A confident Nickelson Lavia of the Owia Primary School will represent this country in the regional finals of the Courts OECS Reading Competition slated for next month.{{more}}

The nine-year-old grade five student made his schoolmates, teachers and community proud when he out-read eight other students to earn the right to take part in the six-country regional finals which is set to take place in Grenada on November 25.

Lavia and the other students were instructed to read one narrative and one expository passage, then answer two questions after each reading, in the finals which took place on Tuesday, October 19, at the Frenches House in Kingstown.

The students read an adaptation of Aesop’s Fables’ ‘Tit for Tat’, along with an excerpt from a local tourism brochure titled ‘The La Soufriere Volcano Trail’.

After almost an hour of deliberation in the keenly contested event, the judges declared Lavia the champion.

Lavia was also adjudged the winner of the expository reading, while Rhobyn Barnabe of the Kingstown Preparatory School, who took the narrative reading title, placed second.

Third place went to St. Mary’s RC representative Shenique Thomas.

Apart from the regional trip, Lavia’s win gives him the opportunity to read a segment of news/ sports on SVG TV’s Evening News programme.

He also won $2,000 for his school and himself.

Other prizes earned by Lavia and the other students included books from Jujube bookstore and Bickles, trophies from Multi Graphics Ltd, and a savings account with $100 compliments the Bank of Nova Scotia.

The competition, which was organized and run in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, was hailed as a success by major sponsors Courts, who indicated that the event was part of their corporate responsibility, and committed themselves to another competition in 2011.

Marketing Executive at Courts Alexis John said “Courts is hand in hand with the various stakeholders to ensure our country’s level of literacy improves.”

He commended the Ministry of Education, teachers, parents and guardians, students and other agencies who made the competition a huge success.

The other students taking part in the competition were Enrico Castello of the Colonairie Primary School, Brianna Montrope of the Chateaubelair Primary, Roneifa Clarke of the Argyle Primary, Dandre Toney of the Georgetown Government and Calissa Prevost of the Lauders Primary School.(JJ)