Next Generation School
| Next Generation School | |
| Location: Champaign, IL | |
|---|---|
| State Championships | 2014, 2022 IESA |
| National Championships | None |
| National Appearances | MSNCT: 2017 |
| Program Status | Active |
| School Size | 300 |
| NAQT Page | link |
Next Generation School is a private K-8 school in Champaign, Illinois. NGS is a major force in the middle school quizbowl scene in central Illinois, being possibly the best middle school team south of Chicago besides Springfield Franklin. Due to the dominance of non-pyramidal questions in the Champaign Metro middle school circuit, NGS has been the only school in the region to consistently play pyramidal questions and attend Saturday tournaments. As a result, many NGS alumni (such as Tim Cho of University of Illinois Lab) have gone on to become strong players for their respective high school teams.
In 2017, NGS competed in their first-ever pyramidal tournament, the 2017 Rockford Auburn Knights Challenge where they placed third in a competitive field of teams such as Keith Country Day, Barrington Station, and Quest Academy, which had much more pyramidal quizbowl experience. As a result, during the week of January 7th, 2017 NGS became the first school to be recognized by NAQT as part of their NAQT Middle School Team of the Week program.
In May of that year, NGS attended the 2017 MSNCT (their only good quizbowl nationals appearance to date). Led by future University of Illinois Lab teammates Lawrence Zhao and Andy Tang, they upset eventual champions Buffalo Grove Aptakisic (led by future Stevenson teammates Arjun Nageswaran, David Lee, and Daniel Ding) in the preliminary rounds and finished T-13th with a 9-4 record after being eliminated by Mounds Park.
After the departure of Lawrence and Andy to Uni Lab in 2017, the team played only one pyramidal tournament between 2018 and 2023. However, during the 2023-24 season, NGS returned to pyramidal quizbowl, playing two tournaments on NAQT questions and qualifying for the 2024 MSNCT.
Notable Alumni
- Tim Cho
- Lawrence Zhao
- Arjun Kala