Somerville,
Oxford takes University Challenge crown
Somerville College, Oxford, has notched up its first ever University
Challenge series title, beating Imperial College London by 200 points
to 185 in the last gasp moments of a stunning match (Monday 11 March,
BBC TWO, 8.00 pm).
Quiz
master Jeremy Paxman was moved to comment on one of the most nail
biting finishes in the series’ history, saying: "To get
to the final is a terrific achievement. Unfortunately for Imperial
they made a catastrophic start because they were storming back by
the end and they almost did it…"
In
fact it looked all over for Imperial in the early stages. At one
point, the team from the all-science university were trailing by
minus 10 points to Somerville’s rather healthy 135. But Somerville
couldn’t afford to be smug for long. They managed to inspire
Paxman’s utter disgust when failing to identify any of the
classic St George and the Dragon masterpieces in the picture round.
Said Paxman cuttingly: "I was told these were all first year
Fine Arts questions but there we are…"
Perhaps
buoyed up by this development, Imperial proceeded to stage a fight
back worthy of a Man Utd v Aston Villa FA Cup tie! At one stage,
the contest hung in the balance, with ICL on 185 and Somerville
just five points in front.
But
Somerville rallied on the Olympics Mascots picture round and were
able to claim the title for the first time in their history.
Somerville
captain, Tim Austen, was a relieved man at the end of the evening:
"We were getting a bit worried by Imperial’s incredible
fight back - we thought we might have to invent a story about our
buzzers being broken!"
The
winning trophy was presented by one of Britain’s leading philosophers,
Baroness Mary Warnock who said: "This was a wonderful match".
University
Challenge is a Granada Production for BBC TWO.
Notes
to Editors
The
Teams
Imperial
College London
Darius Fidgett (Captain) - from Hemel Hempstead, Herts; studying
Computing
Sunil Rao - from India, studying Information Systems
Patrick Hayes - from Bury, Lancashire; studying Chemistry
Lloyd Kilford - from Lowestoft, Suffolk; studying Number Theory
One
of the constituent colleges of University of London, the science,
technology and medicine college, Imperial, was founded in 1907.
Now based in South Kensington with over 9,000 students, the college
boasts former students T.H. Huxley, H.G. Wells, Sir Alexander Fleming
and no less than 14 Nobel Laureates. Imperial won the University
Challenge title in 1996 and is the reigning 2001 Champion
Somerville College Oxford
Tim Austen (Captain) - from Weston Green, Surrey; studying Biochemistry
Vicky Wood - from Essex; studying English Lit
Luke Pitcher - from Bethnal Green, London; studying for a D-Phil
in Classics
Dorjana Sirola - from Croatia; studying for a D-Phil in Comparative
Theory
Although
now a co-educational institution, Somerville College began life
in 1879 as an educational establishment for women, who weren’t
allowed entry into Oxford at that time. Hence the gender bias in
their former alumni who include Baroness Thatcher, Indira Ghandi
and writer Dorothy L Sayers.
University
Challenge Reunited
See
also news about a new programme, University
Challenge Reunited, which reunites former winning teams with
each other and pits them against other series title winners, to
play for the ultimate brainbox accolade - Champion of Champions.
University
Challenge Facts
First
show? Transmitted on 21 September 1962 between the University of
Manchester and the University of Leeds. The first champions were
Leicester University.
Worst
and best score? Since the series returned in 1994, the lowest score
has been a lowly 35 points, clocked up by the all-female team from
New Hall College, Cambridge, who struggled to gain against University
of Nottingham’s impressive 335 in 1997. The highest score is
credited to Open University when they beat Charing Cross by 415
points to 45.
The
Champions? No institution has ever become the series champion more
than twice. Magdalen College, Oxford has the most impressive record
by being the only team to win the contest two years running in 1997
and 1998.
Presenters?
Bamber Gasgoigne was the original face of University Challenge presenting
992 programmes from 1962 until 1987. The series took a break but
returned in 1994 with the feisty repartee of the infamous Jeremy
Paxman.
Famous
alumni? University Challenge has showcased the budding undergraduate
talents of Clive James, David Mellor, Stephen Fry, John Simpson
and Malcolm Rifkind.
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