MARIST Brothers High School from Matabeleland North emerged this year’s Old Mutual (OM) High School Quiz winners after coming tops at the contest held last week in Harare.
Marist Brothers scored 48 points, with Zengeza High 1 from Chitungwiza as the first-runners up with 36 points, followed by Goromonzi and Pamushana from Mashonaland East and Masvingo provinces with 33 and 30 points, respectively.
The finals were a climax to a tournament which began in all 10 provinces from September.
OM said 220 schools participated in this year’s contest, up from 126 previously, showing the growing popularity of the country’s longest-running schools quiz competition.
The 10 provincial winners then clashed over the weekend at the finals under the theme Unleashing knowledge, and Shaping Future Leaders.
OM Zimbabwe, which has sponsored the school quiz since inception, said the competition embodied the responsible business mandate of the country’s largest financial services group, feeding off its education pillar.
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“At Old Mutual, we firmly believe in the power of education. It is not merely about acquiring facts and figures, but about igniting the fire of creativity and innovation within you,” OM Zimbabwe group chief operations officer Isiah Mashinya said.
“That is why we have taken the initiative to blend the knowledge you acquire in school with financial literacy and entrepreneurship. We want to equip you with the skills and mindset to navigate the ever-changing world and turn your dreams into reality.”
The quiz competition creates a knowledge-sharing platform that provides young minds with an opportunity to showcase their talents and achievements.
“Education is not confined to the walls of a classroom. It is a lifelong journey of self-discovery and personal growth. The High School Quiz is not just a competition, it is an opportunity to showcase your brilliance, to learn from one another, and to inspire those around you,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, Primary and Secondary Education deputy minister Angeline Gata applauded OM for creating a great learning space for scholars.
“The main focus of the new curriculum is to nurture learners who are versatile and multi-dimensional in the things they are able to do after leaving school. In line with the new curriculum, extra activities like quiz play a major role in sharpening greater minds who are tomorrow’s leaders,” she said.
“The role played by intellectual sports such as quiz, in this case a Pan African one, does not only aid to the quest for a curriculum that unlocks value in the learning process but also in the preservation of our heritage, achievements, history and geography of Africa.”
She added: “It is in this regard that I commend non-State actors like Old Mutual and Book of African Records who team up with my ministry to bring vibrancy to the education process by deploying vast resources without the motivation of profit. They have done this for the last 37 years. I recommend the corporate sector to take a leaf from this plausible model of being a responsible member of the community.”