Success in the Schools Challenge Quiz

A team of four brain-boxes (Scarlett, Helen, Lucia and Victoria) made the journey to St Helen's and St Katherine's School to compete in the regional round of the national Schools' Challenge quiz competition. Their first opponents were the boys of Merchant Taylors' School. Wycombe settled early nerves with a series of accurate answers showcasing Helen's familiarity with Latin terms through to modern soap characters, and Victoria's spectacular understanding of British carnivorous mammals! Despite the boys drawing level, Wycombe composed themselves superbly and made the victory safe with some excellent answers and speedy buzzer-work in the final few minutes, winning 400-350.

Next up were St Helen's and St Katherine's B team.This was an excruciatingly tense affair with Wycombe guaranteed a place in the next round if they won. Scarlett responded superbly to questions on the mineral composition of the Dead Sea and works of the the Beatles, and Lucia was unstoppable when it came to naming capital cities (always a staple of a good quiz). After ingesting most of their fingernails and a toenail or two, the teams were tied at 260 points apiece. It all came down to the final question: Which item of headgear raised £81,000 on eBay in May? St Helen's and St Katherine's got there just before Wycombe with the correct answer: Princess Beatrice's wedding hat.

Since Merchant Taylors' had beaten St Helen's and St Katherine's, the overall winner would have to be decided by a complicated score differential calculation. After the necessary mathematics had been completed and verified, Wycombe Abbey were declared the deserved winners of the round! Huge congratulations to the team and the very best of luck in the next stage. So, it's goodbye from Scarlett, Helen, Lucia and Victoria, and goodbye from me. Goodbye.

Mr Franks