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The second day of the quarter-final contests of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) promises to be full of fireworks as some traditional giants and past winners come face to face at the R.S. Amegashie Auditorium at the University of Ghana.

In one of the quarter-final contests fit to be described as ‘Clash of the Titans’, two past winners - Prempeh College and Achimota School - alongside Wesley Girls High School will square off in the second of the three quarter-final contests scheduled for the day.

While Prempeh College has won the NSMQ four times - 1994, 1996, 2015 and 2017 - Achimota School has won it twice, 1998 and 2004. Of the three schools, Wesley Girls High School (Wey Gey Hey) is the only school that has never won the contest since it began in 1994.

Indeed, no girls’ school has ever won the competition, and if Wey Gey Hey is able to survive the ‘heat’ of the two past champions - Prempeh and Achimota - then they could be on their way to making history.

Although Wey Gey Hey has won the top prize at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Excellence Awards more than any other senior high school (SHS) in the country, it has not been able to translate that dominance to the NSMQ.

First contest

The first quarter-final for the day will have St John’s Grammar School, Tepa SHS and Accra Academy competing. None of them has ever won the competition.

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Accra Academy looks the favourite, but the NSMQ over the years has shown that names do not guarantee success as some great schools have been shocked by less popular schools.

Third event

In the third and last quarter-final contest of the day, three-time winners and defending champions, St Peter’s SHS (2000, 2005 and 2018 winners), will meet T.I. Ahmadiyya SHS of Kumasi and Kpando SHS. If St Peter’s are able to defend the trophy they won last year, they will be at par with the Presbyterian Boys’ SHS (Presec), Legon, who won the competition in 2008 and successfully defended it in 2009. Presec is the only school to have won the competition five times - 1995, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Yesterday, which was the first day of the quarter-final contests, Presec, Legon qualified for the semi-final, accounting for Pope John’s SHS and St John’s School. The contest ended with Presec amassing 68 points, Pope John’s 47, and St John’s 22.

In the other contest, Opoku Ware SHS emerged winner with 64 points, while the University Practice SHS had 45 points and the St Ignatius of Loyola SHS had 21 points.

The scores at the end of the third contest stood as Adisadel College 46, Kumasi Academy, 42 and Ghana SHS, Tamale, 14 points.