Over the past week, our students have proudly taken part in the Readers Cup competition, with both our Year 5/6 and Year 8 teams representing the College with enthusiasm and commitment. In the Sunshine Coast Regional competitions, 30 teams participated in the Year 5 – 6 division, while 22 teams competed in the Year 8 division, reflecting the strong passion for reading shared across our region.
The 2026 Readers Cup statistics highlight incredible participation across all year levels, with the two more competitions to follow next semester:
911 teams registered overall
492 teams in Year 5–6
246 teams in Year 7–8
173 teams in Year 9–10
Approximately 4,363 readers involved
Approximately 17,888 books read across the competition
Our Year 5/6 and Year 8 teams embraced the challenge, reading widely and meeting regularly as they prepared for the competition. A special highlight of our Primary team’s experience was having Annaleise Byrd, author of Down the Plothole, emcee the competition. Down the Plothole, the sequel to Losing the Plot, is a fractured fairytale adventure and was one of this year’s Readers Cup titles. Annaleise shared her childhood love of reading and entertained students with lively acronym quizzes and novel trivia between competition rounds.
Students demonstrated exceptional dedication to reading the set books, and engaged with a wide range of literature selected for this year’s competition:
Year 5/6 RC Titles
Childish by Morris Gleitzman
Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa’aoso, Lyn White and Michelle Scott Tucker
Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady by Dianne Wolfer
Inked by Karen Wasson & Jake A Minton
Down the Plothole by Annaleise Byrd
Year 8 RC Titles
Westfallen by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares
Drift by Pip Harry
Laughter is the Best Ending by Maryam Master
Danger Road by A.L.Tait
The Surface Trials by H.M.Waugh
The Readers Cup continues to be a wonderful opportunity for students to connect through books and their shared love of reading. We commend the Year 5/6 and Year 8 teams for their dedication and teamwork, and look forward to the upcoming competitions in Semester 2, where even more readers will have the opportunity to shine.
Vanessa McKellar, Head of Library Services