The De Putron Challenge is returning to the school calendar in November and this year will include some Channel Island primary school Year 6 teams for the first time.
The De Putron Challenge is returning to the school calendar in November and this year will include some Channel Island primary school Year 6 teams for the first time.
The Guernsey De Putron Challenge, now in its seventh year, will take place on 4 November at St James Concert and Assembly Hall and the fourth Jersey Challenge will happen on 11 November at the Hotel de France. The event culminates in an inter-island showdown at Jersey’s Radisson Blu Hotel on 18 November.
The educational quiz, run in a similar format to University Challenge, traditionally featured students over the age of 16, but last year’s event included Year 8 students for the first time and was met with great success. In response to this, primary Year 6 students will now also feature in the event.
Channel Television’s Rob Moore will once again return as quiz master and teams will be tested on areas such as general knowledge, Channel Island history, culture and media and more, all in the name of winning prize money for their school and a coveted trophy.
The post 16 students will also face a mental aptitude round, which will test the mettle of their mental agility in a fast-paced, logic-based format.
Last year’s De Putron Challenge in Guernsey was won by Elizabeth College in both the Post-16 and Year 8 categories; the titles in Jersey went to Jersey College for Girls and Les Quennevais in the Post-16 and Year 8 categories respectively.
The inter-island final in Guernsey saw Les Quennevais and Elizabeth College come out victors.
In this year’s competition, winners from all three age groups will face finalists from their neighbouring island in the final.
Hayley de Putron, trustee of the Ana Leaf Foundation and founder of the De Putron Challenge, is optimistic about this year’s biggest ever event.
“I am continually astonished by the high level of knowledge that the students demonstrate and there is always an atmosphere of good sportsmanship. It was a risk expanding the competition last year, but one that paid off and we are now looking forward to welcoming yet another age group and a new dimension to the event,” she said.
“Spirits are always high at the event. It’s fun. It’s educational. But most importantly it is a chance to celebrate academic prowess and show that it is cool to be clever,” she said.
Quiz master Rob Moore said he anticipated an exciting competition.
“I love being involved; it has been a real honour and great to see how the whole event has developed over the past six years. It will be interesting to see how the Year 6 students fare and I imagine the Year 8 teams will return readier than ever for their second year,” he said.
Spectators, families and friends of teams are all invited to come along and cheer on their respective teams. Guests are encouraged to bring along home-made banners to support their teams, with a prize on offer for the most imaginative, colourful and original.
For those who can’t attend, a live stream of the inter-island final will be available online, with links appearing on the official social media channels on the day.
For more information and updates on the De Putron Challenge follow @DePChallenge on Twitter or search for ‘De Putron Challenge’ on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/De-Putron-Challenge/172677649487583