The Trinity Group is made up of twenty Independent Secondary Schools in London and the Southeast. Back in 2015 the Group’s Librarians decided to set up their own Book Awards to promote the best novels written for their Year 7 to 9+ pupils. Unlike most Book Awards, there is a thematic link between the books and there is no publication date restriction. The Trinity Awards now include the participation of some state schools and this year COLA Highgate Hill joined CLS and CLSG in this Reading Challenge.
The latest TSBA started in Autumn 2025 with pupils reading novels from two shortlists, based on the theme of ‘Dreams and Nightmares’. They were asked to write book reviews expressing their opinions as well as making creative responses inspired by the books. The responses can be virtually anything, poems, dramatic interpretations, songs, musical compositions, artwork, food creations, videos etc. In the past this has even included an ice sculpture!
In late January, each of the participating schools was asked to enter their four best submissions for consideration by the TSBA Judges, consisting of school Librarians. The pupils were also requested to vote for their favourite books. The Judges then met in February to select the winning entries in the different categories. The CLS Library team created a display of the impressive entries from the participating schools which has been on display in School for the last few weeks.
The awards ceremony took place just before the end of term, and over 250 pupils from participating schools attended in person, with the event being livestreamed to schools unable to attend. Seven of the authors attended in person, including one who travelled from the Netherlands. The authors entertained and informed the audience with a fun Q&A, before the winners were announced. The Book of Stolen Dreams by David Farr took the TSBA 2026 for Year 7 and 8 reads, while Meet Me At Midnight by Brianna Bourne claimed the Trinity Plus Award for YA fiction.
David Rose, Senior Librarian at City of London School, commented:
”CLS has participated in the TSBA since its inception, and the Reading Challenge is now deeply embedded in the culture of the School. The writing in the shortlisted titles is always of the highest quality and it’s fantastic to see our pupils enjoying books by authors who they are unlikely to read otherwise. Our pupils love the thematic connection and their Creative Responses never cease to impress. This year’s theme ‘Dreams and Nightmares’ truly caught the children’s imagination and many were keen to read more from the different series. What better endorsement could there be in the National Year of Reading?”
The pupils had the opportunity to meet the authors and get their favourite books signed. The occasion was a fantastic celebration of the best of Children’s Literature in this year of reading.
