A night of firsts, for a second time, at 30th event

Waihi School pupils Luc Morland (9, obscured), Fynn Borrie (11, centre) and Mark Crosby (9) took part in the years 5-6 Extra! quiz. Photos: Greta Yeoman

Grantlea Downs School pupils (from left) Irihapati McMillan Meager (10), Miglia Schicker (10, obscured) and Rebecca Bramley (11) work on their answers in the years 5-6 quiz.

St Joseph's Ashburton pupils in the years 7-8 quiz (from left) Joey Killworth (12, obscured), Tom Patterson (12) and Tate Dryland (13) look through a copy of the Otago Daily Times.

Last night marked the 30th anniversary of the Otago Daily Times Extra! Central South Island current event quiz.

How did the organisers remember?

The MC for the night, Timaru Girls' High School teacher Hayden Dawson, had been part of the winning form 2 (year 8) team from St Joseph's Timaru in 1989.

The questions may have been different, but the skills were still there as Sacred Heart School pupils (from left) Christian McCambridge (11), Daniel van der Spuy (11) and Jed Fenwick (10) reclaimed their status as winners of the years 5-6 Otago Daily Times Extra! Central South Island current event quiz, held in Timaru last night. Photos: Greta Yeoman

History then repeated itself in the Timaru Girls' High School hall last night as a trio from St Joseph's (Team 21) claimed victory in the years 7-8 quiz.

Molly Gallagher, Thomas Lysaght and Carter West were tied for first place with Team 2 from Waihi School, but beat the competition by an extra digit in guessing China's population in 2017 to take the title.

Waihi then placed second, followed by Team 29, also from St Joseph's.

While St Joseph's did not claim first place in the years 5-6 section, its Team 20 tied for second place with Team 1 from Gleniti School.

First place was won by Sacred Heart School Timaru, whose trio of Christian McCambridge, Daniel van der Spuy and Jed Fenwick claimed the top spot for the second year in a row - with exactly the same contestants.

St Joseph's Timaru pupils (from left) Molly Gallagher, Thomas Lysaght and Carter West (all 12) won the years 7-8 section.

The trio answered 91 out of 110 questions correctly.

They also scored 20/20 in a flags quiz, earning an extra 10 possible points for naming the capital city of the country's flags.

Another Gleniti team, Team 19, placed third.

The region's years 9 and 10 teams are set to compete at Timaru Girls' High School this afternoon.

The quizzes are run by the Otago Daily Times, through Extra!, its monthly Newspapers in Education publication for primary, intermediate and junior secondary school pupils.

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