On Sunday 25th June, the Bury Grammar School (BGS) Quiz Team took part in the National Finals of the annual 'Schools Challenge' general knowledge quiz competition, held at the Hall School in Belsize Park, London.

'Schools Challenge' is the leading inter-school quiz competition in the country and has been running since 1977.

Teams of four, consisting of two 'seniors' and two 'juniors' take on their opponents in half-hour games with rules similar to those of TV's 'University Challenge'.  Reaching the Finals via the earlier knock out stages is a considerable feat in itself; we have only managed to do so on three previous occasions in the last 30 years, the most recent being 2010. This year, the preliminary rounds were held online for the first time and BGS defeated teams from King's School Worcester, Winchester College and Stockport Grammar School to reach the National Finals.

We got off to a great start winning the first starter questions on Lewis Caroll, but the follow up questions on Inuit Mythology were more challenging. We went on to win starters on: Inventions, Greek Playwriters, Swaziland, Planets and moons, Parliamentary terms. There were some great answers on US state capitals, Etymology, Fortnite and Liz Truss. Unfortunately, the opposition were quicker on the buzzer and put in a solid performance, particularly on the Music, Egyptian rulers, and Celebrities rounds.

We then went into the Plate Competition...

We had success on Mythology, Number series, US States, Philosophers, Renowned military expeditions, Signs of the Zodiac and Unfinished works of art. The opposition was particularly strong on Music and Poetry.

The team were excellent representatives of the School and can be proud of their performances.

Unfortunately, team members Katy (Year 13) and Lucy (Year 10) were unable to attend on this occasion. Mrs Hartwell looked after the team members at the venue and provided this report:

The Hall School, Belsize Park were great hosts and made all the contestants very welcome. The competition was efficiently run, with wide ranging topics for the questions. There was a healthy spirit of competition between the teams and good-natured sportsmanship.

I would like to thank all those who helped in our run to the Finals this year and also those who took part in Junior 'Schools Challenge' for Years 7 and 8, in which we were unfortunately knocked out in the preliminary rounds. I would particularly like to thank Mrs Hartwell, who kindly stepped in for me when I was unable to travel down to the Finals.

This year marks the end of my involvement in 'Schools Challenge', after Mr Armsbey passed me the baton of organising our participation in the autumn of 1992. For many years, BGS has hosted the regional heats of both the Junior and latterly the Senior versions of the competition. A large number of people, both staff and students, have helped to make those events a success over the last three decades.