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Season One • 2026/27

Imagine Saturday morning, and the quiz your school has to win.

A new national, televised maths and science competition for UK secondary schools. Three students. One school. A national trophy. The whole nation watching.

THE GRAND FINAL • LIVE
ST HILDA'S HIGH
42
VS
KING'S PARK
39
Round 5: Riddles — "I am the only even prime…"
Think your school could win?

Try a question.

The story

Sixty years of University Challenge. Nothing for schools. Until now.

Britain has always loved competitive intellect on screen, but there has never been a national, televised competition where secondary schools battle it out for the country to watch. We're building it: a quiz every school wants to win, where academic brilliance gets the crowds, the drama and the pride that sport has always had.

3
Students represent each school, cheered on by their whole community.
32
Schools compete in season one, from every kind of school in the UK.
1
Name on the trophy, and a school that calls itself national champions for a year.
The format

Five rounds. Buzzers, risk and drama.

Questions cover mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, aligned to GCSE and A level specifications and verified by an independent academic board. Thirty-two schools are drawn into eight groups of four; the top two in each group qualify for the knockout rounds.

1

Fundamentals

Questions in turn across all four subjects.

2

Speed Race

Rapid fire on the buzzer. Fastest finger, sharpest mind.

3

Problem of the Day

One big multi-step problem against the clock.

4

True or False

High risk. Wrong answers cost points.

5

Riddles

Cryptic clues, line by line. Answer early, score big.

GROUP STAGE • 8 GROUPS OF 4→ ROUND OF 16→ QUARTER-FINALS→ SEMI-FINALS→ THE GRAND FINAL

For schools

Entry is completely free, funded by our sponsors. Travel bursaries are available for state schools.

  • One team of three students (Years 10 to 13) plus a reserve
  • Every contest professionally filmed; your school on a national stage
  • Safeguarding to the highest standard: DBS-checked staff, registered chaperones, full parental consent

For sponsors

One title sponsor will put their name on the competition itself: the show, the set and the trophy all carry it, into school communities in every corner of the country, all season long.

  • Naming rights, set and trophy branding, category exclusivity
  • A season of family-friendly content on YouTube and short-form platforms
  • Associate and prize partner packages also available
Quality and governance

How we earn your trust.

We are asking schools, parents and sponsors to trust us with something precious: young people, on a national stage. This page sets out, plainly, how that trust is protected: how we keep students safe, how we keep events secure, how we keep the competition fair, and how the organisation itself is run and held to account.

Safeguarding: our first responsibility

Nothing about this competition matters more than the welfare of the students taking part.

  • Every member of our staff and crew who works with students holds an enhanced DBS check. No exceptions, including the founder.
  • A named safeguarding lead is on site for the whole of every recording day and event, and every concern raised reaches them the same day.
  • Students are supervised at all times by registered chaperones working alongside their own accompanying teachers, within required supervision ratios.
  • Filming happens only with signed parental or guardian consent, and nothing is published without it. We handle performance licensing with each student's local authority.
  • Our full child protection policy, and the venue risk assessment for each event, are shared with every participating school in advance and are available to any parent on request.

Event safety and security

Our events bring together students, families and school communities, and they are run to keep everyone safe.

  • Every venue is risk-assessed before we book it, covering access, evacuation, capacity and supervision.
  • Entry to events is controlled: audiences are ticketed and registered through their schools, and trained stewards manage arrival, seating and departure.
  • First aid cover is present at every event, with clear emergency procedures agreed with the venue.
  • We operate a zero tolerance approach to violence, threatening behaviour and abuse, whether directed at students, staff, or rival school supporters. Anyone behaving in this way is removed, and where appropriate reported to the police.
  • Rivalry belongs in the contest. Our events are designed, stewarded and staffed so that competition between schools stays exactly where it should be: on the stage.

Fairness and academic integrity

A competition is only worth winning if it is fair, and only worth watching if it is trusted.

  • Every question is set and verified by an independent academic board of teachers and academics, aligned to GCSE and A level specifications.
  • Question papers remain sealed until the moment of each contest, and an independent adjudicator attends every recording.
  • A published rulebook applies equally to every school, with a written appeals process for any disputed question or result.
  • Sponsors have no involvement in questions, judging or results, ever. That firewall is a condition of every sponsorship agreement we sign.

How the organisation is run

The competition is operated by a private company limited by shares, registered at Companies House (company number 17345528).

  • We file annual accounts and a confirmation statement publicly at Companies House, so our directors and our finances are a matter of public record.
  • Sponsorship income is committed to delivering the competition: venues, production, prizes, schools and the people who run it. Sponsors receive a full budget and are reported against it during the season.
  • A board of directors oversees the competition, supported by financial controls, appropriate insurance, and professional legal and accounting advice.
  • The academic board that sets and verifies questions operates independently of the company, and sponsors have no say in its work.

Privacy and data protection

We collect only the information we need to run the competition, and we look after it.

  • We comply with UK GDPR and are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office.
  • Student information is collected through schools with consent, used only for the competition, never sold or shared for marketing, and deleted when it is no longer needed.
  • Filming and photography of students happens only under the consent and licensing arrangements described above.

Open to every school

This competition belongs to the whole country.

  • Entry is free for every school, state, academy, grammar, independent or sixth form college, and travel bursaries help state schools attend recording days.
  • We work with venues on accessibility for students, staff and audience members with disabilities, and welcome conversations with schools about individual needs.

Raising a concern

If you have a concern about safeguarding, safety, fairness or anything else on this page, we want to hear it, and quickly.

  • Safeguarding concerns: email our safeguarding lead at info@uksmsq.com. Concerns are acknowledged within one working day.
  • Any other complaint: email info@uksmsq.com. We acknowledge within two working days and respond in full within ten.
  • Staff, volunteers and school partners can raise concerns confidentially, and nobody will ever be disadvantaged for speaking up.