The Schools’ International Reading Award (SIRA) is a free competition for schools celebrating international and inclusive reading.

• Run a reading project in your school with an international dimension
• Make a display or presentation sharing what you have read
• Enter by 23 October and your school could win a bundle of books from every continent!

The Award is intended to …

• promote reading for pleasure across the school community
• embed anti-racism, representation and inclusion in the books students encounter at school
• help young people explore international perspectives and global citizenship
• help readers see the value of a second or other language as a cultural and creative asset

There are many ways to interpret the international dimension of the books selected; these are a few ways we interpret ‘world literature for young people’ here at World Kid Lit, for example.

The Award is for the most internationally diverse reading projects, and the most imaginative or innovative presentations where participants share what they have read or are reading with others.

We are keen to reward projects that demonstrate the social aspect of reading, and use the school resources or space creatively to promote reading for pleasure.

Reading projects can take place at any time of the year, but many schools choose to run a project during September, World Kid Lit Month, during Languages Week, or for World Book Day. Here’s a great place to start for reading ideas.

How to enter

Enter via this online form between 1 September and 23 October 2026.

This year, the Award is open to schools anywhere in the world for young people of any age up to 18. The only restriction is that English should be one of the school’s main languages of instruction, but the presentations or project evidence submitted for the award do not need to be solely in English.

The three prize categories are:

• Younger category (0-6 years)
• Middle category (7-12 years)
• Older category (13+)

For more about how the award works, see our FAQs page.

2026 Sponsors

The 2025 Award

The winners of the inaugural Schools International Reading Award (2025) were:

• Braeburn Primary and Nursery Academy in Yorkshire, United Kingdom – younger category
• York Elementary School in North Carolina, USA – middle category
• The British School in The Netherlands – older category

The judges of the inaugural International Reading Award 2025 were Leila Rasheed, UK-based author and founder of Megaphone Writes, Nanette McGuinness, USA-based literary translator and opera singer, Avery Fischer Udagawa, literary translator and Thailand-based teacher, and Josephine Murray, UK-based literary translator, writer and former languages teacher. Find out more here.