For fans of University Challenge, getting a few answers correct from the comfort of your sofa is a thrill. So, imagine how it felt for the four members of the 2024 Imperial College London team when they stormed to victory this year with an astonishing run of results.
They defeated Balliol College, Oxford (285 points to 145 points), Lincoln College, Oxford (250 points to 120), the University of Manchester (205 points to 120), the University of Sheffield (a slightly closer 195 points to 160) and Trinity College, Cambridge (240 points to 110), before facing University College London in the final, with a staggering score of 285 points compared with UCL’s 120.
Imperial’s team — captain Suraiya Haddad, Adam Jones, Sourajit Debnath and Justin Lee — were crowned the winners, making the university the most successful in the history of University Challenge with a fifth win.
• Best universities in the UK: Sunday Times league table
In preparation for the show, the team memorised vast amounts of information across subjects from philosophy to physics, ancient history (Imperial won a round on the various sacks of Rome) to chemistry, and Korean mythology to video games.
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Although most of the Imperial team studied Stem degrees, they all took on specialisations. Haddad was on Shakespeare and European languages. She and Jones split the visual arts and Jones’ specialism was literature. Lee took history and Debnath covered film.
Having conquered the ultimate test of knowledge, we asked the Imperial winning team to set an exclusive quiz for this year’s Good University Guide.
How many will you get right? Share your score — if you dare — in the comments below.
If you cannot see the quiz, click here to open it in a new browser window
Additional reporting: Lottie Tellyn
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