Episode 9 – The Olympics of Reading with Reading Quizzes

Episode 9: The Olympics of Reading: The Kids’ Lit Quiz and Phendulani Quiz celebrate children with a love for reading.

Literacy activist Marjorie Brown uses book quizzes to spark a love of reading and boost literacy in schools in South Africa. “Reading is just as important as sports for our general wellbeing” believes Brown and we couldn’t agree more. 

Anti-Apartheid and literacy activist Marjorie Brown has transformed children’s lives by running the International Kids’ Lit Quiz and starting her own local version, Phendulani Quiz for disadvantaged schools. She was nominated for the Global Teacher Award and embodies the passion and commitment the South African education system needs. The competitions, which focus on the top readers from Grade 5-7, connect and celebrate children with a passion and skill for reading. The Kids’ Lit Quiz international finals will be held on 13 August 2025 at St John’s Prep in Johannesburg.

Brown started The Phendulani Quiz to combine the annual distribution of about twenty fiction books into under-resourced primary schools with the fun of a quiz, as an incentive for children to read the books and contribute to promoting literacy in SA schools. Good readers from well-resourced schools are also twinned with under-resourced schools, so that the importance of reading is spread.

 You can find out more about Kids Lit Quiz here and Phendulani Quiz here.