Labone Senior High School (SHS) contestants broke down in tears after surviving a tense contest against Notre Dame Seminary SHS and T.I. Amass, Wa in the 2026 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) Preliminary stage.

The emotional scenes came moments after Labone SHS secured a narrow 41-39 victory over Notre Dame Seminary, with the two schools trading the lead at different stages of the contest.

Labone SHS began strongly, taking a 12-10 lead in Round One, but Notre Dame Seminary responded emphatically in Round Two to move ahead by 18 points, while Labone SHS slipped to 11 points.

The contest swung back in Labone’s favour during the Problem of the Day, where the school produced a perfect 10/10 to climb to 21 points. Notre Dame added five to reach 23 points.

Notre Dame still held a slender advantage heading into the final stages, but Labone SHS turned the contest around in Round Four, moving from 21 to 37 points, while Notre Dame reached 30 points.

Labone SHS then held on in the final round to finish on 41 points, just two points clear of Notre Dame Seminary’s 39 points. T.I. Amass, Wa, ended the contest on three points.

The victory was particularly sweet for Labone after a contest marked by several changes in momentum and intense pressure, culminating in an emotional celebration from the contestants.

Their perfect performance in the Problem of the Day also earned Labone the Jupay Clean Sheet prize after they successfully answered all the True or False questions.

Notre Dame Seminary may have missed out on the win, but they also walked away with the Goil Riddles Bonanza after answering three of the four riddles.

The result adds another memorable chapter to the two schools’ NSMQ journeys. Notre Dame Seminary came into the contest with considerably more national experience, having recorded notable performances in previous editions.

Labone SHS, meanwhile, has also established itself as a regular national competitor, although it has yet to break into the top tier of schools that have dominated the competition.

For T.I. Amass, Wa, the contest was another valuable experience in its historic first appearance at the national championship.

The 2026 National Science and Maths Quiz is produced by Primetime Limited and sponsored by the Ghana Education Service with support from Goil PLC, Prudential Life Insurance, Trustur AI, Jupay Money Transfer, Lumevax, GTP, SpinCITI Laundromat, Didi Jollof, Bel Beverages, Accra College of Medicine, Coronation Insurance, Academic City University and YFM.

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