STUDENTS from Weaverham High School have been crowned the North West's top readers after winning a regional heat of a national competition.

The school entered two 'elite reading teams', made up of year seven and eight pupils, into the National Reading Champions Quiz.

On Wednesday (March 23), the two teams came out on top after going head to head with teams from 26 schools across the region, including The Grange School, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls and Sale Grammar School.

They will now be heading to London on May 25 to represent the North West and compete with other regional winners across the UK to be crowned National Reading Champions 2022.

English teacher Sarah Cummins said: "We’d like to thank the National Literacy Trust for this opportunity.

"It has been wonderful to see students excel in something they are so passionate about – the joy of reading.

"We tell our students that if they read, they will succeed, our brilliant teams have proven this to be true.

"We will continue to keep up our lunchtime quiz training sessions and are hoping for a great result in May."

Weaverham High's 'A Team' were named regional champions after getting 69 out of 100 questions correct and showcasing their ability to identify the characters, authors and titles of some of the most well-loved stories.

They were closely chased by the school's 'B Team' who came in second, scoring 65 out of 100 after acing the 'Brainteasers' round.

The competition, which is in its second year, is led by the National Literacy Trust and funded by the Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).

It celebrates keen, young readers and champions the important role of teachers and school librarians in promoting reading for pleasure.