"It was a strong message about treating everyone equally"

A book that explored the themes of equality and acceptance was the chosen text for this year’s Junior Reading competition, which one winner said shared a strong message.

George from Chittlehampton YFC in Devon won the Best Chair award in the competition that featured the book Birdie by J.P Rose. The story tells the tale of a young girl from a mixed-ethnic background who is treated differently because of her appearance.

What message did you take away from Birdie?

It was a really strong message that came across about treating everyone equally. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from – everyone is just as important as each other.

It was about a young girl who fights discrimination and is sent to live in a mining village where her skin colour marked her as different.

Her friends are quite racist towards her at first, but over time, by helping the community around her, she becomes a legend in the area. It's a really beautiful book about becoming part of the community.

How does that message reflect your own YFC experience?

Chittlehampton is a really inclusive club. We've got lots of different age groups in there and we always join together and do lots of things together, with lots of different events.

What was your role in the competition?

I was the Chair. I introduced the team and let everyone know who the rest of the team was.

I talked a bit about the book, the author and the back story. Then I made sure to command the room, lead the discussion and make sure everything was going the right way.

How did you feel when your name was announced as Best Chair?

When they called out my name, I was very surprised. To be honest, I wasn't expecting it.

This was my first time in the competition. I got through the Devon round, then the South West Area round, won Best Chair there, got to nationals and then won it here.

It was really quite a surreal experience.

Have you gained any skills from taking part?

The skills in public speaking are skills that every day I'm going to be using and will use when I get older in a job.

These are things that I need in everyday life, so it's useful to have them on my CV.

Do you feel like you belong in YFC?

Yeah. It's just a community. All the different events you do and all the meetings bring everyone together. It's about meeting up with friends and having that time to relax and have fun."

The winning Junior Reading team was Ceredigion and the Best Reader was Marianna from Brecknock.