The Challenge means that students can score goals for their teams by reading books and completing reviews and the top teams each month also get to play real games of football, with any goals scored being added to their total.

The winning team will be announced at the end of Term 4 when a visiting author will present their prizes.

A total of 80 students from Year 7 have signed up and girls will be taking part for the first time too. There are 16 teams pitted against each other and the scoreboard in the library will be regularly updated so the teams can see their progress over the coming months.

Librarian Wendy McCabe said: ‘The whole scheme is about encouraging reading for pleasure, particularly among those students who may not already be regular readers. They are asked to read books that stretch their vocabulary and reading skills, so the challenge is all about putting an element of competition in as well to keep the momentum going.

‘We have run the Challenge for the past few years and it is always popular and hotly contested. This year is the first time that girls have been invited to take part and 25 have signed up, with some acting as team captains. The draw was exciting with teams finding out which Premier League club they have been assigned and many keen readers have already got goals on the scoreboard, which is on display in the Library.’

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