Holy Child School has crashed out of the nationals of the 2024 National Science and Math Quiz (NSMQ) competition after losing the regional qualifiers with a single point.
The hope of the ladies from Cape Coast to secure another slot was dumped by Breman Asikuma Senior High School.
The consistency of Holy Child at the national competition over the past few years ranked them favourites going into the 6th Central Regional contest which featured Eguafo Abrem SHS, Obrachire SHTS, and Breman Asikumah SHS.
But, Holy Child lost their grounds in the first round with 14 points, behind Breman SHS who had 16 points.
The ladies however, bounced back to come top of the group with 15 points at the end of the second round, leaving Breman and Obrachire SHTS with 11 points at par.
In a surprising turn of events, Obrachire SHTS combated all three schools, finding their way to the top at the end of round 3. They led with 21 points, Holy Child School 19 points, Breman Asikuma SHS 16 points, and Eguafo Abrem SHS, 9 points.
The race became an open fight for all four schools, with 20 points up for grabs from four riddles in the final round.
Interestingly, no school was able to get any of the first three riddles right. Breman Asikuma then took a shot at the last two riddles on the final clues and got them right, adding 6 points to the 16 points to win the contest with just 22 points.They have an opportunity to compete in the Regional Championship.
They were booted out at one-eighth of the national competition, but they are hopeful to progress to the quarter-finals in this year’s competition.
Holy Child School will hope to come back stronger next year.