i Assistant Editor's Letter: Think you're cleverer than a student?
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Are you cleverer than a 20-year-old? No, I’m not pitching for a new television series on Sky, but challenging you to pit your wits against the best of the students in the iQuiz final.
After the success of the inaugural competition earlier this year, our quizmaster Simon O’Hagan has been hard at work challenging the next generation of businessmen, lawyers and teachers. It was no mean feat to make it through to last Wednesday’s final, held once more at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham. Students had to battle through regional heats for the right to represent their university and a shot at the top prizes. And just so the rest of you don’t feel left out, we’re printing the very same questions today.
Contestants on the BBC’s reality show The Apprentice often promote themselves as the future of the country, but I can’t see any of them finishing in the medal positions − especially considering this year’s crop of hopefuls. But then again, with six rounds, including a picture section, and a total of 115 points up for grabs, not many will be able to beat the extraordinary total of the winning team, “UKIP if you want to”, from Warwick University. They took the title, along with VIP tickets to Latitude, with an impressive 102 points.
I won’t insist on you taking a National Express coach journey in the morning or putting your smartphone in a sealed envelope for the duration, as our finalists did, but at least put them to one side, along with back-copies of the newspaper, before you tackle the questions.
Email, text or tweet me to let me know how you get on. Answers will be printed tomorrow to minimise the temptation to cheat, but remember if you do, you’re only cheating yourself...
And if you’re sitting there as a student thinking you could do better, keep your eyes peeled for the next one.
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