Ardenne basks in ‘historic’ Schools’ Challenge victory
Published:Saturday | June 20, 2020 | 12:21 AMJason Cross/Gleaner Writer
A FEELING of euphoria has overtaken the Ardenne High School family, after its Schools’ Challenge Quiz team on Thursday dethroned the defending champions, St Jago High, in the finals of the 2020 season.
Ardenne won by 34 points to St Jago’s 25.
According to one of Ardenne’s two coaches, Anthony Williams, who is also the Parent Teachers’ Association president, history was created, as it was the first time the competition was held and concluded during a pandemic.
“The feeling is euphoric. It is an awesome feeling. It is awesome because 2020 will go down in the annals of Television Jamaica’s history book. School was closed and the students were unable to train face to face. It was an opportunity for us to devise means of ensuring training continues,” Williams said.
“We had to resort to technology of diverse nature for the team to continue its quest for glory and to take home that coveted trophy. One of the things that really made us feel good is that we spent umpteen hours in the COVID pandemic situation. As a very busy lawyer, it is rewarding and satisfying,” he added.
Hungry for more history
Williams, a former captain of Ardenne’s quiz team, shared that the school has begun a quest to create further history, by becoming the first school to win the title four years consecutively.
He congratulated St Jago for advancing so far in the competition, pointing out that they “had always been a top quality team”.
“Their coaches are good. One of the factors that made Ardenne win was their composure. They were the most composed in the competition,” he pointed out.
Ardenne has now racked up seven victories in the 51-year-old quiz competition. The school reached the finals a total of 10 times. Kingston College has won 11 titles, the most in the competition’s history.