We are excited to announce that the School Library Association is the charity partner for the What on Earth! Magazine 2025 National Schools Quiz.
Each year hundreds of schools from around the country take part in the What on Earth! Quiz to engage their pupils, ignite their natural curiosity, and develop a love of learning.
The quiz questions are all taken from What on Earth! magazine issues and children can use the magazine during the competition, which encourages research skills and makes the quiz highly accessible. All the resources needed to enter the quiz are provided, including digital access to all the past editions of the magazine.
Live on-line heats will be held on the 5th and 6th of November, with eight teams then making it through to the Grand Final in London at the end of the month. Teams can compete in the juniors (8-11) or seniors (11-14) age categories. The finalists will receive an expenses paid trip to London, where they will take part in a full day of nail-biting quizzing.
As charity partners, the SLA will receive a donation from What on Earth! for each SLA member school that subscribes to the magazine and takes part in the 2025 quiz. All SLA members who sign up to take part in the quiz, including existing magazine subscribers, will also receive a free book.
Victoria Dilly, CEO of the SLA said: “The School Library Association is excited to be the charity partner for What on Earth! Magazine's 2025 National Schools Quiz. The collaboration highlights our commitment to promoting and celebrating the value of reading in all forms and encouraging research and independent learning skills in all children and young people.
The What on Earth! Magazine Quiz represents an innovative way to extend the benefits of engaging with high-quality factual books and magazines beyond the library or classroom. This partnership aligns seamlessly with our facilitation of the Information Book Award, which also reaches its crescendo in November, and has been championing outstanding information books for children and young people since 2011.
The Quiz is an opportunity to further promote curiosity, literacy, and engagement with the world around us, while providing schools with valuable tools to inspire young readers to explore the world through non-fiction. We hope to see lots of SLA Members and their pupils taking part!”
What on Earth! have conducted detailed studies into the way that children engage with the magazine. The Phase 2 study was conducted with 500 children in schools around the country, and led by Professor Teresa Cremin of the Open University. It revealed significant improvements in reading engagement among Year 5 pupils when given either guided or non-guided access to the magazine over a 12-week period.
The earlier Phase 1 study demonstrated that reading engagement increased from 86% to 91% among participants, with the magazine particularly successful in engaging reluctant readers. 29% of pupils identified the What on Earth! magazine as their favourite reading choice in school by the end of the project, while interest in having more non-fiction material available doubled from 26% to 53% of pupils.
One of the most powerful findings was the informal and social nature of reading that emerged as pupils started to talk to each other about aspects of the magazine that they had read, strengthening reader-to- reader relationships in both classrooms. The social nature of reading emerged as a particularly powerful catalyst for engaging disengaged readers in this study.
Taking part in the Schools Quiz is another fantastic way to build these social bonds around reading for pleasure.
John Gordon-Reid, Schools Director for What on Earth! said: “Information books and magazines are a hugely important part of reading for pleasure and our National Quiz gives every child the opportunity to celebrate this simple joy of discovering and knowing things.
We are delighted that the SLA is our charity partner for 2025. Every quiz entry will go towards the phenomenal work of the SLA, delivering advice, training and support to all those who contribute towards building reading cultures within school.”
To participate, schools only need a single magazine subscription to What on Earth! costing just £46 for the whole year Depending on the age grouping, this allows up to 4 teams to enter the quiz.
Along with the subscription, What on Earth! are also offering a bonus £15 voucher to spend on their range of non-fiction books, for schools that sign up before 15th August.
Sign up to the join the quiz now - remember to indicate that you are an SLA member! Use code SLAQ if prompted.