305 teams took part in this year's 11th National Inter-Schools Science Quiz Championships and one of our two St John's teams reached the Finals at Oxford University Museum of Natural History. AS always, the questions were above and beyond the knowledge of the National Curriculum but the children took the challenge in their stride and battled it out for second place. Amanda Blair, Science Quiz representative, praised Miss Brunning and the successful team, "We are so pleased you enjoyed the quizzes throughout the year and especially the Finals and congratulations to your team for their tremendous score."
The annual National Years 5 and 6 (Forms 3 and 4) Science Championship is an exciting and challenging way for children to broaden their scientific knowledge as well as for young scientists to showcase their abilities as part of a team representing the school. From the solar system to the smallest creatures on earth, from inventions that transform the world to science on everyday lives, the Quiz encourages participants to explore science in a fascinating, engrossing and educational way. With more than 400,000 Key stage 2 children taking part each year the Quiz Club National Championships are the largest inter-school competitions in the country.
There were Area Heats running across the country during November, with the Semi Finals in December and the National Finals in January, hosted by Oxford University Museum of Natural Science, where the final 12 teams from across the country competed for the title of National Science Champions. Each quiz was presented by a professional Quizmaster with players using personal handsets to answer a range of very challenging questions. Each quiz comprises 40 multiple choice science questions covering subjects such as human biology, astronomy, great inventors and inventions, physics, zoology, ecology, earth science, oceanography, geology, meteorology, botany and chemistry.
One of team members who represented St John’s throughout this year’s Championships explained, “We were so excited to reach the Finals after working so hard to get to this stage and we were all so happy to get to second place! Not only did we have to have in-depth scientific knowledge but we also had to make sure we discussed tricky questions carefully, listen to everyone’s ideas and work collaboratively.”