, of Level 3.
The 2nd runners-up are: Rania Iftikhar of Society Public School, Lahore; Zainab Abbas Zaidi of Aal-e-Imran School System, Lahore; and Noman Anwar of Kohinoor Grammar School, Faisalabad.
The winners, 1st runners-up, and 2nd runners-up will each be awarded a certificate and a gift voucher for books.