Top four teams decided for semifinals of Herald Isuzu Schools Quiz

Pupils from schools across Nelson Mandela Bay and Kouga stepped up their game at the weekend as they competed for a place in the next round of The Herald Isuzu Schools Quiz.

The four schools that successfully navigated the round of 16 and quarterfinals at The Venue at Walmer Park Shopping Centre on Saturday were Theodor Herzl High School, Pearson High School, Victoria Park High School and defending champions Uitenhage High School. 

Intense competition for a semifinal slot saw 2022 and 2023 winners Paterson High knocked out by 2023 runners-up Victoria Park, who then also dispatched one of the top three finishers from previous years, Morningside High, in the quarterfinals. 

Pearson High School has been one of the strongest teams to emerge in 2025, dispatching 2024 runners up Collegiate Girls’ High School for a place in the semifinals. 

The four schools still left in the competition have a shot at prizes valued at R290,000. 

With almost 900 questions posed so far, quizmaster Gareth Burley tested the teams of four on their knowledge of local, national and world news, business, sport, politics and entertainment.

Bongani Siqoko, coastal chief commercial officer of Arena Holdings, publishers of The Herald, said he was impressed by the level of preparation. 

“Some of the questions were very difficult; I didn’t know all of the answers and yet the schools got them right. All the questions came from The Herald, so these pupils have read hundreds of articles over the past few weeks.

“The Herald Isuzu Schools Quiz is our small way to boost knowledge and contribute to the advancement of education in this region,” he said.

Siqoko had this advice for the final rounds: “We had a school on Saturday which fell out because, even though they knew the correct answer, they twice — in the rush to respond — ended up giving the wrong answer.”

This was a heartbreaking way to leave the competition, he said.

“Each team is allocated 30 seconds to come up with an answer. Use the time you are given, relax, don’t rush. And if you are still unsure, ask for the question to be repeated.”

The eight teams which reached the quarterfinals in the morning were Uitenhage High School, Strelitzia, Walmer High, Theodor Herzl, Collegiate, Pearson, Victoria Park and Morningside. From there the competition heated up even more, with the top four advancing to the semifinals. 

The semifinal and final rounds will take place at Walmer Park on Saturday May 31, and will be live-streamed on the Herald Facebook page from 9am.

Victoria Park achieved the highest points — 11 — in their round of 16 against Paterson, with VP and Pearson joint top scorers in the quarterfinals with nine points each, having beaten Morningside and Collegiate respectively.

Uitenhage High’s winning team from 2024, Ethan George, Caleb Seloane, Zachary Valtein, all 17, and Alizwa Mamkeli, 18, are determined to hold on to the title.

They beat Brandwag High 6-3 in their round of 16 opener, but their well-prepared Kariega neighbours Strelitzia High did not make it easy in the quarterfinals: in one of the most closely contested rounds of the day, Uitenhage beat Strelitzia 8-7.

“Our first round today [Saturday] was challenging and very tight,” Zachary said. 

“It went better in the second round. Though we could’ve done better, I believe we can win this competition again.”

Caleb said there was pressure on them to retain the title.

“Getting to the semifinals is a stepping stone towards achieving that,” he said.

Alizwe said they were following the same “game plan” that made them winners in 2024, but this time would focus on details and names, especially the hard-to-pronounce ones.

Team captain Ethan said: “Local news was one of our weaknesses today; business as well, and, to a degree, entertainment,” adding they would sharpen their focus in these categories.

Theodor Herzl are another team to watch, with members Charlotte Marran, Liyemah Funani, Morgan Johnson and Haroon Aslam, all in grade 11, causing an upset by beating Woolhope Secondary School in a 7-6, round-of-16 sudden-death finish.

The dark horses of the competition followed this up with an equally nerve-racking 7-6 sudden-death quarterfinal, sending top team Walmer High School home.

“It felt amazing,” an elated Charlotte said, with Morgan, the only team member who also took part in 2024, adding this was the furthest the school had progressed since the relaunch of The Herald Isuzu Schools Quiz five years ago.

Haroon said: “Having general knowledge is important to me and my family. And it is important for the four of us to work together and combine our knowledge as a team to represent our school.” 

Unlike most of their competition, Liyemah said they had no team captain and had not assigned specific categories such as sport or politics to any particular member. 

“We also started preparing quite late as we’ve had exams,” she said. 

Teams stand a chance to win R35,000 from co-title sponsor Isuzu Motors South Africa, to be shared among the top three schools. 

There are also prizes from Astron Energy (silver sponsor), Axxess, Walmer Park Shopping Centre, Bargain Books and Woolworths, and the competition has welcomed three new additional prize partners in Pick n Pay, Tiger Brands (Beacon) and Sammo My Tutor.

The Herald and Isuzu have been distributing copies of the newspaper to every participating school to help them prepare.

The Herald