UKLA is delighted to announce the 5 winners of NEU Sponsored teacher places for the UKLA International Conference in Liverpool, 2025.

Teachers were invited to submit applications based on their experiences of reading and discussing books longlisted and shortlisted for the UKLA Book Award and sharing these books in classrooms, across the school and in the local community.  They were also asked to detail their engagement in other UKLA activities.

The 2025 teacher winners are:

The panel was impressed with the level of commitment, engagement and detailed knowledge of texts evidenced by the 5 winning teachers.  Books have been shared, read and loved in classrooms, across the school and in the local community.  

Congratulations to the 5 worthy winners!  

Remember that applications for the NEU Sponsored Places for students are still open! Find out more here: https://ukla.org/awards/sponsored-places-for-the-international-conference/

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Snippets from the winning applications

Involvement in the UKLA Book Awards at some stage during the last few years, for instance as a shadower, teacher judge, longlister:

‘Being involved in the UKLA Book Awards has been a highlight of my professional life. I’ve served as a longlister, teacher judge, shortlisting group leader and final panel member across both the information book and 7-10 categories, gaining both enthusiasm and insight. Engaging my colleagues has been a priority, with eight teachers from my school becoming judges last year. This involvement has strengthened both our school’s reading-for-pleasure culture and literacy curriculum.’ – Sam Creighton

‘In recent years, I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in the book awards as a teacher judge at every stage of the process – from helping to create the longlist to being part of the panel that selects the final winning entries across all of the categories. I attended the UKLA conference and presented several of the winning entries, before attending the author dinner and embracing the amazing opportunity to meet the writers and illustrators. Not only has my involvement in this process been invaluable in upskilling me, but it has helped me forge connections with students and provided pupils in my school with access to a large range of current, top quality, young adult fiction.’ – Lyndsay Kennett

Ways in which you are working with/sharing UKLA longlisted/shortlisted books in the classroom:

‘I used longlisted titles from the UKLA Book Awards 2024 in an action research project to increase reader engagement for KS2 children in three Sussex schools. I provided around 20 titles in sets of 4 (roughly 80 books per class). Children browsed and chose books, then read for pleasure in groups daily for 30 minutes, organising their reading and responding creatively using scrapbooks. Teachers and children reported ‘better books’ and time reading with friends increased enjoyment and supported understanding. I shared initial tentative findings at the UKLA International Conference 2024.’ – Deborah Upland

Ways in which you are working with/sharing these books in your school community

‘1. Staff book club – current book is I want a Dog (Jon Agee.)

2. UKLA book award lists promoted as a place for high quality texts. Five staff took part in the shadowing groups last year.

3. Our School Loves This Book. We choose a book from the UKLA shortlist and the whole school reads and responds (cross-curricular) to it. Books: Bob’s Blue Period, Lubna & Pebble, Look Up and Saving Mr Hoot

4. Book parcels of UKLA submissions for longlisting are gifted to classes and the school library.

5. Texts are shared with parents via our school Reading Newsletter.‘ – Vikki Varley

‘In summer term 2024, while reading the information category books, I took the opportunity to share these books with all Year 5 and 6 pupils from our school community.  Nearly 240 children (and their teachers) had the opportunity to browse/read the books and to share their thoughts with me via discussion and short forms they were given to fill in.  Pupils took this responsibility very seriously and are now very excited to see the books in the school library where they can be read and taken home on loan.’ – Krista Greenwood

Panel: Joy Court, Stephen Dilley, Theresa Gooda, Lynda Graham (chair), Rebecca Simpson- Hargreaves, Simon Pollard,