History team secures place in History Bowl European Championship

A group of Year 11 and Year 12 history students have secured a place in the European championship of the History Bowl following the regional finals held at Trinity School, Croydon.

The History Bowl is an annual international competition for students and lovers of history.  It is a team tournament with multiple different style rounds where teams from different schools compete against each other to ‘buzz in’ with the correct answers.  

The team, led by Year 11 student Jet S, included Year 12 students, Grace H, Zhangir S, Anwen P, Sophie P, Ferdinand M and Josh SP competed against different schools from across London and the South East, qualifying from their group and eventually reaching the final following a thrilling, one-correct-question victory. 

In the final the team were pipped to the post by the Eton School “A” team, but qualified for the place in the championship in Barcelona in June. They also won a plaque which now sits proudly in the History classroom. 

Jet S, said: “This has been our first ever in-person competition; previously, the Bowl team has been restricted to online tournaments without the exhilaration of seeing our opponents face-to-face! The countless hours of practice at lunchtimes eventually paid off in a semi-final against Trinity School, brimming with sweaty palms and trembling fingers on buzzers. Starting off catastrophically behind, the flame of hope was rekindled when our teammates Josh and Zhangir (both L6) delivered successive triple-point answers, bringing us to an eventual victory with a slim lead worth a mere one point. 

“The team certainly did not disappoint, with all members having played a substantial role in bringing home our plaque. I also extend my thanks the History department on behalf of my team. 

“Our achievements could not have happened without Mr Weston sacrificing his Thursday lunchtimes and the support of the rest of the club who couldn't make the competition. We now look forward to another round at Eton College in May, and the European Championships in Barcelona this June.”

Andrew Weston, Acting Head of History, added: “I’m absolutely thrilled that the team have reached the European Championships, particularly as they did so in such nail-biting fashion.  Whilst they’re very kindly thanking me and the department, we’ve got to be clear that it was Jet and the team who were answering the questions!  

“I have nothing but delight for their progress through the competition and their qualification for the finals.  We began to oversee this competition essentially at Jet’s prompting (he was aware of it from a previous school) but I’m pleased to say that from September we’re going to be running it as a further History club, with a view to entering teams into these competitions annually.  

“This team are the trailblazers, but we’re looking forward to see others follow.  The History Department is striving to create an environment where academic ability is entirely complemented by a love of the subject, and this competition is a hugely significant step in achieving that. So our thanks are to the team not just because they qualified, but also because they’ve given us a massive keystone in our much wider and longer-term project.”