If you've ever watched BBC's University Challenge, you'll know the feeling of satisfaction when you get even one question right. The show has been running since 1964, seeing students from across the UK compete against each other in a battle of not-so-general knowledge. The winning team progresses to the next round, and so on, culminating in a series finale with the top two teams.
After a tough selection process, these are the students that made it into this year's UCL team...
- Team Captain - Howard James Dyster Salmon (Planetary Science MSc)
- Louis Collier (PGCE: Physics with Mathematics)
- Rachel Collier (Research degree - Greek & Latin)
- Michael Fleetwood-Walker (Urban Studies MSc)
- Team reserve member - Thomas Cryer (Research PhD Inst of the Americas)
This is the first time in the competition's history that a mother / son have appeared on the same team!
Here's a few words from team member Michael on why he got involved.
"Hello, I’m Michael Fleetwood-Walker, I’m from the West Midlands and I’m doing an MSc in Urban Studies! I’ve always liked quizzing - some of my earliest memories are of my dad desperately trying to keep me pacified on the drive back from my Grandma’s place by giving me little general knowledge tests in the car. Flash forward a decade or so and I was supporting my History teacher’s efforts to give quiz the same recognition as rugby and athletics. This was unfortunately yet predictably an unsuccessful venture. I picked Geography as my undergraduate subject for much the same reason as I quiz; I just love learning Stuff. I find Stuff endlessly interesting, so hate the idea of specialising into any rigid subject. Geography, and indeed Urban Studies, are such open subjects that let me indulge whatever intellectual fixation comes my way.
University Challenge is such an icon of British quizzing, and when I started my degree back in 2018, I’d never have dreamed of being up there. To finally make it in front of Jeremy Paxman, especially in his final year at University Challenge (and my final year at UCL!), is so exciting - and if anyone reading this thinks even slightly similarly to myself, please give it a go and try out!"
Fancy signing up for the 2023 team? Applications are now open - put your name down here.
You can catch the team competing on Monday 17 October at 20.30 on BBC2. Naturally, we'll be showing it live in Phineas before holding a quiz of our own.