The sixth annual The Herald Isuzu Schools Quiz got off to a blistering start with a record 58 Nelson Mandela Bay and Kouga schools contesting the first day of the competition at The Venue at Walmer Park Shopping Centre in Gqeberha on Saturday.
After an intense elimination phase and round of 32 in the morning and afternoon, with several joker rounds and sudden death deciders to ratchet up the competition, the teams were whittled down to 16.
The round of 16 and quarterfinals will take place at Walmer Park Shopping Centre on Saturday May 9, with the semifinals and finals on May 16.
Both days’ competition will be live-streamed on the Herald Facebook page.
Saturday’s first round featured more than 200 pupils, with quizmaster Gareth Burley posing more than 700 questions mostly drawn from The Herald, and covering local, national and international news, business, sport, politics and entertainment.
With prizes worth more than R280,000 at stake, teams of four pupils per school gave it their all.
The day’s highest tally of 12 points went to Lawson Brown High School in their first showdown against Masiphathisane Senior Secondary.
However, Lawson Brown was unfortunate not to qualify for the round of 16 after Pearson High School beat them by just one point later in the day.
Defending champions Theodor Herzl High School had a close call as they lost their first round 8-7 in a sudden-death decider against past double winners Paterson High.
Theodor Herzl earned a second chance based on points, sneaking into the next round by beating St Thomas Senior Secondary 8-6.
Paterson were not so lucky, losing to a well-prepared Nasruddin Islamic School in their deciding round.
Muir College and former champions Alexander Road High School were also among the schools to reach the round of 16.
Muir’s Eshaan Vasi, 17, Caleb Liebenberg, 18, Cody September, 17, and Kyle Hennings, 18, are all in grade 12 and newcomers to the competition.
Eshaan said nerves were not a factor in the questions they got wrong: “We got them wrong because we were clueless,” he quipped, adding that the team had a solid general knowledge to draw on due to being members of their school’s quiz club.
Kyle said their preparations involved each team member taking charge of a different section of The Herald.
“Other boys in the quiz team at school also helped us to prepare, so it has been a larger team effort,” he said.
Alexander Road’s team members are grade 11s Erin Beling, 16, and Muhammad Baboo, 17, team captain Yavela Biko, 14 (grade 9) and Alexandra Schreiber, 13 (grade 8).
Team captain Yavela said their first round against Ncedo Senior Secondary was nerve-racking as she was the only one who had done the quiz before.
However, the team quickly got the hang of it and sailed through their next round against Arcadia Secondary.
All four pupils are members of Alex’s quiz club, which helped them expand their general knowledge, besides studying The Herald every day.
“Each person is responsible for their section [of the paper], but we also go through everything together,” Yavela said.
“Being past champions of the quiz keeps us motivated and wanting to do better in every round. We work well together as a team and we listen to each other.”
Teams stand a chance to win R35,000 from co-title sponsor Isuzu Motors South Africa, to be shared among the top three schools.
Other sponsors include ABSA (gold sponsor), Astron Energy (silver sponsor), Axxess, Walmer Park Shopping Centre, Bargain Books, Woolworths Beauty, Pick n Pay, Woodlands Dairy, Sammo My Tutor, and Waltons.
The Herald and Isuzu Motors SA have been distributing copies of the paper to every participating school to help them prepare.
Welcoming Saturday’s teams, Sharné Woods, Isuzu Motors South Africa’s senior manager: corporate communications, said hundreds of young minds had chosen growth over comfort by entering the quiz.
“As Isuzu Motors SA, we believe the future is built on young people just like you.
“Today is not just about a quiz, but about something much bigger: it’s about what happens when a young person chooses to be curious,” she told pupils.
“Curiosity is powerful, curiosity is what turns questions into ideas, ideas into solutions, and solutions into a better future.
“Every single one of you sitting here has already proven something very important: you were curious enough to try, brave enough to show up today, and you cared enough to compete for your school.
“That already makes you winners.”
The regional general manager of The Herald, Ryan Megaw, thanked the sponsors for supporting the initiative.
Though competing was exciting and fun, the quiz served a deeper purpose by encouraging young people to read, be curious and engage with the world around them, he said.
“Compete hard and stay sharp, but also try to relax and enjoy the experience,” he told pupils.
The round of 16 teams are: Muir College, Woolhope Secondary School, Victoria Park High School, Ethembeni Enrichment Centre, Nasruddin Islamic School, Walmer High School, Uitenhage High School, Theodor Herzl High School, Alexander Road High School, Urban Academy, Sanctor High School, Pearson High School, Stedin College, Bethelsdorp High School, Brylin Independent Learning Centre, and Nico Malan High School.
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