A TEAM of promising young intellectuals from Yarm Preparatory School took part in the finals of a national quiz competition this week - the only North-East team to qualify.

The school competed in the national final of the Quiz Club's Key Stage 2 General Knowledge Championship, coming sixth out of 11 teams in the grand final at the Royal Naval College, London, on Tuesday.

This year’s team, comprising of pupils Annabel Cochrane, Yusuf Syed, Keya Shah and Shrish Nair, won their semi-final by over 100 points and it is only the second time that Yarm Preparatory School has reached the final, having previously competed at this stage in 2011.

Example questions the pupils were asked included: "What is the capital of Mozambique?" "What does empathetic mean?" and "When is Star Wars Day?"

Over 400,000 children participate in Quiz Club’s Championships each year, making it the largest inter-school quiz competition in the UK.

Mr Bill Sawyer, Head of Yarm Preparatory School, said: “To reach the final of this prestigious competition is a fantastic achievement and Annabel, Yusuf, Keya and Shrish should be very proud. The team fully deserved their place in the final and although they didn’t win, to come sixth out of so many schools is remarkable.

“There were some tough questions, which cover a wide variety of topics to keep the pupils on their toes, and they have performed strongly throughout the competition. We are looking forward to entering next year’s competition and hopefully we can reach another final.”