Quiz team reaches final of national general knowledge contest

June 8, 2016

QUIZ1A quick-minded quiz team is preparing for the final of a competition which could see them crowned “the smartest school in the whole United Kingdom”.

Four boys from The Grange, Monmouth Preparatory School, have become one of 12 teams to reach the last leg of the national Key Stage 2 General Knowledge Quiz Championships.

More than 300 schools entered the contest and The Grange pupils, aged between seven and 11, were victorious in the area heat in Badminton, going on to win their semi-final in Taunton recently.

The concluding round takes place on Tuesday, June 21, at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Team member Cameron, 7, said: “My specialities are animals, the body and sport.

“I like lots of animals because there is so much to know about them – and you can play with them. I want to be a rugby player and a vet when I grow up.

“I think we’re in the final because we are great at working as a team and we’re all good on different subjects, so if one of us doesn’t know the answer another person on our team will.

“It felt great to win the last round and if we win the final it means we are the smartest school in the whole of the United Kingdom.”

Team captain, 11-year-old Ollie, was the highest-scoring Grange boy in practice quizzes when teacher Kevin Shepherd formed the group in September.

Ollie said: “We’ve been lucky with the questions so far in the competition.

“I like geography the most. I love looking at atlases and reading about other countries and history. Sport is my weakness.

“We’ve definitely had a lot of fun and it felt brilliant to win the last round.

“I’m hoping for lots of geography questions in the final.”

The boys could face questions on a multitude of topics in the final, from the Earth’s creation to who won Britain’s Got Talent.

Team member, Srinivas, 9, favours history and science.

He added: “The questions I’d like to be asked in the final are ones we already know the answers to!

“The competition has been really good. It’s helped me to learn a lot of things about the subjects I’m not usually that good at.”

Lysander, 10, is the fourth team member, ensuring each year group is represented.

The University Challenge-style competition allows the teams to confer with each other and work together closely.

Mr Shepherd said: “It’s been a huge surprise for me to see the boys’ level of knowledge and understanding on such a variety of topics – one or two are fabulous at science and full of interesting facts.

“Their communication and teamwork has been brilliant. The quizzes have given them confidence in themselves; they’ve been competing against boys and girls from all over the UK and in front of an audience too. When they realise they’ve got a question right the celebrations are brilliant. They’ve worked incredibly hard.”

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