At the end of the past week, 53 children from 21 Bulgarian Sunday schools participated in the ninth edition of the international reading competition in Bulgarian "Az Buki Vedi" for first and second grade students, which took place in London. Organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the UK, the competition has established itself as a true celebration of the native language and literature.

The children went through three challenging rounds that tested not only their reading skills, but also their courage and confidence. The children read aloud familiar and unfamiliar texts, including texts in metered speech in front of an audience, a jury and their families.

• King and Queen of Letters to be selected in London

The "Queen of Letters" awards went to Lea Todorova - a first-grader from the Bulgarian School "Cyril and Methodius" in Paris and Gabriela Hinkova - a second-grader from the Bulgarian Sunday School "Az Buki Vedi" in Cologne. Kaloyan Krumov - a first-grader from the Bulgarian School "Vasil Levski" in Barking, London, and Haris Halilov - a second-grader at the same school became "Lords of Letters". All other participants received the honorary title "Keepers of Letters", along with books selected according to their age group, BTA reports.

Special awards, provided by the hosts - the Bulgarian School "Chuchuliga" in London, went to the youngest participants: five-year-old Victoria Mihaylova and Boris Ivanov. First-graders Matey Ivanov and Alek Kapralov, as well as second-graders Rada Tsonkova and Martin Kolev also received awards for their high results. They received luxurious encyclopaedia of Bulgaria for children.

Awards were also presented by the Ambassador of Bulgaria in London, Tihomir Stoytchev, who said that the event was a celebration of Bulgarian letters and all children are winners in it, as "they are the guardians of the letters that we have been reading and writing for 1170 years".

Awards were also presented by the founder of the competition - the "Az Buki Vedi" school in Cologne. First-graders Rayan Dilyanov and Anabel Tsekova, as well as second-graders Klara Ivanovska and Alexander Kalchev, received awards, BTA reports.

Radio Bulgaria is an official media partner of the ninth edition of the international Bulgarian reading competition "Az Buki Vedi" in London.

Read also:

Enthusiasm alone is not enough to sustain Bulgarian language teaching abroad

Compiled by: Veneta Nikolova

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos:BTA, azbukivedi.de, Facebook / Rossitza Bairaktarski