St. Augustine’s College has advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2026 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) after a dramatic One-Eighth-stage contest at the CNC Auditorium ended with Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School walking off the stage.

The tension began in Round One when St. Augustine’s College protested an answer concerning the meninges.

At the time, Augusco had 20 points, the same as Kumasi High School, while Anlo SHS had 17 points.

The protest could not be addressed immediately because organisers were unable to reach the consultant. Augusco therefore held on to the protest as the contest continued.

The organisers eventually reached the consultant, who agreed that St. Augustine’s College deserved a partial mark for its response.

The Quiz Mistress explained that although Augusco did not provide the complete answer on the meninges, parts of their response were correct.

“St. Augustine’s is good to give us one part of the meninges, so he said I should be generous, so I should give them a partial mark of one point instead of taking everything from them.”

That ruling moved Augusco from 20 to 21 points after Round One, putting them one point ahead of KUHIS, while Anlo remained on 17 points.

The Quiz Mistress then announced another one-point adjustment for Augusco arising from an oversight in the Problem of the Day, involving options B and C. This gave Augusco 3/10 marks in the Problem of the Day after they had initially scored 2/10, Anlo SHS also scored 2/10 and KUHIS scored 1/10.

With the two additional marks accounted for, Augusco gained an advantage that would later become a major source of controversy.

The contest continued with all three schools remaining within touching distance. By Round Four (True or False), however, St. Augustine’s College had begun to pull away.

Augusco finished the round on 39 points, with Anlo SHS on 34 points and Kumasi High School on 27 points.

But the contest never made it to the final Riddles round.

As the schools prepared for the final stage, Anlo SHS walked off the stage, protesting what they described as an undue advantage created by the additional marks awarded to St. Augustine’s College. Kumasi High School subsequently followed suit.

With both competing schools off the stage, the Quiz Mistress eventually declared St. Augustine’s College the winners, confirming their qualification to the quarter-finals.