NSMQ 2026: St. Joseph Seminary SHS, Kumasi Girls’ SHS, Anglican SHS and Winneba Secondary School Advance to One-eighth Stage!

CNC Auditorium - August 21, 2026

The CNC Auditorium came alive on Friday, August 21, witnessing four interesting contests on the second day of the Preliminary Stage of the National Championship of the 2026 National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ).

Mrs. Rachel Annoh moderated all four contests at the CNC Auditorium as Quiz Mistress, commanding the stage with grace, composure and scholarly authority, steering the keenly contested encounters with precision while maintaining fairness, poise and intellectual rigour throughout the day.

At the end of the day, St. Joseph Seminary SHS, Kumasi Girls’ SHS, Anglican SHS, Kumasi, and Winneba Secondary School, all qualified for the One-eighth Stage of the National Championship of the 2026 NSMQ, expressing hope of better performances in the next stage of the competition.

The second day of the Preliminary Stage of the 2026 NSMQ at the CNC Auditorium began with an all-Ashanti Region contest featuring, St. Joseph Seminary SHS, KNUST SHS and SDA SHS, Agona.

KNUST SHS took the early advantage in Round One, but St. Joseph Seminary SHS overturned the deficit in Round Two, the Trustur AI Speed Race, to take control of the contest. The Prudential Life Insurance NSMQ Star Problem of the Day proved challenging for all three schools, prompting the Quiz Mistress to remark that “all the schools had a problem with the problem of the Day.” Each school was awarded one point for its attempt.

Ahead of Round Four, KNUST SHS and SDA SHS, Agona made changes to their line-ups, while St. Joseph Seminary SHS retained its pair of Alphonsos Amigana Atimolga and Theofranklin Takyi. The duo delivered a flawless performance in the Jupay Money Transfer True/False Round, answering every question correctly to secure the Jupay Money Transfer Clean Sheet Award worth GH₵500.

St. Joseph Seminary SHS, whose journey ended at the Preliminary Stage last year, completed its comeback in style, securing 52 points to book a place in the One-eighth Stage of National Championship. KNUST SHS finished second with 39 points, while SDA SHS, Agona placed third with 28 points.

The second contest of the day featured two girls’ schools, Kumasi Girls’ SHS and Tamale Girls’ SHS, and one mixed school, Osei Kyeretwie SHS, with Kumasi Girls’ emerging victorious at the end of the contest.

Kumasi Girls’ SHS, five-time National Championship participants who returned to this year’s competition as one of the Top Runners-up from the Ashanti Regional Qualifiers, got off to a narrow lead in Round One, scoring 13 points. Osei Kyeretwie SHS and Tamale Girls’ SHS followed closely with 12 points each.

Kumasi Girls’ SHS maintained its advantage through the subsequent rounds, eventually pulling away to finish the contest on 43 points and securing a place in the One-eighth Stage. Osei Kyeretwie SHS placed second with 32 points, while Tamale Girls’ SHS finished third with 23 points.

Speaking to the NSMQ Communications Team after the contest, Kumasi Girls’ SHS contestant Eva Korantemaa described their return to the National Championship after a five-year absence as significant.

“The opportunity to attend nationals is significant after five years of absence… We’re not limiting ourselves to a specific target,” she said.

Looking ahead to the One-eighth Stage, Eva said the team was hopeful of a strong performance and shared a message from the Bible for their future opponents: “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.” — Proverbs 21:31.

The third contest of the day brought together Anglican SHS, Kumasi, who reached the One-eighth Stage last year; Shama SHS, who ended their campaign at the Preliminary Stage last year; and debutants Namong SHTS.

Two prizes were won during the contest, but it was Anglican SHS, Kumasi that ultimately carried the day.

Debutants Namong SHTS produced a standout performance in Round Four, the Jupay Money Transfer True/False Round, answering every question correctly to secure the GH₵500 Jupay Clean Sheet Award. The feat earned them second place at that stage and drew applause from even their competing schools.

Anglican SHS, Kumasi, however, had the final say. The school answered all four riddles correctly in Round Five, the GOIL Super Bonanza, to claim the GH₵1,200 prize and seal victory with an impressive 69 points, booking its place in the One-eighth Stage. Namong SHTS finished second with 28 points, while Shama SHS placed third with 25 points.

The final contest for the day was between Fijai SHS, Winneba SHS, and Enyan Denkyira SHTS. The most heated contest of the day ended with just two points between the winner and the second placed school.

Winneba SHS led with 10 points against their close contender, Fijai SHS in the first round, while Enyan Denkyira SHTS had 3 points for the round. Fijai and Winnesec locked horns at the end of the Trustur AI Speed Race Round Two, as both schools scored 22 points. Enyan Denkyira SHTS had lost one point, reducing their figure to two.

The round three, Prudential Life Insurance NSMQ Star (Problem of the Day), eluded all the schools, keeping the competition tight between Fijai SHS and Winneba SHS going into the fourth round.

Fijai SHS came tops with 35 points and won the Jupay Money Transfer (True/False) Clean Sheet Award, which came with a cash prize of GH₵500. Winneba SHS, 35 points and Enyan Denkyira SHTS, 12 points.

However, a substitution before the fourth round by Winneba SHS worked wonders in the round five, GOIL Super Bonanza, where the school correctly answered three of the four riddles for the day.

This changed the results, with Winneba SHS winning the final contest of the day by two points and scoring 44 points against Fijai SHS, who ended the day with 42 points. Enyan Denkyira SHTS kept their 12 points.

Not only did Winneba SHS qualify for the One-eighth Stage with their performance but also walked away with a cash prize of GH₵800 of for winning the GOIL Super Bonanza Award.

A Glance at the Scores for all the Four Contests

First Contest	Second Contest	Third Contest	Fourth Contest
St. Joseph Seminary SHS - 52 points KNUST SHS – 39 points SDA SHS, Agona – 28 points	Kumasi Girls’ SHS – 43 points Osei Kyeretwie SHS – 32 points Tamale Girls’ SHS – 23 points	Anglican SHS, Kumasi – 69 points Namong SHTS – 28 points Shama SHS – 25 points	Winneba SHS - 44 Fijai SHS - 42 Enyan Denkyira SHTS - 12

The 2026 edition of the National Science & Maths Quiz is produced by Primetime Limited and proudly sponsored by the Ghana Education Service (GES), with support from GOIL PLC, Joy News, Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, Pepsodent, Trustur AI, Jupay Money Transfer, Lumevax, GTP, SpinCiti Laundromat, Didi Jollof, Bel Beverages, Accra College of Medicine, Coronation Insurance, Academic City University and YFM.