On 18 March, St John’s entered two teams of four Year 5 and four Year 6 pupils into the National Inter-Schools General Knowledge Championship area heat. With more than 400,000 children taking part each year, it is the largest Inter-School Quiz competition in the country. The Inter-Schools organisers explained, 'In light of the unusual situation schools find themselves in this year, we have decided to run all our Championship events live online with year groups each having their own competitions to ensure children in the same bubble play together as a team.'
The area heat is hosted live online by the Quizmaster and the 'show' is played by teams from schools across the country and in a similar vein to a television game show with instant onscreen scoring making it good entertainment.
Each team used one Chromebook and the team members were encouraged to confer before selecting their answers. Question topics included momentous events in history, geographical landmarks, art, music, literature, science, mathematics, cultures from around the world, current affairs and world knowledge. The Quizmaster included a great deal of additional information around each question, which the children absorbed, broadening and improving their knowledge further around the 40 questions answered. At the end of the Heat the top 3 teams were announced in reverse order and the top 10 teams from each Heat were invited to take part in the National Finals. Parents of team members were also able to follow the Area Heat live online.
Miss Rachel Brunning, General Knowledge coordinator, said. ‘Both teams impressed their teachers with their behaviour and collaboration. They coped well with some very tricky questions and, thanks to superb teamwork, they performed extremely well together under pressure, holding their nerve and thinking logically.’ One of the participants remarked, ‘It was really exhilarating but we calmed our nerves and made sure everyone discussed the answers.’
For more information: Inter-Schools General Knowledge Quiz Championships