St. Augustine’s College has secured a place in the NSMQ 2026 Grand Finale to be held in Accra at the University of Ghana on September 10, after producing a commanding performance to defeat five-time champions Prempeh College and 2001 winners Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary in the first semifinal.

The victory means Augusco will make a third consecutive appearance in the NSMQ final since 2024, continuing an extraordinary run of consistency at the national level.

The contest at the Main Auditorium of the University of Cape Coast initially promised a tight three-way battle. After Round One, St. Augustine’s and Prempeh College were tied on 16 points, with Pope John just a point behind on 15.

But Round Two began to reshape the contest. St. Augustine’s edged ahead with 26 points, while Prempeh followed closely on 25. Pope John, however, failed to add to their Round One score and remained on 15 points.

Then came the Problem of the Day, and this was where Augusco began to pull away.

St. Augustine’s College produced an exceptional performance in the Problem of the Day, scoring nine points from the ten available. Prempeh managed 5/10, while Pope John could only muster 3/10.

That lifted St. Augustine’s to 35 points, five clear of Prempeh on 30 and well ahead of Pope John on 18.

Round Four (True or False) offered Prempeh a chance to claw their way back, but Augusco remained firmly in control. St. Augustine’s added 13 points to reach 48, while Prempeh moved to 37 and Pope John to 28.

By the final round, the outcome was increasingly clear. St. Augustine’s eventually finished on 52 points, with Prempeh College ending on 47 and Pope John on 28.

The five-point winning margin over Prempeh capped a performance in which Augusco gradually transformed a tightly contested opening into a contest they controlled.

For Prempeh, the defeat ends their campaign despite a strong challenge from the five-time champions, who stayed within touching distance of Augusco for much of the contest.

For Pope John, the semifinal proved much more difficult. After starting just one point behind the leaders in Round One, they struggled to maintain the pace and eventually finished 24 points behind the winners.

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