Goldfields School team sets record

A Goldfields School team set the standard by correctly answering every question in the Central Otago final of the Otago Daily Times Extra! current events quiz in Cromwell last night.

The team from the Cromwell school - Hannah Elliott and Della Clark (both 11) and Courtney Vowles (9) - scored 99 points out of 100 in the year 5-6 section, setting a Central Otago record, quiz organiser Ivan Behrnes said.

"We've been holding this quiz for five or six years and this is the first time that's happened in the Central Otago circuit," Mr Behrnes said.

The only mark they lost came in the "What Am I?" round, where pupils were given clues about an object.

The points decreased as more clues were given.

Nearly 100 pupils from schools throughout Central Otago took part in the year 5-6 current events final, with another Goldfields team coming second (96 points) and a Queenstown Primary School team third (93).

Later, more than 150 contested the year 7-8 final, won by Mt Aspiring College pupils Fraser Hannon (13), Sam Andrews and Rick Sanders (both 12) with 92 points.

An Alexandra Primary team was second, one point behind, and an Arrowtown Primary School team came third (89 points).

Pupils were tested on a wide range of current events.

One question sorted out how well they knew countries' flags and another focused on interpreting cartoons.

They had to identify famous faces from New Zealand and around the world, all of whom had appeared in the Extra! tabloid this year.

They also completed a "Scavenger Hunt" by sorting through a copy of the Otago Daily Times to find answers to a list of questions.

Today, the spotlight turns on year 9-10 pupils in the district, who will gather in Cromwell for the current events quiz.

The Otago Daily Times Extra! current events quizzes are part of the newspaper's Class Act project, which celebrates the excellence of young people.

Extra! is a monthly educational publication produced by the newspaper for senior primary, intermediate and junior secondary school pupils.

Last week, the Otago Daily Times Class Act/Extra! entry received the top young readers prize in the 25,001-90,000 circulation category at the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association's Newspaper of the Year awards, presented in Sydney.