Elite school Achimota SHS have recorded a routine win at the preliminary stage of the National Science and Maths Quiz, bu still considered it worth celebrating following dwindling performances in recent times.

Shrugging challenges from schools in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions, Achimota l finished with 44 points to keep St. Louis SHS at bay with 30 points and Atebubu SHS with 9 points.

The Achimota SHS win is better than the 2017 edition where they were absent from the main stage. The elite school appeared to fancy an early victory as early signs of a school trying to bounce back to "the table of men."

Achimota SHS has been suffering diminishing returns as their reputation at NSMQ has suffered in recent times. The only mixed school to have won the competition twice has endured mixed results since 2015.

The best memories of a semi-final berth in 2015 was erased by a shock 2016 defeat to less fancied Nifa SHS at the one-eighth stage.

In 2017, the school did not even qualify for the national contest after defeat by St. John Grammar School at the regionals. They stayed home to watch their contemporaries slug it out on TV.

But they made amends in 2018 where they won their regionals beating Tema SHS and Presby Osu SHS to get to this stage.

At the University of Ghana Business School in Accra, Achimota set and early marker, keeping a 7 point distance from St.Louis SHS. They doubled the distance to 14 points in the second round and run away with s slot for the next stage maintaining the 14-point difference.

UGBS: End of round 1: Achimota School: 17 St. Louis SHS: 10 Atebubu SHS: 02

UGBS: End of round 2: Achimota School: 25 St. Louis SHS: 11 Atebubu SHS: 02

UGBS: End of round 3: Achimota School: 30 St. Louis SHS: 14 Atebubu SHS: 05

UGBS: End of round 4: Achimota School: 37 St. Louis SHS: 24 Atebubu SHS: 09

UGBS: End of contest: Achimota School: 44 St. Louis SHS: 30 Atebubu SHS: 09