Cayman International School’s Blue Iguanas 2025 and Footsteps School’s Lit Legends have been named winners of the 2025 edition of the Lera Parchment Battle of the Books competition, hosted Saturday by the Cayman Islands Information Professionals.
CIS took the lead in division 1, while Footsteps clinched the win in division 2.
The event, held at John Gray High School, was abuzz with excitement as more than 200 students from across the Cayman Islands, including Cayman Brac, participated in the literacy showdown, which aims to promote reading, teamwork, confidence and communication among students.
Ellie Cook, an event organiser, told Compass TV that this year’s contest was the biggest yet and she hopes for “even more teams, even more schools and even more volunteers next year”.
During the course of the day, 36 teams competed with support by some 50 volunteers.
Each battle took place in a classroom featuring two teams and a judging panel. After each round, the teams moved from one classroom to the next until they completed the battle.
The Golden Readers of First Baptist Christian School (Division 1) and The Literary Minions of St. Ignatius Catholic School (Division 2) were runners-up.
Student Ameya Calvert-Das from the winning team from Cayman International School told Compass TV, “I think it’s an amazing thing to be able to commit in something so beautiful. Keep reading … expand your brain.”
Battle of the Books event organiser Susie Robinson told the Cayman Compass that the events reinforce healthy skills and ground students.
“Competitions like this bring everybody together through our old-fashion values … getting children to sit down, read a book, get involved in a story and use their imagination,” she said.
“For us, it’s a competition but for the students, it started months ago because they’re given a reading list and have to read all these books. They have to memorise all these characters [and] prepare in teams.”
She added that the competitions are good for building coordination, memory, teamwork skills and confidence.
“When you hear what the kids have to say and how much they get out of competitions like this, and they walk away feeling really impressed with themselves … it’s obviously working,” she added.
The event, held in conjunction with Rotary Sunrise, also saw an awards presentation for winners and participants.
The Battle of the Books event is named after Lera Parchment, who was an avid reader and long-term supporter of libraries.
Related Videos
