Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
ONE of the most gripping inter-school quizzes ever held in the kingdom will be staged again early next year.
Charismatic TV personality Derek O'Brien will return to the hot-seat as quiz-master and the event is set to attract a record number of school children.
The Mothercare Inter-School Quiz Contest - 2009 will be held on January 23.
The idea is to target young minds. The quiz is open to students of all nationalities and every school in Bahrain is encouraged to send in as many teams as possible.
Each team must consist of one seventh grader (not more than 13 years) and one eighth grader (not more than 14 years old).
The questions they face could be anything under the sun!
A spokesman for the event organisers said: "A school can enrol any number of teams for the preliminary round. However, only one team from a school will be selected to participate in the finals - the team with the highest points in the preliminary round.
"The kids in Bahrain have now gained lots of experience by taking part in and watching the last two quiz contests and we are sure this year it will be an even more enthralling contest.
"It's going to be a gala affair next month and we are sure the whole nation will be in the grip of quiz mania!"
After the preliminary round on January 21, six teams from six different schools will make it to the finals on January 23 at the Crowne Plaza convention centre. Certificates signed by Mr O'Brien will be presented to all the participants.
Last year the preliminary rounds boasted a record number of 120 teams participating in the written quiz.
Those who attended the contest last year would remember that it was an amazing battle of the brains. Six teams contested in the second inter-school quiz contest final and after one-and-a-half-hours of gripping drama two young Indian students stole the show.
New Millennium School pupils Pratyush Mishra, 13, from Hoora, and Anand Ravindran, 11, from Budaiya, were declared winners of the Mothercare Inter-School Quiz Contest 2008 at the Al Ahli Club's indoor stadium.
The dynamic duo won the competition with a comfortable lead of 10 points over runners-up the Asian School.
The four other schools in the fray were St Christopher's School, Sacred Heart School, New Indian School and Indian School who were ranked respectively.
Ecstatic at their victory, Pratyush said: "We went with an attitude to win. We were slightly nervous in the beginning knowing the expectations of our parents, friends and teachers."
And, Anand added: "Derek O'Brien was a fantastic quiz master who made the atmosphere lively and helped us relax throughout the contest."
Both students, who are among the top students in their classes, are avid readers who enjoy keeping themselves updated about current affairs. Their team working skills and ability to complement each other's talents were the key ingredients of this success.
An array of prizes go to the contest winners. The last date for submitting entry forms will be January 17.
The event is being organised by Amicos and co-ordinated by SSV Events Bombay.
For further information contact Satheesh D'Costa on 39819947 or Santosh Karkera on 39087860.
