The Buckingham Prep Maths Quiz teams were in a positive and enthusiastic mood as they set off for the first heat of the Maths quiz at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School on Thursday 10th May. Two teams of four boys were due to take part, but when we arrived we found one school had dropped out, so four more of our boys stepped up to the challenge to form an additional team. Our three teams would face three teams from Haberdashers’ and two teams from Howe Green House School.
All three of the Buckingham Prep teams started well, scoring maximum points with the first few questions. As the questions became a harder, tactics came into play, with some teams splitting their answers in the hope of achieving at least some points even if they weren’t completely sure of the answer. As the quiz went on, gaps began to emerge between the scores of the 8 competing teams. Before long, our first team was in joint first place alongside the top team from the host school. Our other two teams were also doing well and in the top five.
With ten questions left to answer, the tension was mounting in the hall. A particularly tricky question arose, and our first team lost the lead to Habs. Over the next few questions the lead swapped a number of times between our first team, Habs and our second team. Habs tried their best, but Buckingham displayed pure determination and superb mathematical skill and knowledge and refused to let them close the gap. By the time the boys reached the final question, our first team was in the lead, followed by Habs. Excitement rippled through the audience as quick calculations revealed that even if the Buckingham boys could not reach a unanimous answer in the last question, as long as one of the team players selected the right answer, there was no way Habs could overtake their score. The question was…would our second team manage to overtake Habs? Everyone held their breath as the final scores came in. Only half of the Habs team answered correctly, whilst every member of our second team got the correct answer. They had done it….they managed to push Habs into third place and achieve a thoroughly deserved second place!
At the end of the quiz our boys had achieved 1st and 2nd places, with our third team achieving a respectable 5th. Our first team have earned a place in the next round and there is a possibility of the second team getting into the next round as a wildcard. Fingers crossed they will have the highest runner-up score and make it to the semi-final.
All the boys deserve a special mention as they worked so well in their teams, applied sensible tactics throughout the quiz, and did not allow themselves to be overwhelmed by competing against other schools. Well done boys, we are very proud of you!
Quiz team members Team 1: Sushant (c), Yakub, Sanjhay, Aditya Team 2: Anshul (c), Ubaydullah, Ace, Jay Team 3: Nabarun (c), Rohan, Arjun, Veer Reserves: Hasnain, Aakash
Categories: School News
