HeronBridge quiz team claims their spot in the High School Quiz: Bragging Writes quarter-final

Great knowledge of literature and film took centre stage at Skoobs, Montecasino on 15 February as four local schools battled it out in the first round of the High School Book Quiz: Bragging Writes.

HeronBridge College, Reddam House Helderfontein, Steyn City College and Fourways High School were each represented by teams comprising of learners from Grade 8 to Grade 10.

Kirsten Rolston, store manager of Skoobs, welcomed the learners along with their parents who had come out to support them, as well as Lizelle Langford of the Read Educational Trust. Read, the adjudicator of the quiz operates primarily as an educator development agency in the fields of language, literacy and communication.

“The reason we started this quiz is because we don’t think people read enough, we don’t think children read enough,” said Rolston.

“People spend a lot of time on their phones and tablets so we want to promote literacy to the high schools. So that’s why you’re here.”

Rolston added that 74 per cent of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read. “It’s a very scary statistic when you think about what’s going to happen in this country when those children get to matric and eventually get jobs so we want to try in our own small way to promote reading.”

The second floor of the Skoobs book store was abuzz as children and parents eagerly anticipated the questions they expected while Harry Potter strolled through the crowd, with wand at the ready, to support Reddam House. Jordan Peringuey had taken on the honorary task of playing JK Rowling’s beloved character as the Reddam House mascot. Accompanied by his parents, Shelley and Greg, as well as brother Justin, little Jordan was one of the highlights of the night; even donning Harry Potter’s famous scar on his forehead.

Natasha Sutherland, local celebrity who is best known for her roles in Operation Delta Force and Egoli: Place of Gold, was introduced as the charming quizmaster for the evening and kept the children entertained with her charismatic hints and sarcastic sense of humour. Reddam House Helderfontein was in the lead by the end of the first half of the evening and HeronBridge followed closely.

The teams were truly tested in the second half with questions proving more difficult before the scores were tallied up to reveal that HeronBridge College had taken the win with 51 points out of 61. They move straight to the quarter-finals in September while Reddam House Helderfontein took second place, Steyn City School came third and Fourways High came in fourth place. They will face Brescia House School next month for another chance to land their spot at the quarter-finals.

The quiz will be spread out in a series of rounds before the finals in December.

Participants are also encouraged to bring along a book that they would like to donate in order to support the work of Read.

Which school do you think will win next month’s quiz night on 15 March? Share your guesses on the Fourways Review Facebook page. Also be sure to try the Fourways Review book quiz.

Related article: 

https://www.citizen.co.za/fourways-review/296526/clients-textbooks-challenge-working-studying/