Ayla Uluçam: Germany's best reader comes from Marienfelde!

Ayla Uluçam: Germany's best reader comes from Marienfelde!

Berlin, Deutschland - The anticipation of reading is once again very important in Germany. On June 25, 2025, 12-year-old Ayla Uluçam was able to look forward to winning the nationwide reading competition. The student of the Eckener-Gymnasium in Marienfelde prevailed under the eyes of an expert jury at the top-class finale, which took place in the RBB television studio in Berlin. The talented reader had already won the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district decision in April.

ayla Uluçam had taken the chance and read an extract from the exciting book "Game of Noctis - Game for your life" by Deva Fagan. The jury and the spectators, who appreciated their intensive reading tour and expressiveness, convinced their performance. Jury chair Angelika Schaack praised the high quality of the readings and described the decision for the winner as "incredibly difficult".

a competition with tradition

The nationwide reading competition has been organized by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandel since 1959 and is one of the largest reading promotion competitions in Germany. Around 600,000 children from over 7,000 schools take part annually, with the goal of promoting reading and strengthening the linguistic and social skills of the young participants. The competition begins in October with class and school sheaths, followed by regional and district decisions, before the big federal final takes place in June.

This year, more than 550,000 children from over 7,000 schools took part in the competition. District Councilor Tobias Dollase Ayla Uluçam congratulated on the special honor of victory and praised the performance of the young readers. The reading competition is under the patronage of the Federal President this year, which also gives the competition weight.

reading promotion in focus

The motivation behind the competition is clear: children should be encouraged to deal with language and literature. The criteria for the evaluation of the reading performance are broad and include aspects such as safety when reading aloud, clarity and the ability to convey the text with the correct emotions. In addition, the students have to choose an appropriate text passage that is understandable for listeners.

The success of Ayla Uluçam shows how important such initiatives are. She is not only a winner, but also a role model for other young readers. The enthusiasm for reading, which is triggered by competitions like this, is a valuable contribution to the personal and social development of the children.

The nationwide reading competition is firmly anchored in the German educational landscape and will continue to play an important role in promoting reading culture in the future. Further information on this important competition is available on the official website of the reading competition, which can be viewed here: www.lesefoerderung.de .

For all interested parties in the development and the results of the competition in the end, the press release from the district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg can be read here: www.berlin.de . The reporting at RBB24 also provides further information: www.rbb24.de .