Another successful BOB edition!
Battle Of the Books (BOB) 2025 Recap
This year, FIS had the wonderful opportunity to host the BOB competition once again at our TKO campus. FIS’s secondary BPR team competed against four other schools for a spot in the finals—and as you can imagine, it was tough. Although we didn’t achieve the intended goal we had aimed for, we dedicated almost 8 months of preparation and put in a lot of effort during the meetings. To celebrate our hard work since September, Mr. Wilson, our lead teacher, hosted a pizza party for us regardless of the outcome. It felt amazing to represent our school in the competition, and it was a truly exciting and engaging experience for everyone involved.
Members of the FIS team included: Chloe Hu, Audrey Chen, Queenie Zhou, Karis Ng, Hailey Chang, and Zoe Bulle. Other team members included: Sahra Leroy, Riles Ezziane and Chloe Tang.
Special thanks to Sarah Hussain, Louise Arbey, and Aashi Mohapatra for coaching us weekly, assembling the teams, and preparing us for the competition. Additional thanks to Mr. Wilson, Mme Guidevay, and Mme Rebuffet-Liu for organizing and putting so much effort into making BOB a success this year.
What is BOB?
Battle of the Books (BOB) is a competition that welcomes bookworms from both Primary and Secondary divisions to showcase their passion for and talent in reading. With a total of 56 schools participating, the competition spans across all of Hong Kong and includes most international schools as well as many top local schools.
There are two separate divisions: one for primary students and one for secondary students; however, the rules remain the same for both.
FIS is always excited to welcome new participants to represent our school in next year’s competition so please join up!
Rules of BOB
Rotation of Teams
- A team of 6 students from two schools face off in a ‘battle’ by taking turns answering questions.
- When a question is asked, one team member is chosen by the questioner to answer. Before the team member’s name is called, everyone must remain silent. The audience must also stay silent until the round is over.
- Each team is given 20 seconds to discuss the question. Then, the chosen team member must state the title of the book and its author. You must begin answering before the 20 seconds are up.
- The other team is then asked a question, and the cycle continues.
- After all 12 questions have been answered (correctly or incorrectly), the round is declared over.
- Two other teams will then take the stage to compete. The total number of rounds depends on the number of schools participating.
Preparing for BOB 2026
BOB Books
To secure a spot on the team and contribute effectively in the competition, you should read as many books as possible from the 20 BOB books selected each year. These books can be borrowed from the shelf reserved for BOB books in the library, or you can ask a librarian to help you locate them. The goal is to read as many of the selected books as you can—and reread them if possible!
Weekly Meetings
Weekly meetings will be held to prepare for the competition, so make sure to attend as often as possible, depending on your class schedule. For information about the meeting location and time, you can email Mr. Wilson at [email protected] or ask your English teacher if they have any details.
Why Should YOU Join?
- Meet new people who might become lifelong friends.
- Expand your vocabulary and improve your academic skills. Reading regularly has been shown to significantly boost success in later life—and it will also make your parents happy!
- Get a chance to miss a day of school (or two, if you make it to the finals).
- Enjoy a pizza party on the day of the competition.
- Plus, there are lots of snacks!
Overall, BOB is a fantastic experience for students. I highly encourage you to sign up and participate in the competition next year.
Hope to see you in BOB 2026!
