Koforidua Sec. Tech, Aburi Presby SHTS and St. Rose’s SHS are among six schools that have qualified to the One-eighth Stage from the Eastern Region Prelims. The other schools that qualified were Ofori Panin SHS, Nkwatia Presby SHS and Osino Presby SHTS. These six schools – together with St. Peter’s SHS, Pope John SHS and Oti Boateng SHS (seeded schools) – will represent the Eastern Region at the One-eighth Stage of the competition in Accra.

Here’s a summary of the Eastern Region Preliminary Stage:
Contest One – The first contest started with Asamankese SHS and Aburi Presby SHTS going neck-and-neck. In the second round, however, Aburi Presby SHTS took charge and answered most of the Speed Race questions correctly. Hence, the second round ended with Aburi Presby SHTS in a comfortable lead with a 16-point margin. The third round did not go well for any of the schools; Aburi Presby SHTS managed to earn three points, while Asamankese SHS and Adukrom SHTS each scored zero. In the fourth round, Aburi Presby SHTS further widened the gap by answering all their True/False statements correctly. Even though the other two schools also performed well in the fourth round, they were too far behind to catch up with Aburi Presby SHTS. The contest ended with Aburi Presby SHTS winning. Asamankese SHS and Adukrom SHTS lost the contest with 19 and 13 points respectively. With 47 points, Aburi Presby SHTS won the AirtelTigo Highest Scorer of the Day award for Day 1.

Contest Two – Ofori Panin SHS won their contest by a hair’s breadth; one point. The second contest started with Ofori Panin SHS in full control of the game, however, they lost steam in the second round. They picked a majority of the Speed Race questions but answered most of them wrongly, which caused them to lose a lot of points. In the final round, Abetifi Presby SHS, who had been lagging behind in the previous rounds, gained some momentum in the last two rounds which nearly sent Ofori Panin SHS back home. The contest ended with Ofori Panin SHS in first place with 32 points. Abetifi Presby SHTS and Abuakwa State College lost the contest with 31 and 16 points respectively. With 31 points, Abetifi Presby SHTS had the opportunity to participate in the last contest as one of the two top runners-up, however, they declined the offer.
Contest Three – The third contest was not much of a competition for Nkwatia Presby SHTS, who won the contest with 31 points. The only time their contenders gave them a scare was in the final round, where Adonten SHS answered three out of four riddles correctly to bridge the gap. Adonten SHS placed second with 28 points and got the opportunity to participate in the last contest as one of the two top-runners up. St. Martin’s SHS, could not keep up with the pace and ended in the third position with 15 points. Apart from winning the contest, Nkwatia Presby SHTS also won the GOIL Riddle Bonanza award, worth GH¢800.00, for answering three out of four riddles correctly.
Contest Four – Koforidua Sec. Tech was near-flawless in the fourth contest of the Eastern Region Prelims. They opened the game with a stellar performance which saw them winning the contest with 56 points; the highest score in the region. They walked away smiling with three goodies – a win, AirtelTigo Highest Scorer of the Day award, worth GH¢1000.00 and Prudential Life NSMQ Star award, worth GH¢2000.00, for scoring 10 points in the Problem of the Day.

Contest Five – Osino Presby SHTS started the fifth contest with an unmatched pace that saw them ending the first round with 23 points. However, their pace waned as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, even with the decline in their performance, their contenders – Oyoko Methodist SHS and Akwamuman SHS – could still not keep up. Osino Presby SHTS won the contest with 37 points, while Oyoko Methodist SHS and Akwamuman SHS lost with 26 and 21 points respectively. Akwamuman SHS, with 26 points, joined the last contest as one of the two top runners-up.
Contest Six – The last contest was unquestionably the most keenly contested in the region. Presented with another chance to make it to the One-eighth Stage, Akwamuman SHS and Adonten SHS, who joined the last contest as top runners-up, fought tirelessly till the end. Unfortunately for them, St. Rose’s SHS was a tad too much for them to handle. The girls were clearly hungry for a win, and they made all efforts to emerge victorious. They answered three out of four riddles correctly – the first on the third clue, the second on the second clue and the third on the first clue – to win the contest and end their four-year drought at the National Championship. Interestingly, St. Rose’s SHS lost their contest at the Regional Qualifiers, however, they got the chance to participate in the Preliminary Stage of the competition following Aburi Girls’ SHS’s withdrawal from the competition.
The National Science & Maths and Quiz and Science Festival is sponsored by the Ghana Education Service in partnership with Absa Bank Ghana Limited and supported by Joy News, Prudential Life Insurance, Goil, Airtel Tigo, Dano Milk, Academic City, Accra College of Medicine, Academic City, Central University, GTP, Adansi Travels, Medifem Multi-specialist Hospital and Fertility Centre, Third Eyecare Vision Centre and YFM.
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