Opoku Ware School on Monday night won the third semi-final to join St. Augustine’s College and Mfantsipim School in what promises to be an electrifying grand finale of the 2025 National Science and Maths Quiz.
The three schools, all previous champions are set to battle for supremacy and academic glory, as Mfantsipim seeks to defend their 2024 title against two of Ghana’s most formidable science powerhouses.
St. Augustine’s College and Mfantsipim School earlier in the day went through to the grand finale in the second and first semifinals.
St Augustine's picked the second spot in the grand finale from the second semi-final after beating Pope John and Amaniampong senior high schools.
Pope John's was leading as of the end of Round 4 but St Augustine's overtook them and won the contest with 46 points as against 38 by Pope John and 23 by Amaniampong.
In the first semi-final of the day, Mfanstispim also urged out Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) from Takoradi and Mankranso Senior School from the Ashanti Region.
Mfantsipim, the 2024 winners who are defending their title stretched with a 19 points difference, winning with 42 points as against 23 by GSTS and 15 by Mankranso SHS.
From Cape Coast, where the competition is being hosted, Shirley Asiedu-Addo and Joana Kumi reports that Mfantsipim School once again demonstrated their academic brilliance in booking a place in the grand finale of the 2025 competition setting the stage to defend the trophy they proudly lifted in 2024.
The semi-final contests, which began with intense competition among Ghana’s top-performing schools, witnessed a thrilling showdown at the School of Graduate Studies Auditorium (SGS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
Mfantsipim faced Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) and Mankranso Senior High School in a five-round contest that tested speed, accuracy, and problem-solving skills.
In the first round, which focused on fundamental questions, Mfantsipim School took an early lead with 17 points, followed by GSTS with 7 points and Mankranso with 6 points.
The second round was not too exciting. The speed race was not too exciting as Mfantsipim managed only one point to gain 18 points, while GSTS and Mankranso secured 12 and 5 points respectively.
In the third round, the “Problem of the Day” worth 10 points, Mfantsipim scored one out of 10, bringing their total to 19 while GSTS also obtained one out of 10 and moved to 13, and Mankranso could not get any point making them maintained their 5 points.
The fourth round, which featured true or false questions, saw Mfantsipim accumulating 32 with GSTS and Mankranso earning 20 and 15 respectively.
In the final round, the riddle round, Mfantsipim sealed their victory with 42 while GSTS managed 23 and Mankranso 15, confirming Mfantsipim’s slot in the final stage of this year’s NSMQ.
With this victory, the Cape Coast-based school has once again proven their consistency and intellectual strength, setting their sights on retaining the national trophy.
St. Augustine’s College secures NSMQ grand finale spot in second consecutive year
For the second semi-final of the day, St. Augustine’s College once again proved its intellectual mettle by securing a place in the grand finale of the 2025 NSMQ, marking a second consecutive appearance at the championship stage.
The Cape Coast-based college slid through to the finale after a keen contest between Pope John SHS and Minor Seminary, and Amaniampong SHS from Mampong in the Ashanti Region.
At the end of the fiercely contested semi-final clash, St Augustine's College finished with 46 points against Pope John’s 38 and Amaniampong’s 23.
The contest began on a rather quiet note as all three schools struggled with a set of questions, leaving the audience visibly underwhelmed.
The first round ended with 13 points for Pope John, nine points for St. Augustine’s, and eight points for Amaniampong SHS.
Momentum picked up in the second round, the speed race though the scores remained modest.
By the end of the round, Pope John SHS led with 15 points, followed by St. Augustine’s 11, and Amaniampong trailing with 10.
The competition reached a turning point in the “Problem of the Day,” where St. Augustine’s and Pope John both impressed by securing the maximum 10 points, while Amaniampong failed to score in that round.
By the fourth round, tension filled the auditorium as St. Augustine’s and Pope John went head-to-head, with the two schools separated by only two points, 37 to 35 in favor of St. Augustine’s.
The final round, the riddles, saw St. Augustine’s display composure and precision, solving three out of four riddles correctly to extend their lead to 46 and seal their place in the grand finale.
This victory grants St. Augustine’s College another shot at the championship title, which they narrowly lost to Mfantsipim School in the 2024 edition.
St. Augustine’s would now face Mfantsipim and the winner of the final semi-final contest for the coveted NSMQ trophy, as they aim to reclaim glory and cement their place among the competition’s great schools.
Opoku Ware School books place at grand finale Joins St. Augustine’s and Mfantsipim in NSMQ showdown
OWASS
In the third semi-final Opoku Ware School (OWASS) secured the final slot for grand finale after outclassing regional champions St. Peter’s SHS from the Eastern Region and Achimota School from the Greater Accra Region in a thrilling contest.
The contest saw a fierce battle between Achimota and Opoku Ware right from the start.
However, the Kumasi Santasi-based school quickly established dominance, maintaining their lead through all five rounds to seal their spot in the finale.
In the first round, which featured fundamental questions, Opoku Ware took an early lead with 23 points, while Achimota followed with 14 points while St. Peter’s managed 4 points.
In the second round, known as the speed race, Opoku Ware finished with 24 points, while Achimota maintained 14 and St. Peter’s slipped further behind with 3 points.
In the Problem of the Day segment, worth 10 marks, Opoku Ware scored 5 points, extending their total to 29, while Achimota and St. Peter’s each earned 3 points, bringing their scores to 17 and 6, respectively.
At the True or False round, the fourth stage, Opoku Ware created a commanding gap, amassing 42 points, followed by Achimota with 27 and St. Peter’s with 7.
The contest concluded with the riddle round, where Opoku Ware solved two out of four riddles, raising their final tally to 48 points. St. Peter’s managed to solve one riddle, ending with 10 points, while Achimota School was unable to answer any correctly, finishing with 27 points.
With this victory, Opoku Ware School joins St. Augustine’s College and Mfantsipim School in what promises to be an electrifying grand finale of the 2025 National Science and Maths Quiz.
The three schools, all previous champions are set to battle for supremacy and academic glory, as Mfantsipim seeks to defend their 2024 title against two of Ghana’s most formidable science powerhouses.
