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Bristol Uni reaches University Challenge semi-final for first time
Bristol University has reached the final of University Challenge for the first time, beating Oriel College Oxford, Queen’s University Belfast, Newnham College Cambridge and University College London.
The team, which has an average age of 21, is made up of captain Tess Richardson (BSc Chemistry), Jacob McLaughlin (BSc Economics and Mathematics), Sam Kehler (Medicine) and Alejandro Ortega (MSci Physics and Philosophy).
In Bristol’s quarter-final match on April 10, quizmaster Jeremy Paxman praised the team’s “increasingly impressive scores” and said they had “answered particularly well on poetry, philosophy and US geography”.
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Richardson, who watched all University Challenge shows three times in the competition run-up, said: “I never expected to make it onto the team never mind come this far – and to be the first Bristol team to make it to the semi-finals feels incredible!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H9yAgSNuzk
Prof Evelyn Welch, the University of Bristol vice-chancellor and resident, said: “Tess, Sam, Alejandro and Jacob have been hugely impressive, both in terms of their individual knowledge and their magnificent teamwork.
“On behalf of the entire university community I’d like to wish this wonderfully talented team all the luck in the world.”
Bristol will meet Southampton University on Monday at 8.30pm on BBC Two to decide which team secures a spot in the final, facing Durham University.
Paxman, who has fronted the show since 1994, will retire at the end of the series.
Main photo: BBC
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