In a fiercely contested semi-final that saw Pope John Senior High and Minor Seminary take the lead in the first and subsequent rounds, participants from St. Augustine’s College turned the tide and claimed victory at the end of today’s contest of the National Science and Maths Quiz.
The win represents a watershed moment for the two-time winners, who have won the NSMQ twice before (in 2007 and 2019) and are now within striking reach of a third championship.
The 1st round ended with Pope John SHS and Minor Seminary leading with 13 points while St. Augustine’s College and Amaniampong SHS earned 9 and 8 points respectively.
Pope John SHS continued their leading role in the 2nd round and scored 15 points. AUGUSCO secured 11 points. Amaniampong SHS were still trailing with 10 points.
The Problem of the Day round gave St. Augustine’s College the platform to make a statement by scoring 10 out of 10 points and matching Pope John SHS boot for boot.
In the fourth round of the contest, the Cape Coast based-all-boys school started frustrating the yellow and blue boys by almost getting all questions answered correctly.
They overtook Pope John and as the fourth round came to an end, they were leading with 2 points ahead of the 2001 champions. St. Augustine’s College had 37 points while Pope John SHS and Amaniampong SHS had 35 and 23 points respectively.
In the fifth round, St Augustine’s College extended their lead by scoring 46 points as the competition reached its final conclusion. Pope John SHS were tipped to advance to the finals, but they could only manage a second place with 38 points, while Amaniampong SHS remained comfortable with their 23 points.
Their triumph has proven how determined they were and it has secured them a place in the grand finale, where they will compete against the reigning champions, Mfantsipim School, who previously confirmed their place by outperforming GSTS and Mankranso SHS.
