Difference between revisions of "Schools Challenge"
(Major overhaul of Schools' Challenge page) |
(I wrote this page when I did not fully understand the meaning of ‘quizbowl’ in its most accepted sense- the page has been edited to atone for that and to clarify the status as it stands. Hopefully may be due a major rewrite soon though…) |
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| − | '''Schools' Challenge''', also known as the '''UKSC''' since 2022, is the largest and only active | + | '''Schools' Challenge''', also known as the '''UKSC''' since 2022, is the largest and only active quiz competition for secondary schools in the UK, in lieu of the existence of [[quizbowl]] at that level. Initially based on (but unaffiliated with) [[University Challenge]] and originally established in 1978, it today involves around 250 secondary-level schools. |
== Format == | == Format == | ||
=== Match format === | === Match format === | ||
| − | The match format of Schools' Challenge borrows heavily from its namesake, albeit with a few key differences. [[Tossups]], or starters as they are known in the UK, are worth 10 points followed by three bonus questions worth a further 10 points each. [[Bouncebacks]] are permitted and common. If all three bonus questions are successfully answered, an extra 10 points are awarded to form a tossup-bonus round worth 50 points. In a match, 25 of these 'rounds' are played, before a timed five-minute 'lightning round', different to the previous rounds in that conferring time for bonuses is reduced from 10 to 4 seconds, is played to finish the match. If a match is tied, 'sudden death' tiebreakers are played until a winner is found. | + | The match format of Schools' Challenge borrows heavily from its namesake, albeit with a few key differences. [[Tossups]], or starters as they are known in the UK, are worth 10 points followed by three bonus questions worth a further 10 points each. [[Bouncebacks]] are permitted and common. If all three bonus questions are successfully answered, an extra 10 points are awarded to form a tossup-bonus round worth 50 points. In a match, 25 of these 'rounds' are played, before a timed five-minute 'lightning round', different to the previous rounds in that conferring time for bonuses is reduced from 10 to 4 seconds, is played to finish the match. If a match is tied, 'sudden death' tiebreakers are played until a winner is found. There are no picture or music rounds as in University Challenge. |
| − | Starters are, however, | + | Starters are, however, [[non-pyramidal]] at all levels (and rarely more than two lines even at national level) and there are no [[powers]] or points penalties for [[negs]] throughout the competition. As a result, buzzer speed has been emphasised historically as a a key component of success in Schools' Challenge to a degree unlike in other competitions and it cannot be considered to be [[quizbowl]] or even [[bad quizbowl]] despite ostensible similarities in format and academic focus. Bonuses are of the same style as comparable quizbowl tournaments though and their general difficulty tends to mirror with the [[NAQT HSNCT]]. |
| − | === Competition format=== | + | === Competition format === |
Schools' Challenge is technically divided into ''two'' competitions: Junior Schools' Challenge, open only to those years covered by private preparatory schools in the UK (which in practice means the first two years of middle school) and Senior Schools' Challenge, open to all of secondary school age in the UK (in practice all years covered by middle and high schools in the US) and more prestigious and widely played than the former, which is largely restricted to a smaller circle of mainly private schools. A unique rule for the latter competition is that two students out of the team of four must be in Year 10 (ninth grade) or below, both a nod to historically a portion of rounds being reserved to these younger, 'junior' players and a way to prevent domination of teams by older students. | Schools' Challenge is technically divided into ''two'' competitions: Junior Schools' Challenge, open only to those years covered by private preparatory schools in the UK (which in practice means the first two years of middle school) and Senior Schools' Challenge, open to all of secondary school age in the UK (in practice all years covered by middle and high schools in the US) and more prestigious and widely played than the former, which is largely restricted to a smaller circle of mainly private schools. A unique rule for the latter competition is that two students out of the team of four must be in Year 10 (ninth grade) or below, both a nod to historically a portion of rounds being reserved to these younger, 'junior' players and a way to prevent domination of teams by older students. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Question sets are written in-house by volunteer question writers unaffiliated with any other organisation within or outside the UK. While questions are broadly sequenced from regional to national level, difficulty can end up varying significantly within a [[packet]] and there is no set distribution of topics publicly or privately, even if previous packets are available to order. While that question focus is nevertheless of a generally strong academic standard, notably science and mathematics questions are far less common than in [[quizbowl]] with the gap being filled by other topics; primarily the arts, current events and [[trash]]. | ||
| + | === Tournament format === | ||
The Schools' Challenge tournament structure is divided into sixteen regions- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all form one region each while England is divided into the remaining thirteen. The borders of these regions vary and the number of teams per region also varies- as a general rule, teams from the North of England make up a slight majority of entrants and there are at least eight teams per region. A one-day regional tournament is played in each region around November/December of each year (some regions play separate matches instead)- in some larger regions such as NW England, it is organised as a round robin before a final between the two highest scoring teams, but generally this is played as a straight knockout tournament in most regions. The 16 regional champions produced from this process then play an inter-regional fixture against the champions of a neighbouring region, with the winner making up one of eight National Finalists. This is the only way to qualify for the National Finals. | The Schools' Challenge tournament structure is divided into sixteen regions- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all form one region each while England is divided into the remaining thirteen. The borders of these regions vary and the number of teams per region also varies- as a general rule, teams from the North of England make up a slight majority of entrants and there are at least eight teams per region. A one-day regional tournament is played in each region around November/December of each year (some regions play separate matches instead)- in some larger regions such as NW England, it is organised as a round robin before a final between the two highest scoring teams, but generally this is played as a straight knockout tournament in most regions. The 16 regional champions produced from this process then play an inter-regional fixture against the champions of a neighbouring region, with the winner making up one of eight National Finalists. This is the only way to qualify for the National Finals. | ||
| − | The National Finals are the ultimate competition and are hosted in a central location in the UK | + | The National Finals are the ultimate competition and are often hosted in London (as they are this year) or in a central location in the UK (Warwick, for example, has been used in recent years) by a friendly school in a one-day tournament. The Nationals also take a knockout form, but every team is guaranteed at least two games: the losers of each quarter-final then play against one another for the National Plate as a consolation prize in a parallel competition, as Plate semi-finalists. From this tournament, the National Champion for the year is then crowned. There is no limit apart from age from appearing more than once. |
===Equipment=== | ===Equipment=== | ||
| − | [[Buzzers]] are of standard format- many schools use models sourced from the now-defunct Jaser Electronics, but | + | [[Buzzers]] are of standard format- many schools use models sourced from the now-defunct Jaser Electronics, but alternatives such as Buzzin.live are more commonly used (mainly at lower levels) instead. There is also a growing trend of DIY buzzer sets made in-house, as well as limited use of American-made models such as Andersons'. |
| − | == | + | == Notable successes == |
| − | Schools' Challenge is open to all schools but is dominated by private schools and selective state schools to a lesser extent (notably | + | Schools' Challenge is open to all schools but is dominated by private schools and selective state schools to a lesser extent (notably Lancaster RGS won it three times in 2010, 2012 and 2013 as the latter). Non-selective state schools have never achieved meaningful success in the history of the competition. The most successful team in history is the Westminster School, with nine senior championships since 2005 including the current (2022) crown. Other successful schools include KES Birmingham with six championships and the Perse School Cambridge with three (and a record seven junior championships). These teams tend to be ever-presents at the Nationals and qualify almost every year. |
Most schools in the competition are either partially or completely single-sex male, reflecting the education system in the UK, and the only all-female team to qualify for the nationals is Bournemouth School for Girls, who won the Plate in 2019. | Most schools in the competition are either partially or completely single-sex male, reflecting the education system in the UK, and the only all-female team to qualify for the nationals is Bournemouth School for Girls, who won the Plate in 2019. | ||
| + | Data on individual players is unknown and not kept as it is in quizbowl competitions- due to the [[speed-check]] nature of starters which promote generalism, [[one-person teams]] are very common so if data were kept, it would heavily reflect that. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
* [[University Challenge]] - the televised university equivalent | * [[University Challenge]] - the televised university equivalent | ||
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[[Category:British quizbowl]] | [[Category:British quizbowl]] | ||
[[Category:High school formats]] | [[Category:High school formats]] | ||
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Bad quizbowl]] |
Revision as of 19:03, 11 June 2023
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| President or CEO | Robert Grant and Ben Mooney | |||
| Location: | UK, Nationwide | |||
| Status | Active | |||
Schools' Challenge, also known as the UKSC since 2022, is the largest and only active quiz competition for secondary schools in the UK, in lieu of the existence of quizbowl at that level. Initially based on (but unaffiliated with) University Challenge and originally established in 1978, it today involves around 250 secondary-level schools.
Format
Match format
The match format of Schools' Challenge borrows heavily from its namesake, albeit with a few key differences. Tossups, or starters as they are known in the UK, are worth 10 points followed by three bonus questions worth a further 10 points each. Bouncebacks are permitted and common. If all three bonus questions are successfully answered, an extra 10 points are awarded to form a tossup-bonus round worth 50 points. In a match, 25 of these 'rounds' are played, before a timed five-minute 'lightning round', different to the previous rounds in that conferring time for bonuses is reduced from 10 to 4 seconds, is played to finish the match. If a match is tied, 'sudden death' tiebreakers are played until a winner is found. There are no picture or music rounds as in University Challenge.
Starters are, however, non-pyramidal at all levels (and rarely more than two lines even at national level) and there are no powers or points penalties for negs throughout the competition. As a result, buzzer speed has been emphasised historically as a a key component of success in Schools' Challenge to a degree unlike in other competitions and it cannot be considered to be quizbowl or even bad quizbowl despite ostensible similarities in format and academic focus. Bonuses are of the same style as comparable quizbowl tournaments though and their general difficulty tends to mirror with the NAQT HSNCT.
Competition format
Schools' Challenge is technically divided into two competitions: Junior Schools' Challenge, open only to those years covered by private preparatory schools in the UK (which in practice means the first two years of middle school) and Senior Schools' Challenge, open to all of secondary school age in the UK (in practice all years covered by middle and high schools in the US) and more prestigious and widely played than the former, which is largely restricted to a smaller circle of mainly private schools. A unique rule for the latter competition is that two students out of the team of four must be in Year 10 (ninth grade) or below, both a nod to historically a portion of rounds being reserved to these younger, 'junior' players and a way to prevent domination of teams by older students.
Question sets are written in-house by volunteer question writers unaffiliated with any other organisation within or outside the UK. While questions are broadly sequenced from regional to national level, difficulty can end up varying significantly within a packet and there is no set distribution of topics publicly or privately, even if previous packets are available to order. While that question focus is nevertheless of a generally strong academic standard, notably science and mathematics questions are far less common than in quizbowl with the gap being filled by other topics; primarily the arts, current events and trash.
Tournament format
The Schools' Challenge tournament structure is divided into sixteen regions- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all form one region each while England is divided into the remaining thirteen. The borders of these regions vary and the number of teams per region also varies- as a general rule, teams from the North of England make up a slight majority of entrants and there are at least eight teams per region. A one-day regional tournament is played in each region around November/December of each year (some regions play separate matches instead)- in some larger regions such as NW England, it is organised as a round robin before a final between the two highest scoring teams, but generally this is played as a straight knockout tournament in most regions. The 16 regional champions produced from this process then play an inter-regional fixture against the champions of a neighbouring region, with the winner making up one of eight National Finalists. This is the only way to qualify for the National Finals.
The National Finals are the ultimate competition and are often hosted in London (as they are this year) or in a central location in the UK (Warwick, for example, has been used in recent years) by a friendly school in a one-day tournament. The Nationals also take a knockout form, but every team is guaranteed at least two games: the losers of each quarter-final then play against one another for the National Plate as a consolation prize in a parallel competition, as Plate semi-finalists. From this tournament, the National Champion for the year is then crowned. There is no limit apart from age from appearing more than once.
Equipment
Buzzers are of standard format- many schools use models sourced from the now-defunct Jaser Electronics, but alternatives such as Buzzin.live are more commonly used (mainly at lower levels) instead. There is also a growing trend of DIY buzzer sets made in-house, as well as limited use of American-made models such as Andersons'.
Notable successes
Schools' Challenge is open to all schools but is dominated by private schools and selective state schools to a lesser extent (notably Lancaster RGS won it three times in 2010, 2012 and 2013 as the latter). Non-selective state schools have never achieved meaningful success in the history of the competition. The most successful team in history is the Westminster School, with nine senior championships since 2005 including the current (2022) crown. Other successful schools include KES Birmingham with six championships and the Perse School Cambridge with three (and a record seven junior championships). These teams tend to be ever-presents at the Nationals and qualify almost every year.
Most schools in the competition are either partially or completely single-sex male, reflecting the education system in the UK, and the only all-female team to qualify for the nationals is Bournemouth School for Girls, who won the Plate in 2019.
Data on individual players is unknown and not kept as it is in quizbowl competitions- due to the speed-check nature of starters which promote generalism, one-person teams are very common so if data were kept, it would heavily reflect that.
See also
- University Challenge - the televised university equivalent
- Top of the Form - a similar, now defunct televised edition
- Quizbowl in the United Kingdom