Introduction

With the objective of promoting English reading, cultivating reading habits and enhancing language proficiency of Hong Kong students, Hong Kong Educational Publishing Company Ltd. is to host “The 36th Annual Book Report Competition for Secondary School Students” in 2025.

Competition Division

Extensive English Reading Section

  • Junior Division: F.1 – F.3
  • Senior Division: F.4 – F.6

Format of Entries

  • Please write down the student’s name, class and class number in the entry.
  • Please list the book title, author, and publisher in the entry.
  • The word limit for the Junior Division is between 600 and 800 words, while the word limit for the Senior Division is between 800 and 1,200 words. Otherwise, the participant would be disqualified.
  • Entries are required to be handwritten or typed on standard A4 paper. Paper including the school letterhead or emblem will not be accepted.
  • Entries should be legible and tidy. The number of pages and the total number of words must be specified. Please submit the entries in Word Document / PDF format.

Application & Submission

  • Fill in the online application form:
    Online submission
  • Download and fill in the “participant’s information form”(Excel). Then name the excel document to the corresponding school name and submit the form online or via email to marketing@hkep.com
  • Interested schools need to submit the entries on or before 7 April 2025 by using either one method below.
    • Upload the entries through the online application form, or;
    • Email the entries to marketing@hkep.com. Please state “(School name) The 36th Annual Book Report Competition for Secondary School Students” as the subject.

Regulations

  • All entries must be recommended and submitted by schools. Individual submissions by students will not be accepted.
  • There is no limit in the number of participants for each school. Teachers must choose the best 10 outstanding entries in each division for submission.
  • Each participant shall submit one entry only.
  • Participants may choose any books for the Extensive English Reading Section.

Awards

There will be a champion, a 1st runner-up, a 2nd runner-up, 3 outstanding and 3 commendable awards.

Champion

HK$1000 book coupon, certificate and prizes

1st Runner-up

HK$800 book coupon, certificate and prizes

2nd Runner-up

HK$500 book coupon, certificate and prizes

Outstanding

HK$300 book coupon, certificate and prizes

Commendable

HK$200 book coupon, certificate and prizes

All participants will receive an e-certificate of participation.

The 5 most active schools will receive an award.

Professional Jurors（Listed in no particular order）

Dr. Sung Chit Cheung Matthew

Associate Professor, Department of English, City University of Hong Kong

Mr. Jet Crawford

Adjunct Lecturer, HKU SPACE

Mr. John Stephen Millen

Author of Athens Anthology and former writer of Young Post

Ms. Jillian Estrop

Director of GPEX

Ms. Nalini Fernandes

English trainer, HKU SPACE

Adjudication Guidelines

The adjudication of the competition is divided into 3 stages:

Stage 1: In-school adjudication by school teachers

  • Each school teacher-in-charge will choose the best 10 entries in each division for submission.

Stage 2: Preliminary adjudication by initial jurors

  • All juries are senior secondary school teacher. Each jury will select highlighted entries and then pass to professional juries to complete final adjudication.

Stage 3: adjudication by professional jurors

Professional juries are formed by university’s professor, lecturer and advisor. All juries have abundant teaching experience in secondary school.


Works will be mainly judged by students’understanding of the book and their personal comments.

Adjudication criteria:

Content (40%)
Entry is rich in content and themes are described clearly; express deep understanding through evaluating the text from different angles.

Organization (40%)
Clear introduction and background; Text is organized very effectively with logical development of ideas.

Language (20%)
Wide range of accurate sentence structures, with good grasp of complex sentences.

Terms and Conditions

  1. Each participant shall submit one entry only. Otherwise, the participant would be disqualified.
  2. The organizers have the rights to disqualify any entries that do not meet the regulations or format.
  3. All entries must be original works by entrants and do not infringe upon the rights (including intellectual property rights, rights of privacy or confidentiality) of any other parties. The organizer does not accept any entries generated by AI. Entrants are responsible for all legal liabilities. Should their entries violate any laws, the organizers will not be held legally responsible.
  4. Entries should not contain any content that is obscene, violent, pornographic, defamatory, indecent, disparaging, controversial or inappropriate.
  5. The personal information provided on the application form will be kept confidential and for internal use only. Hong Kong Educational Publishing Company Ltd. reserves the publication right of the entries.
  6. All information collected in this competition will only be used for the purpose of joining this competition and other related matters. The organizers may retain some personal information (e.g. name, phone number, email address) for promotional purpose.
  7. If you do not want to receive any promotional messages from us, please email your request to marketing@hkep.com or contact customer service at 2887 8018.
  8. Hong Kong Educational Publishing Company Ltd. reserves the right to amend the rules and regulations of the competition. Should there be any disputes, Hong Kong Educational Publishing Company Ltd. reserves the right to make the final decision.