Kiwis fight off overseas students in Kids Lit quiz

Students from St Margaret's College in Christchurch have restored national pride by winning a growing international literature competition.

The Kids Lit quiz was last year won by Dunblane High School in Scotland - the first year youngsters from outside New Zealand were invited to enter.

At this year's final, despite competition from Britain and South Africa, St Margaret's took first prize ahead of second-placed Southwell School from Hamilton.

Third place was won by Cherwell School from Oxford, England, with Glenfield Intermediate from Auckland's North Shore coming fourth.

The competition is the brain-child of Wayne Mills, a senior lecturer at Auckland University, and aims to celebrate the "sport of reading" by introducing a competitive streak.

Students work in teams of four to answer questions in diverse categories.

Mr Mills said he was constantly amazed at the competitors' knowledge.

"I asked kids in London about Middle-earth and there was a 12-year-old girl there who knew everything there was to know about Tolkien and even spoke fluent elvish," he said.

The event is sponsored by Paper Plus, with a prize pool of more than $30,000.