Every year Portsmouth City Council’s school library service runs an extensive programme of literary events for schools, such as those detailed below.
Meet the author events
The school library service invites top children’s authors to visit Portsmouth schools, believing that an encounter with a real live author can be one of the most inspirational a child can have.
Around 15 authors visit city schools each year, chosen to inspire pupils to read with more enthusiasm, and help encourage pupils to write.
Portsmouth schools literature quiz
Each year pupils from schools across the city meet to show off their knowledge of books and their enthusiasm for reading, hoping to win the coveted trophy for their school.
Quiz rounds include Book General Knowledge and Visual Clues. Teams prepare for some sections of the quiz in advance, such as The Life of an Author, and Books by Guest Authors. These guest authors take part in the quiz (and sign books for pupils). Winners are awarded book tokens.
Portsmouth Book Award
After extensive reading and debating, young people decide their books of the year in three categories: the picture book (year 1), shorter novel (year 5) and longer novel (years 8 and 9)
Portsmouth libraries and the school library service work closely with school staff on the Portsmouth Book Awards to:
- promote the enjoyment of reading, recognising enjoyment as a step to a higher standard of literacy
- foster a reading ethos in individual schools and in Portsmouth generally
- draw attention to the most rewarding and accessible fiction available for the age groups
- promote use of public libraries