On Thursday 7th December, the Charities Committee hosted the grand finale for the University Challenge Competition, raising money for this year’s chosen charities: Lives not Knives and Mind.

The preliminary rounds saw Brecon and Southwark qualifying for the final, after a fierce battle of knowledge against the other Houses. They were now challengers to the teacher team, consisting of Mr. Edge, Ms. Banner, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Schofield, and Mr Lynch—a team of experts with wisdom from a variety of departments.

With the lights falling upon the contestants, the challenge commenced. Students immediately began racing to answer starter questions, reaching in for priority to the following set.

Southwark employed an interesting tactic—buzzing in before the team were able to produce an answer! Unfortunately, this strategy was foiled by the 15-second time limit to answer, but the team put up a valiant effort. Alongside Southwark, Brecon were putting pressure on the teachers, encouraged by the cheers of younger supporters at the back of the JJ Hall.

The student teams appeared to have a lead at the start, making the most of topics such as video games. But as the end of lunchtime approached, the difference in knowledge became apparent, with topics such as literature and TV. The teachers began taking sets of questions at a time—giving the students no opportunity to strike back.

The teachers won a landslide victory, with a score higher than both Brecon and Southwark combined, defending their title after beating the Sixth-Form team two years ago.

Edwin, Year Thirteen