Newsflash: Central Otago school pupils are well informed on current events.
They proved it last night at the Central Otago years 9-10 Otago Daily Times Extra! current events quiz and they proved it on Wednesday night in the years 5-6 and years 7-8 section of the quiz.
The three top-scoring schools last night were all in the 90s. Winner Wakatipu High School 2 gained 93 points out of 100.
The scores were even higher in the younger age group the night before.
A year 5-6 team from Cromwell’s Goldfields School were the superstars, only one point off a perfect score.
Last night’s winning team, Jake Finnigan, Francesca Archibald and Archie Ritchie admitted preparation was not their strong point.
"We haven’t really been doing any extra study," Archie said.
It was Jake’s second time as a member of the winning quiz team but he modestly said he probably kept up with the news "the least" compared with his fellow team members.
Their "amazing" social studies teacher Mrs [Linda] Richards was responsible for their success, the team said.
"She’s our MVP and the star of the team ... even though she isn’t here tonight," Jake said.
"She’s been encouraging us a lot and said don’t bother coming to school the next day if we didn’t win."
Archie said the competition was nerve-racking.
"It was a bit scary looking around at all the other teams."
Maps and geography was the team’s strong point and their general and political knowledge let them down at times, they said.
The event was held at Cromwell College and all the district’s high schools were represented last night.
A total of about 80 pupils, in 27 teams, took part.
Pupils were tested on flags, well-known faces, geography and general knowledge, as well as their ability to find answers during a "scavenger hunt" through the newspaper.
Quiz co-ordinator and ODT Extra! editor Ivan Behrnes said teams scored particularly highly in this week’s quizzes.
The next round, for schools in the wider Dunedin area, will be next week, followed by the Central South Island round in Timaru in a fortnight.
More than 3000 pupils take part in the annual ODT Extra! spelling and current event quizzes every year.
