In a fierce display of knowledge and teamwork, the Quarter-Final Stage of the National Science & Maths Quiz, featuring Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary , Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School , and St. James Seminary SHS , captivated audiences with its excitement and intensity. In the end, it was PRESEC's 59 points that secured their place in the Semi-final Stage. Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary finished with 46 points, while St. James Seminary SHS ended with 31 points.
Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary, hoping to qualify for the Semi-final Stage and potentially win the contest for the third time, saw their dreams shattered after losing out to Presec -Legon.
In the first round, all the competing schools made their best efforts to prove why they deserved a place in the semi-finals. The contestants fiercely competed to answer the questions, but the reigning champions finished with the highest score. Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School and St. James Seminary SHS raised objections to some of their answers, yet the quiz mistress, Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann, firmly upheld her decisions and dismissed the protests.
The Prudential Life Insurance Speed Race provided another opportunity for the three competing schools to demonstrate their speed in answering questions. Once again, the Legon boys excelled in this round.
The Problem of the Day, a Physics question, proved difficult for all the competing schools. St. James Seminary SHS, despite their efforts, managed only a single point in that round. The fan-favorite Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School earned two points, while Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary secured three points.
To gain bragging rights, St. James Seminary SHS and Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School substituted their weakest contestants. The Jupay Money Transfer True/False Round kept the coordinators of the two leading schools, Pope John’s and Presec, on the edge of their seats, as failing to answer questions correctly in this round would mean losing points, significantly impacting their chances of winning the contest.
The fifth round, known as the GOIL Super Bonanza, favoured the reigning champions, who managed to answer three out of four riddles correctly. Initially, both PRESEC and Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary answered two questions correctly in this round. However, PRESEC challenged the quiz mistress's decision to award points to Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary for a question they had previously answered. After consulting with the advisors, the quiz mistress upheld PRESEC's protest and rescinded the three points awarded to Pope John’s.
For their correct answers in the GOIL Super Bonanza, PRESEC-Legon won GH₵1,600, while Pope John’s received GH₵500.
The Round-by-Round Scores for this contest stood as follows:
Round One General Questions (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology)
Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School : 26 Points
St. James Seminary SHS : 20 Points
Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary: 21 Points
Round Two (Prudential Life Speed Race)
Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School : 38 Points
St. James Seminary SHS : 17 Points
Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary: 30 Points
Round Three (Problem of the Day)
Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School : 40 Points
St. James Seminary SHS : 18 Points
Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary: 33 Points
Round Four (Jupay Money Transfer True/False)
Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School : 50 Points
St. James Seminary SHS : 31 Points
Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary: 43 Points
Round Five (Goil Riddle Bonanza)
Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School : 59 Points
St. James Seminary SHS : 31 Points
Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary: 46 Points
The National Science & Maths Quiz is produced by Primetime Limited and proudly sponsored by the Ghana Education Service, in partnership with GOIL PLC, and supported by Joy News, Pepsodent, Jupay Money Transfer, Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, Beta Malt, ALX, KIVO, Bel Beverages, Flora Tissues, Coronation Insurance, Accra College of Medicine, University of Mines & Technology (UMaT), Academic City University College, PMMC Jewellery, GTP, CHASS, YFM and Girlmark Foundation.