Awe Senior High Technical School (SHTS) has qualified for the 2025 NSMQ, but the story of how they got there goes far beyond the final riddle.

The team earned their place at the nationals with a hard-fought victory in the Upper East Regional Qualifiers, finishing with 31 points to edge out Bolgatanga Girls' SHS (27 points), Bawku SHS (19 points) and Bongo SHS (14 points).

The final riddle sealed the win, but behind that moment was a journey of grit, determination, and quiet frustration.

With no functioning school bus, the contestants had to travel from Navrongo to Bolgatanga on motorbikes, a stressful and exhausting trip. “It was really tough,” Zeme Clifford Mbabon, a contestants said. “We were affected, but we had to push through and support ourselves and the school.”

According to the team’s coordinator who is also a Physics teacher, Evans Wepia Awu, the physical strain was not the only challenge. The team had to deal with a broken chain on one of the bikes before even leaving Navrongo.

“We had to beg people to help us continue the journey…It was not planned, but the other means of transport delayed, and we did not want to miss the contest.”

Mr. Awu explained that while the school technically has a bus, it’s in such a deplorable condition that teachers once had to get down and push it to get it moving during a previous trip.

“There’s nothing to write home about. We often rely on tricycles or motorbikes. Many team members could not even join us because of transport issues.”

Despite these obstacles, Awe SHTS stayed focused. Their qualification marks their third appearance at the NSMQ nationals since 2022, following earlier efforts in 2022 and 2023, where they couldn’t progress past the preliminary stages. But this year, the team believes things are different.

“These boys have been on their toes,” Mr. Awu said. “They have worked hard, and we have a headmaster who has supported us every step of the way. Without that leadership, we would not be here today.”

While other schools arrived in buses and cheered with large delegations, Awe SHTS stood nearly alone, but not discouraged. “We saw them come in numbers, but we were not shaken,” the contestant said. “We believed God would help us deliver something good for our school.