Saarah-Mensah Auditorium, October 17, 2023.
Keta SHTS wins out today's contest.
The academic ring today, had a tough battle experienced at the Saarah-Mensah Auditorium among three institutions: Keta SHTS, Tamale SHS and St. Augustine's College. At stake was: who survives to see and live the Semi-finals after today's Quarter-finals? The auditorium was packed with eager spectators, mostly students from different schools who had come to support their contestants. The learned Quiz Mistress, Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, presided over the contest. The survivor of the fittest at the end of the contest was Keta SHTS standing prominently at 44 points.
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.
Seeded schools: 'AUGUSCO' and Keta SHTS battling for a seat at Semis.
St. Augustine's College and Keta SHTS are seeded schools due to their exceptional academic performance in the 2022 NSMQ. This expectation was clearly demonstrated in today's solid contest, providing the audience with a vibrant 'edutainment' and intriguing experience.
Keta SHSTS led early in the first round after answering two questions right. In the course of the contest, St. Augustine's College didn't disappoint since questions dished out by the Professor was scored perfectly building up points. Tamale also followed, came up very strong with major points. For a while, even though 'AUGUSCO' and Tamale SHS managed to add up points by seizing bonus opportunities, Keta kept basketing more bonus points than any other contestant giving them extra points ahead.
'Jama' in the audience especially from AUGUSCO and Keta SHS served as a source of morale and motivation to allow their respective contestants on stage to keep going and encouraged even in times of wrong answers provided. Wrong answers provided by St. Augustine's College and Keta SHTS gave Tamale SHS a window of opportunity to slide through as winners of this round leading with just 1 point ahead, hence a total of 20 points recorded on the score sheet. 19 points by Keta and St. Augustine's 18 points revealed a very close contest it was.
During the Pepsodent Speed Race, there was a series of questions presented to the contestants. Joshua, representing AUGUSCO, tackled the first set of questions, but he couldn't answer within the ten-second time limit. The representative from KETASCO took on the next question and answered it correctly, which was about radius spinning on an axis. TAMASCO's contestant, Labo, responded meaningfully to a question about amplitude.
The next question was related to the molarity of an aqueous solution of citric acid, and the Quiz Mistress, Prof. Kaufmann, had to modify and clarify the question to ensure that the candidates could respond effectively. The following question focused on the total number of atoms present in an empirical formula, and Courage, the contestant from DZOLALIAN, managed to obtain a point through his hard work. As a result, KETASCO took the lead in this round with a total score of 27 points.
The Problem of the Day presented a mathematical question for all the schools to tackle. Interestingly, Tamale emerged as the only school to excel in this problem, achieving an impressive score of 3 out of ten. Keta, the leader in the previous round, had a significant drop with only 1 out of 10, placing them last in this particular round. St. Augustine's College, who had been at the bottom in previous rounds, took the second spot in this round by scoring 2 out of 10.
When the scores were tallied from all rounds, Keta SHTS maintained their lead with a total of 28 points, securing their victory after three rounds of competition.
The wit of Courage and Nelson takes 'Ketasco' to NSMQ next level.
Before Round four, St. Augustine's College made a substitution, bringing in Joshua to replace Boison. The first question came with a preamble. Courage from St. Augustine's College answered incorrectly, while Labo from Tamale SHS got it right and continued to maintain his lead over his competitors.
Similarly, the students from Augusco had Courage focusing his efforts on St. Augustine's and Tamale, allowing the Tamasco boys to gain an advantage. There was a brief preamble about the reactions in an equilibrium of a reactant turning into an end product, and this time Courage answered it correctly.
Enoch, the candidate from St. Augustine's College, demonstrated his determination and intellectual prowess, pushing his competitors to excel. Labo and Courage made their best efforts to raise the bar, while Boison from St. Augustine's College relinquished his position.
In conclusion, Tamale SHS earned 32 points, St. Augustine's College had 29 points, and Ketasco stole the show with an impressive 38 points.
”Actions speak louder than words," and this saying held true for Keta SHTS during the True False stage. In the beginning, Keta chose to remain silent while Tamale and Augusco spoke encouraging words. Realizing Keta's strategy, they decided to demonstrate their knowledge by correctly answering two riddles, while the others could only manage one each.
The top scorer in this intense battle was Keta SHTS, securing a strong lead with 12 points, which was 9 points ahead of both Tamale SHS and St. Augustine's College. This dominant performance resulted in a landslide victory with a total of 44 points.
The Quiz Mistress welcomed Keta SHTS to the semi-finals and wished the other schools the very best next time.
The sight of semi-finals excites 'Ketasco' Alumni
The Round-by-Round Scores for this contest stood as follows:
Round One General Questions (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology)
Keta SHS 19
Tamale SHS 20
St. Augustine's College 18
Round Two (Pepsodent Speed Race)
Keta SHS 27
Tamale SHS 22
St. Augustine's College 17
Round Three (Problem of the Day)
Keta SHS +1 28
Tamale SHS +3 25
St. Augustine's College +2 19
Round Four (True/False)
Keta SHS 38
Tamale SHS 32
St. Augustine's College 29
Round Five (Riddle)
Keta SHS 44
Tamale SHS 35
St. Augustine's College 32
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!