The Sowetan-SA Home Loans School Quiz first elimination round kicked off this past weekend after 32 schools across Gauteng battled it out for a spot in the second round.

After long hours of Q&A sessions held at the Sowetan building in Parktown, Johannesburg, 15 school teams have advanced to the next stage of the competition on Saturday. The schools that won the first round are: Springs Girls High, Naledi Secondary, Jabulani Technical High, Vosloorus Comprehensive, Alexandra Secondary, Modiri Technical High, Inkonjane Junior Secondary, Seanamarena Secondary, Leshata Secondary, Vaal High, Aurora Secondary, Aha-Thuto Secondary, Jet Nteo Secondary, Maphutha Secondary and Mapetla Secondary.

Katlehong Engineering School of Specialization, which was docked a point in a technical error, will be given an opportunity to battle it out with St Francis College. The team that wins that round will complete the final 16, which will see them competing to earn a place in the quarterfinals.

The overall winning school will walk away with a whopping R50,000, while the first and second runner-up will take home R30,000 and R15,000 respectively. Learners can also look forward to additional sponsored prizes which will be up for grabs.

Paired in groups of four, dressed in their school uniforms and answering questions posed by Sowetan editor-in-chief Nwabisa Makunga as quiz master, pupils engaged in current affairs, politics, sports and entertainment news topics to test their general knowledge. The quiz is an initiative by the publication in partnership with home finance company SA Home Loans and other well-known brands.

Makunga said: “We’re incredibly proud of all the teams. They showed dedication and grit on that stage. We congratulate the 15 teams and look forward to the next round on Saturday.”

Speaking to Sowetan after the session, the Alexandra Secondary School pupil Nqobile Mkhabile found the quiz challenging but fun and informative, particularly in the sports section.

“I am very happy and excited for this journey that has started for me and my team. We have been reading the newspapers tirelessly and we have also made sure we quiz ourselves as part of our practice to test progress,” said Nqobile. “Right now, we are going to make sure every one of us focuses on different things, so we’re not confused.”

Malebo Letswalo, taking part in the Alexandra team, said he has been observant during the first round, a plan he hopes will help analyse his opponents.

“We also looked closely at the strongest teams we might face going forward so we know who our competition is because we want to see ourselves reachingattending the finals and winning this. It would be a big deal if we win, and it would also give us a good reputation as a school,” said Malebo.

“We didn’t know what to expect when we came here, but now we have a few things we need to work on as a team. Our problem is that at some points we didn’t listen to the questions properly, so we will fix this in the next round.” he said.