Results of the online heats OF the 2022 Britannica Magazine Schools Quiz Challenge

Click here to see our growing photo gallery of the schools that took part!

We are thrilled to announce the EIGHT schools that have qualified as finalists for the 2022 Britannica Magazine Schools Quiz Challenge.

More than 60 schools competed on Wednesday 9th November in a battle of the brains for a place in the in-person finals at the Bridewell Hall in London on Wednesday 30th November.

“The schools who participated were just brilliant,’ said quizmaster and host Christopher Lloyd: “We couldn’t have wished for a more enthusiastic and motivated cohort of young people, inspired by information about the real world - far more amazing than anything you can make up!”

The Britannica Magazine Quiz Challenge coincides with National Non-Fiction November, a celebration of developing a love of learning through reading, co-ordinated by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups.

The qualifying heats comprised three rounds of 14 questions, with participating schools fielding a team of four pupils each. There were two categories - the 8-11 and 11-14 age groups.

Feedback from pupils and teachers has been just incredible, said Lloyd:

“It was pitched perfectly, Our boys devoured the magazine before the quiz and had a great time,” said teacher Fiona Devine from Bullers Wood School, Bromley, Kent.

Lauren Kim, from Winterboune Boys Academy in Croydon, London, said the quiz was an absolutely fantastic experience: “From getting the students interested in non-fiction reading, to encouraging friendly competition, the Britannica Magazine Schools Contest really went above and beyond in creating an unforgettable experience!”

“Don’t panic, just do the Britannic” said the pupils from Rendlesham Primary, Ipswich.

All questions were taken from back issues of Britannica Magazine - a monthly non-fiction magazine for children aged 6-14, which was launched back in April this year.

Congratulation to our finalists!

The winning schools in the 8-11 age group, who will be joining us for the finals, are as follows:

And the winning schools in the 11-14 age group, who will be joining us for the finals, are as follows:

Britannica Magazine’s quiz co-ordinator, John Gordon-Reid, was responsible for setting questions and marking the entries: “The 11-14 age group had a clear winner at 43 points but the fourth position was a super tight tie with just 8 seconds being the difference in submission time,” he said.

Chris Routh, co-ordinator for National Non-Fiction November for the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, said the quiz represents a fantastic opportunity to participate in something tangible with immediate impact;

“We are delighted to be supporting this - we can’t think of anything more inspiring that to see children being challenged to develop their knowledge about the incredible world around them. This event is such a great way of communicating in an accessible way”

Andrew Pettie, Editor of Britannica Magazine, said the whole magazine team was immensely proud to be launching this new schools quiz. “We absolutely plan to make this an annual event, so I hope next year we will have hundreds of schools involved the length and breadth of the land”.

The 65 schools who took part came from Orkney in the north to Cornwall in the south and from Ulster in the west to Cambridge in the east.

One of the finalists is Stenness Community Primary from Orkney. When Principal Teacher Vicky Leonard was informed that her pupils had won a place in the final, she immediately launched a fund-raising campaign to supplement the costs of travel and accommodation for the pupils who will be travelling to London.

And we can confirm they will be attending, as their campaign raised more than £3,560 in just three hours! Read the latest here!

The answers for any of the schools that might like to see are below: