KNUST Auditorium, October 13, 2023.
St. Augustine's College fires through to the Quarter-final Stage after an exceptional academic performance.
The third day of the One-eighth Stage competitions at the KNUST Auditorium was filled with excitement as the only West Africa NSMQ Champion, St. Augustine's College; the Royal Beads, Aburi Girls' SHS; and St. Peter's SHS competed for a spot in the Quarter-final Stage. Each of these schools displayed impressive academic skills, but ultimately, St. Augustine's College emerged as the winner, leading to a painful exit for both Aburi Girls' SHS and St. Peter's SHS.
The 30th Anniversary edition of the National Science & Maths Quiz kicked off, on October 6, 2023. As an exciting highlight of the 30th Anniversary celebrations, this year's NSMQ is being hosted in two distinct regions: KNUST in Kumasi and National Theatre in Accra. This historic occurrence represents the first time the National Championship spans across two regions. KNUST serves as the venue for the Preliminary four stages of the competition, with the Grand Finale scheduled at the National Theatre.
The three schools showcase intense academic rivalry
St. Augustine's College and St. Peter's SHS are both seeded schools from the Central and Eastern Regions, having demonstrated exceptional academic excellence in NSMQ 2022. In this contest, St. Augustine's College managed to secure victory against St. Peter's SHS, showcasing their continued excellence.
In the first round, St. Peter's SHS and Aburi Girls' SHS began with speed, ending impressively tied at 19 points each, taking a two-point lead over St. Augustine's College. All three schools answered the first two questions correctly, but St. Augustine's and St. Peter's gained an advantage by correctly picking up bonus questions that Aburi Girls' missed. The round was intense, marked by protests from both Aburi Girls' and St. Augustine's, with one protest upheld. The round was somewhat prolonged due to several protests. In the end, Aburi Girls' and St. Peter's tied with 19 points, while St. Augustine's was close with 17 points.
'AUGUSCO' giving the contestants a showdown.
In the Speed Race, St. Augustine's demonstrated their academic prowess and steadily rose through the ranks. In the end, they emerged as the leaders with a strong 26 points. Aburi Girls' and St. Peter's, who were initially tied with St. Augustine's, fell behind with 14 and 23 points, respectively. St. Augustine's successfully built momentum from their last-place position in the first round to claim the top spot in this round.
For the Problem of the Day in physics, St. Augustine's excelled once again, scoring 08 out of 10. A substitution for St. Augustine's further strengthened their lead. In contrast, the other schools tied with 07 out of 10. In total, St. Augustine's secured an impressive 34 points, while St. Peter's and Aburi Girls' improved their scores to 30 and 21 points, respectively. St. Augustine's showcased their dominance in this round.
Excellent delivery by 'Augusco' at the One-eighth stage
The True/False Stage concluded with Aburi Girls' facing a tough academic challenge from the boys. While Aburi Girls' made a commendable effort, they couldn't match the boys' performance. The primary competition was between St. Augustine's and St. Peter's SHS. St. Peter's answered all the questions correctly, while St. Augustine's missed just one. In the end, St. Augustine's maintained their lead with a resilient 50 points, outscoring St. Peter's at 43 points, and Aburi Girls' at 31 points.
Furthermore, St. Augustine's secured glory by correctly answering two riddles, making them the top-scoring school. St. Peter's managed to grab one riddle but couldn't surpass St. Augustine's. Aburi Girls' had exhausted their fuel at this point. St. Augustine's successfully qualified for the Quarter-final Stage with 56 points, while St. Peter's and Aburi Girls' scored 43 and 34 points, respectively. St. Augustine's displayed their dominance in this round.
Welcome Team Augustine's for a reserved seat at the Quater-final Stage.
The Round-by-Round Scores for this contest stood as follows:
Round One General Questions (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology)
St. Peter's SHS 19
St. Augustine's College 17
Aburi Girls' SHS 19
Round Two (Pepsodent Speed Race)
St. Peter's SHS 23
St. Augustine's College 26
Aburi Girls' SHS 14
Round Three (Problem of the Day)
St. Peter's SHS +7 30
St. Augustine's College +8 34
Aburi Girls' SHS +7 21
Round Four (True/False)
St. Peter's SHS 43
St. Augustine's College 50
Aburi Girls' SHS 31
Round Five (Riddle)
St. Peter's SHS 43
St. Augustine's College 56
Aburi Girls' SHS 34
The 30th Anniversary Edition of the NSMQ is proudly brought to you by the Ghana Education Service in partnership with GOIL and supported by JoyNews, AT, Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, Pepsodent Toothpaste, Beta Malt, GARNET, Coronation Insurance, Academic City University College, Accra College of Medicine, Cowbell, Bel Beverages, GTP, Newmont Ghana, Africa World Airlines, and YFM. This is a Primetime production!