Year 10 pupil Rishi Shah is among just five pupils from across the country to be selected as a finalist for the Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award 2017.
He will now attend the award ceremony next month at the parliamentary building, Portcullis House in Westminster, where he will find out whether he has won the prestigious title. Rishi was nominated for the award by QE Librarian Ciara Murray.
Barbara Band, chair of the judges, said: “The judging panel felt his nomination and answers to … questions showed commitment, passion and a love of the school library and reading.”
Congratulating him, Ms Murray said: “Rishi has been an incredibly enthusiastic and dedicated librarian over the past couple of years and we are so pleased that this has been recognised by the judges. The detailed proposal he submitted for the competition shows his creativity and passion for inspiring others to read. We all have our fingers crossed for the ceremony in March, but even to be shortlisted is a significant achievement in such a hotly contested national competition.”
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Rishi has helped in The Queen’s Library for the last two years. He has recently been assisting Ms Murray and the other pupil librarians in preparing for a special Harry Potter event for World Book Day. “It’s sure to draw in the crowds, given the continued popularity among our boys of the young wizard’s adventures,” said Ms Murray.
Rishi explained that nominees for the award had to submit a proposal explaining how they would spend an imaginary £500 given by school governors to promote their library amongst non-readers. His first idea was a literary treasure hunt in London. Participants would read a list of books beforehand and on the day of the trip, teams would have to work out a location in London – such as the Globe Theatre – from clues provided via WhatsApp. Participants would travel to the location, take a photo and send it back to prove they had solved the clue. Then they would be given their next clue. There would also be further opportunities to enjoy what was on offer during the treasure hunt, through an organised tour, for example.
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Rishi also had a suggestion that was closer to home – to create a Senior School Reading Room, with comfortable seating and atmospheric lighting to enhance the experience of reading and encourage more boys to read in their lunchtimes.
Ms Murray is hoping that, with some thought, the School might be able to take one or both of his suggestions forward.
In addition, Headmaster Neil Enright has granted Rishi some extra funding to buy in more books to appeal specifically to Years 10 and 11.
Schools are only allowed to nominate one pupil each for the Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award. The award was inaugurated in 2015 and is a joint venture between the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals School Libraries Group and the School Library Association.
It seeks to recognise the contribution made by pupils who work in their school libraries and acknowledge the skills they have gained.
The award ceremony will include afternoon tea, book-signing and a chance to meet some authors who are supporting the award. There may be a tour of the nearby Houses of Parliament afterwards.
- Rishi’s top three fiction recommendations from the Library are: The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown; The Bourne Ultimatum, by Robert Ludlum; and The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.