A Dictionary of Dutchness

Gouden Griffel

The Gouden Griffel (golden slate pencil) is one of Holland’s top youth literature awards and gives the prize-winner €5,000. The name comes from the phrase ‘tien met een griffel’ (10 out of 10 and a slate pencil) which harks back to the early days of education when children who did particularly well at school were given a new pencil as a reward. While slate pencils are quaintly old-fashioned, it’s unlikely that ‘Golden Laptop’ would catch on.