Do you know what the tallest mountain in Scotland is? Or could you come up with the answer for this question: Which composer’s “12 Fantasies for Viola de Gamba” solo was considered lost until 2015? Those are just two questions students participating in high school Quiz Bowl competitions have been asked to answer. (In case you are wondering, Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in Scotland, and that composer was George Phillip Telemann.)
Westwood High School’s (WHS) Quiz Bowl team is only in its third year, but it’s already finding success. The student team competes against teams from other Massachusetts high schools. These questions aren’t easy and might easily challenge any contestant on Jeopardy.
“I think the main goal of our Quiz Bowl club is to allow kids who have interests in various subjects to have a chance to show that off,” said WHS junior Yuhan Chen. “There are a lot of niche subjects and, in general, people who have niche passions don’t really have a chance to show that off.”
The team did well enough to be invited to participate in the Emmy-Award winning Quiz Show, which airs on WGBH-TV. The team won their first round but was bested by only 10 points in the second round of the single-elimination tournament. Their episode aired on February 7, 2026 and can be viewed at here: High School Quiz Show | GBH
“These are such great kids and are very easy to work with,” said team coach Jared Sargent. “They do a lot of work on their own and it’s cool to take them to tournaments and see them show off their hard work.”
“We practice a lot,” said WHS junior Jacob Cicerchia. “Most of the time we will play a Quiz Bowl round and get everyone split into two teams.”
The team has several more competitions coming up to finish up the 2025/2026 season and is excited to be traveling to Chicago in June for a national Quiz Bowl competition.
(The above article was submitted by Westwood High and has been edited for style.)
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