Brainy pupils prove they are top of the form, so far

St John’s College pupils Lewis Jenkins, seven, Harry Wallace, eight, Alexandra Turner, nine, and James Watson, 11, made up the first team of four representing the school and took first place for south-east Hampshire in the Quiz Club’s KS2 General Knowledge Quiz area heats.

They will now compete in the next round of the competition for a place at the national finals.

Alexandra said: ‘We were really surprised we won as it was very close throughout the competition between us, Sherborne House and Portsmouth Grammar School.

‘However, we managed to get ahead in the final round and won the competition which we are really happy about.

‘Some questions were quite difficult. It was good that we had multiple choice answers as we were able to eliminate ones that were obviously wrong.

‘Having a pupil from each year group in the team meant we could cover a wider range of subjects.

‘I think the hardest questions were the music ones and the easiest were spelling, geography and art.

‘We are really looking forward to competing in the next round and hope we get to the finals which are taking place in London.’

William Collie, eight, Oliver Haynes, nine, Jack Holt, nine, and Rory Bowden, 11, formed the B team and also performed well – taking third place in the competition.

Zac Worrall, the deputy head of the junior school, said: ‘I’m extremely proud of everyone who took part in the competition.

‘Their achievements stem from each pupil’s vast bank of general knowledge.

‘St John’s College has entered a team for the past few years, but this is the first time we have received a first place position, so the team is naturally very proud.’

The National Championships involve more than 400,000 children across the UK and is the largest inter-school competition in the country. Hosted by a professional quizmaster at Portsmouth Grammar School, the area heat was made up of 40 multiple choice questions.