Kotryna Kazlauskaite, a Year 11 student from Liverpool has been named UK Pupil Library Assistant of the Year, with Reuben Colton, a Year 6 pupil from Watford achieving a national commendation alongside her. Both were celebrated in a special London ceremony led by the School Library Association (SLA) and the CILIP School Libraries Group.

The announcement, made at an award ceremony hosted by Pearson in central London, marks the 11th year of the UK Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Awards (PLAA). Children’s laureate, Joseph Coelho presented the awards to Kotryna and Reuben.

Kotryna attends St Hilda’s Church of England High School, Reuben is a pupil at Edge Grove School, Watford.

Coelho, who last year completed an 18-month ‘library marathon’, signing up to a library in every single region of the UK, said, ‘It’s no secret that I am a huge library fan. Without question, my local library was my launchpad so it’s fantastic to hear how the next generation of librarians are helping their peers to achieve through all the fabulous work they do in their school libraries. These superstar volunteers may become the librarians of the future, providing a vital lifeline for not just their school but the wider community.’

Talking about her achievement, Kotryna said, ‘Libraries are the oasis in the dark oceans that school can sometimes be. They are a safe haven for all of us. This award means the absolute world to me and I can’t wait to start working on my project funded by this award.’ Reuben added, ‘It was incredible to meet all the authors and I was delighted to be able to speak at the ceremony about Blooms for Books, the charitable initiative I founded to fundraise to buy books for state school libraries.’

Barbara Band, Chair of the PLAA Judging Panel, said, ‘We were particularly impressed with Kotryna’s article for the parents’ newsletter as this highlighted specific areas where the school library had impacted on all students.’

Schools will now be able to watch a video in which all seven finalists discuss their work and read extracts from the nominations on the PLAA website.

Chantel Carpenter, Director of Schools Marketing at Pearson, which hosted the awards ceremony, and which sponsors the PLAA alongside Authors Aloud UK, added, ‘It is wonderful to hear how passionate Kotryna and Reuben are about their school library and the time they dedicate to ensuring their peers reap the same benefits. We know children’s confidence and aspirations grow with success and we hope this award will continue to motivate Kotryna, Reuben and all the other finalists.

‘We’re thrilled once again to sponsor these brilliant awards as part of our work supporting every learner to develop a lifelong love of reading, from the early years right through to adulthood. Libraries are such an important part of a school where diversity and inclusion can be celebrated and championed. We would like to congratulate every child who was nominated, including some from our very own Lit in Colour schools. You should be extremely proud of what you have achieved.’

Discover more about the awards and register for future updates.