Marist Brothers High School reigned supreme at the Old Mutual High School Quiz competition, fending off stiff competition from Zengeza High 1 to land the top prize at a two-day event held in Harare on Friday 2 December.
In the nail-biting finale, the competition was divided into six heat sessions in which points were collected. Marist Brothers came out on top with 54 points and Zengeza High 1 became the first runner-up with 52 points, with only two points separating the two schools.
Both schools were a crowd favourite because of their quickness to respond to the questions asked.
Pamushana High School and Thornhill College took second and third runner-up positions with 34 points and 28 points respectively.
In an interview after the event, Marist Brothers quiz mentor Committee Magwada heaped praise on his boys for the hard work they put in and their fighting spirit to win the competition. He also gave a special thanks to the team captain Rodney Matikari, a form one student who led and held the team together.
“I am very proud of my boys and how hard they have worked to get here. I always encourage them to stand tall and fight till the end and today we go back to Nyanga as the nation’s best quiz team… this has been an insightful and exhilarating experience all thanks to Old Mutual Zimbabwe and its partners for organizing a beautiful tournament,” Magwada said.
Prize giving was done by the Old Mutual Group Chief Operations Office (GCOO) Mr. Isiah Mashinya and Tyson Mudarikiri, Book of African Records, Acting Chief Executive Officer.
“It is with no doubt that the students were well prepared and had done their thorough research. Some of the questions were difficult even for adults present and everyone who attended took away one or two learnings. Congratulations to all students who showed up and participated. To the winners and runners ups makorokoto, amhlophe,” Mudarikiri said.
The national finals were held at Cresta Lodge in the capital through a two-day programme that was mixed with different activities for the students apart from the quiz itself. The program started from 1 December to 2 December 2022.
The ten schools in the running to become the number one grandmaster and also the provincial winners were present to represent their provinces were Harare Province-Zengeza High, Bulawayo Province- Montrose High, Midlands – Thornhill High, Mashonaland West- Sandringham High, Masvingo- Pamushana High, Manicaland- Marist Brothers Nyanga, Mashonaland Easts- Daramombe, )Mashonaland Central – Chipindura, Matabeleland South – St Mary’s and Matebeleland North – David Livingstone.
Old Mutual Zimbabwe shared an in-depth lesson on financial education through its ‘On The Money’ program at the Old Mutual offices and also had the chance to meet Mr. Mashinya.
“I didn’t know that learning about finances can be this fun and easy to understand. I will teach my fellow peers in school and share the free materials availed by Old Mutual” said one of the participating students.
After the training and motivational talk, the students were given an exclusive tour of the Mutual Garden Solar Farm. Some students commented that it was their first time in the capital and couldn’t wait to get back home and let their friends and family know about their experience.
Day one ended with inspiration and imparting of historical knowledge to the students. They were taken on a trip to explore the Museum of African Liberation. The students were shown the rich history of Africa. The museum guide encouraged the students to love their continent and tell beautiful African stories that are not encapsulated with hate.
D-day was on the 2nd of December – the day of the national finals. The participating students were both eager and anxious to fight for the title of Quiz champion.
The students departed on the 3rd of December heading back to their schools. The quiz finals were streamed live on Old Mutual Zimbabwe’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Highlights of the event will also be streamed on 3kTV later in the month.