On Thursday 11th January, School hall was alive with activity – crammed with tables and chairs. Mr Nolan headed the stage, armed with a microphone, and presented the quiz with unrestrained enthusiasm. The first of two stages to the quiz had begun, each of which would be made up of four rounds, each centred on a different topic.
There were approximately 64 Eton students present and another 84 from Holyport, all grouped together into over 20 teams. The first round of questions was focused on celebrities, while the second, geography, included some questions about the names of different cities and countries, as well as more difficult challenges based around obscure and indistinctive flags, in addition to the entire metro system of the capital of Venezuela.
Throughout each round constant murmurs of agreement and disagreement followed every question, and as each answer was revealed a merged chorus of both frustration and celebration filled the hall.
The third topic, one on which Mr Nolan seemed particularly passionate about, was food and drink; with questions on recipes and meals, chocolate and sausages, there was one about a fruit to make the round seem slightly healthier.
In the final round of art, literature and film, the participants had to identify stills from new films, passages from famous books, and photographs of well-known artists. At the end of the stage, just before dinner, the group holding the first position on the leader board was the sixth team, who had named themselves team two which added to the humour and good nature of the quiz, and not a little confusion.
We would like to thank Mr Nolan greatly for his time to kindly run the quiz for what was a very entertaining evening.
Peter Anderson
Photos: Thomas Ward
