Wa Senior High School has once again proven that strategy and self-belief can trump convention. In a surprising yet commanding performance at the Upper West regional qualifiers of the 2025 NSMQ, Wa SHS secured a spot at the national championship, without any biology students on stage.

They topped the final regional contest with 47 points, comfortably ahead of Kaleo Senior High Technical and St. Francis Girls’ SHS, who both finished with 27 points. But the real story was who wasn’t on the team: no biology students.

“The two contestants are science students, yes, but they don’t offer biology. They’re both ICT majors,” revealed a third member of the team who was on the bench during the contest.

In a competition where biology is a core subject, this would normally spell trouble. But not for Wa SHS. Their response? Learn it anyway.

“Although we don’t study biology in class, we read it on our own,” said Wisdom Gana, one of the contestants. “We tracked the common topics that usually appear in contests and mastered them ourselves.”

The bold approach paid off. Calm, confident, and composed, the team handled biology questions just like any other, sailing through a contest they later described as “easy.”

“It was normal for us,” they said. “We have a saying, impossible is nothing, and we believe in that.”

Wa SHS is no stranger to the nationals, having made multiple appearances in recent years. But they’ve yet to break into the latter stages like the semi-finals or finals. This year, with renewed determination, they believe it’s possible.

“They’re not carrying two heads. We’ll go there and give our best. We trust in God, and we believe in ourselves,” Wisdom said, referring to top schools at the nationals.