Over the years, schools from the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions have hardly made an impact in the National Championship of the National Science and Maths Quiz. However, St. James Seminary in the Bono Regional Capital, Sunyani, is steadily rewriting history in the 2022 edition. They have successfully booked a place in the Semifinals of the contest. Given their history, many had written them off in the build-up to their Quarterfinal contest against Kumasi Secondary Technical and Ghana Senior High School, Koforidua. Mortifying all pessimists, St. James Seminary, the “Ahoteefoɔ”, have lifted the Bono flag high with a victory!
The contest started at the Saarah-Mensah Auditorium with much optimism for all schools. They all had impressive runs into the Quarterfinals; no one school was to be underestimated. The erudite Quiz Mistress, Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann wished them well and started the contest with a biology question. All three schools were to mention one function of the mouth during digestion. The schools could not impress Prof. Kaufmann with their answers. In their attempts, both Ghana SHS and Kumasi Sec. Tech was given two marks each, and St. James Seminary had a point. At the end of Round One, Kumasi Secondary Technical secured fourteen (14) points, whiles St. James Seminary and Ghana SHS were in an eighteen-point (18) stalemate.
In Round Two, unlike the usual praise singing and rallying of support behind contestants, tension and anxiety filled the auditorium with supporters fidgeting and others murmuring in prayer instead. Benjamin Eyram of St. James Seminary brought some ease to their supporters after correctly answering the first two questions in the Speed Race. Nonetheless, the tension continued into Round Three when all schools came to a nineteen (19) point deadlock at the end of Round Two. The factory setting was on, and a fresh start had begun, the day belonged to the highest bidder, those who utilized their chances in the succeeding rounds.
Winding up the contest in Round Five, Eyram of St. James Seminary had brought on his magical prowess into the round, answering three out of four riddles correctly and clinging to the Goil riddle bonanza prize for St. James Seminary worth GHC1,600 at the Quarterfinals. At the end of the contest, Kumasi Secondary Technical who had filled the auditorium with supporters had twenty-three (23) points; Ghana SHS, Koforidua had twenty-nine (29) points; and St. James Seminary ended the contest with forty-four (44) points.
St. James Sem. SHS will face Kumasi High School and PRESEC – Legon in the second Semifinal contest scheduled for Sunday 23rd October, 2022 at 1 pm GMT.
Points for each Round were as follows;
Round One;
St. James Seminary: 18
Ghana SHS, Koforidua: 18
Kumasi Secondary Technical: 14
Round Two;
St. James Seminary: 19
Ghana SHS, Koforidua:19
Kumasi Secondary Technical:19
Round Three;
St. James Seminary: 19
Ghana SHS, Koforidua:19
Kumasi Secondary Technical:19
Round Four;
St. James Seminary: 35
Ghana SHS, Koforidua:26
Kumasi Secondary Technical:23
Round Five;
St. James Seminary: 44
Ghana SHS, Koforidua:29
Kumasi Secondary Technical:23
The 2022 edition of the National Science & Maths Quiz is sponsored by the Ghana Education Service, in partnership with Absa Bank, and supported by Joy News, GOIL, Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, AirtelTigo, Dano Milk, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Newmont Ghana, Accra College of Medicine, Academic City University College, YFM and Studio HD. This is a Primetime Production
