The University of Bristol is celebrating making it to its first University Challenge final after an exhilarating 200-70 victory against the University of Southampton earlier this week. The Bristol team has beaten Oriel College Oxford, Queen’s University Belfast, Newnham College Cambridge, University College London, and University of Southampton, and is set to take on Durham University in scenes that will air on Monday, May 29.
Last month, long-serving quizmaster Jeremy Paxman was impressed by the team's "increasingly impressive scores" and praised the members as they "answered particularly well on poetry, philosophy and US geography". Sam Kehler (Medicine), Jacob McLaughlin (BSc Economics and Mathematics), captain Tess Richardson (BSc Chemistry) and Alejandro Ortega (MSci Physics and Philosophy) make up the successful Bristol team, which was the first to make it to the semi-finals in the show's history.
Captain Tess Richardson applied to appear on University Challenge after spending lockdown watching past episodes of the BBC show on YouTube with her flatmates. Ahead of Bristol's team making their first appearance back in August, Tess said: "I've always been a fan of the show and throughout lockdown found myself going through old episodes on You Tube with my flatmates, often watching multiple episodes a day.
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"It was my flatmates that suggested I apply, so I did. I didn’t even expect to get though through to the second round of trials, so you can imagine my shock on receiving the email offering me captaincy of the team!
"There certainly were nerve-wracking moments in the process, but I think I was far too excited to really notice my nerves. I'd watched every series available on You Tube at least three times at this point, walking onto set was just so surreal, I couldn't stop smiling."
The University of Bristol has made several quarter-finals, with one final in a Christmas special featuring famous alumni, but it is thought that, prior to its current team competing, the university had never made the semi-finals or grand final. Although, nobody can be certain as some University Challenge records and recordings from the 1970s are lost.
"I can’t believe the whole process started well over a year ago in 2021 with the trials to get onto the team," Tess, who has watched every episode of University Challenge three times, said. "It really doesn’t feel that long ago that I saw the trials advertised and thought maybe I’d give it a shot.
"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! It’s been amazing watching it back and reliving the experience, although some parts were harder to watch than others. I am so incredibly proud of our team and how well we’ve done, and it’ll certainly be an experience that I’ll never forget."
To make the starting line-up of 28 universities on the 52nd series of the show, the four students had to take test papers and take part in interviews. Ahead of the semi-finals earlier this week, Prof Evelyn Welch, the University of Bristol’s Vice-Chancellor and President, 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."
The University Challenge final, featuring the University of Bristol and Durham University, will be televised on Monday, May 29 at 8.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
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