In nerve-racking contests that left six schools on tenterhooks in the Upper West Regional Library, four schools have made the final cut to the national championship.

Wa SHS, Queen of Peace SHS, Lawra SHS and St. Francis Girls of Asisi will join two-time finalist, St. Francis Xavier SHS to represent the region.

To cap their victory, a resounding guard of honour was held on the campus of Wa SHS for the contestants who have brought yet another victory to the school.

There were ecstatic scenes as students sang at the Wa regional library after Wa SHS booked the last slot to the national championship for the Upper West region.

After six exciting, nail-biting contests that left six winning schools in suspense, four schools booked slots at the national tournament with their enthralling runs.

Queen of Peace SHS who won their contest with an impressive 56 points is coming into the national tournament with spiritual backing.

“God prepared this season for us since first year. This is our time to clinch the title for the school and the Upper West region,” one of the contestants said.

Taking the second slot, students of Lawra SHS are promising a meltdown for any school that may cross their path.

“We will melt any school we meet. The new motto we are sending to the national championship to any school is go home,” a contestant stressed.

Lawra SHS beat their contenders Ullo SHS, Jamiat Islamic Girls’ SHS and Northern Star SHS by a 31-point margin.

The quiz master did not run weary of calling in the contestants from Lawra SHS to whisk away bonuses from the other competing schools.

In the third contest for the day, St. Francis Girls of Assisi, Jirapa beat their all-time rivals, Nandom SHS in a comeback, winning by a 4-point margin.

The boys from Nandom who proved their intellectual prowess in the first two rounds were surprisingly outrun by the ladies in the third round after they failed to answer correctly some of their True/False questions.

It was a gloomy day for the boys who had earlier promised to “use the girls as mobs to scrub the floor”.

“I am elated we beat them. We don’t talk much. The end always justifies the means,” one of the ladies from St. Francis of Assisi said.

Back at the campus of the Wa SHS, a resounding guard of honour was held for the contestants as the school made its second appearance at the national competition, as teachers and students could not hide their excitement.

“I am really excited. This year is our year. It’s the second time my school has qualified for the championship. Our limit is beyond the skies,” a lady student of Wa SHS said.

The school boasts of prominent old students including Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin and JoyNews’ Rafik Sallam.

The four schools will bear the torch for the region in hopes of clinching the national championship for the Upper West Region.