We had a lot of fun attending the fourth annual What on Earth! National Schools Quiz, as the quiz's new charity partner. The finals took place during National Non-Fiction November, aiming to highlight how information books and magazines are an important part of reading for pleasure.
Children’s non-fiction author and founder of What on Earth!, Christopher Lloyd, hosted the quiz and was happy to announce Ryde School with Upper Chine from the Isle of Wight as this year’s senior champions. Having won the title of quiz champions in 2024 as juniors, the school returned in the senior category this year to defend their title.
Knowle C of E Primary School (West Midlands) took first place in the junior category after battling it out with Fleet Primary School (Camden, London), who came second. As adjudicators, we can confirm that the points were down to the wire and all the participating pupils were having a fantastic time, fully invested in the competitive spirit!
The final nail-biting championship round took place between the winning junior and senior teams, with the seniors coming out on top and Ryde School named the overall What on Earth! Schools Quiz Challenge Champions 2025.
Christopher Lloyd, Founder and CEO of What on Earth! Magazines said: "Hosting our fourth national schools quiz with our new charity partner, the School Library Association, has been an exhilarating success. I'd like to say a huge thanks to every school team that took part in the What on Earth! National Schools Quiz 2025, and congratulations to the finalists, and of course this year's quiz returning champions, Ryde School with Upper Chine from the Isle of Wight!
What on Earth! seeks to inspire children with a love of learning through reading and with next year being the National Year of Reading, our ethos of using nonfiction to increase young people's reading for pleasure is more essential than ever. It is thrilling to see how reading and learning about many different nonfiction topics can bring such joy to the children taking part in the quiz – as well as to the adults in their lives."
As charity partners, the School Librarian Association will receive a donation from What on Earth! for each SLA member school that subscribed to the magazine and took part in the 2025 quiz. All SLA members who signed up to take part in the quiz, including existing magazine subscribers, will also receive a free What on Earth! book.
Find out more about the new Schools and Libraries edition of What on Earth! launched with Peters Books.
Photos: Harriet Buckingham Photography