The Central Regional Championship of the National Science and Maths Quiz began today with nineteen schools competing for just four available slots in tomorrow’s final.

Thirteen schools, fresh from their victories in the qualifiers, have been joined by six seeded schools, setting the stage for a fierce battle among some of the region’s brightest contenders.

In the first contest of the day, St Augustine’s College, Hope College, Nyakrom SHTS, Mfantsiman Girls, and Obiri Yeboah SHS went head-to-head in a spirited competition that drew loud cheers and strong support from the stands. The Augusco boys showed up in their numbers, and even before the contest began, they were heating up the auditorium with vibrant jama songs.

Round one saw all the schools except Mfantsiman Girls getting their first set of questions right. Nyakrom SHTS capitalized on the miss from Mfantsiman by picking the bonus and answering correctly. As the round progressed, St Augustine’s College stayed consistent, picking up both their main and bonus questions.

By the end of the first round, they had built a strong lead with 25 points. Mfantsiman Girls followed with 17 points, Nyakrom SHTS scored 14, and both Hope College and Obiri Yeboah trailed with 4 points each.

Then came the second round the speed race, where St Augustine’s truly took control. They rang for the first three questions and answered all correctly, igniting loud cheers from their supporters. No school attempted the fourth question, but Augusco returned to ring and answer the fifth.

While all schools tried their hands on the sixth, none got it right. St Augustine’s answered all but three of the questions in the round, stretching their lead significantly.

At the end of round two, St Augustine’s College had shot up to 46 points. Mfantsiman Girls, though dropping a point, remained in second with 16. Nyakrom SHTS stayed close with 14, Obiri Yeboah climbed to 12, and Hope College followed with 11. Substitutions were made across the board, except for Obiri Yeboah, who stuck with their original trio.

The third round, focused on true or false questions, saw fairly clean runs from most of the schools. Hope College and Obiri Yeboah were the only ones who made errors. At the end of the round, St Augustine’s maintained their commanding lead with 59 points, Mfantsiman rose to 34, Nyakrom moved up to 27, Hope College climbed to 21, and Obiri Yeboah stood at 20.

The contest came to a close in the final round, with St Augustine’s College sealing their dominance and grabbing the first slot of the day with 65 points. Mfantsiman Girls ended the contest with 38 points, Nyakrom SHTS scored 30, while Hope College and Obiri Yeboah wrapped up with 21 and 20 points respectively.