Lahore, 25 April: At a ceremony held at the Oxford University Press (OUP) Lahore office, prizes were awarded to the regional winners and runners-up of the third Oxford Big Read (OBR) competition—a highly successful reading programme launched by OUP in 2015 in schools across Pakistan. The idea behind this unique 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 fiction and non-fiction books published by OUP and write reviews on them. Now in its third year, the reading contest, aimed at primary and secondary school students, received an overwhelming response in the form of around 4000 entries. 356 schools from 31 different 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.
The prizes were presented by Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan. The national winner of Level 1, Ammaz Faiz of Garrison Junior Academy, Lahore, was awarded a certificate and a gift voucher of Rs 25,000 by OUP, a laptop sponsored by Engro Foods, and a gift hamper sponsored by Shan Foods.
The 1st runner-up of Level 1, Eishal Nadeem of Kohinoor Grammar School, Faisalabad, and Ayesha Shabbir of Lahore Grammar School, Faisalabad, of Level 3 were awarded a certificate and a gift voucher of Rs 15,000 by OUP, a tablet and gift hamper sponsored by Shan Foods.
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