This year’s grand final of Euroquiz, sponsored by Standard Life, took place at the Scottish Parliament this week. Thirty teams of primary six pupils from schools all over Scotland arrived at the Parliament’s debating chamber with high hopes of being crowned Euroquiz 2011 winners.
The quiz is run by the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) with over 1500 pupils from 370 schools competing in the heats held across 30 of the 32 local authorities throughout the school year. The winning teams from each heat took part in today’s grand final.
The quiz aims to help Scotland’s Primary Six pupils develop their knowledge of Europe and the European Union, as well as getting them to use core skills such as teamwork and communication.
This year’s winning team was The Edinburgh Academy who narrowly beat Cairneyhill Primary School from Fife by one point in the final round.
Gerald Wilson, Chairman of the Scottish European Educational Trust, said “The Euroquiz ticks so many educational and other boxes, not least the opportunity for primary school children to experience the excitement of competing in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.”
Rona Doig, Corporate Responsibility Strategy Manager, Standard Life added, “Euroquiz is a fantastic event to be involved with, and it has been extremely exciting to observe this afternoon’s proceedings. The teams all really pull together and demonstrate an incredible knowledge and understanding of Europe. I’m sure all of those who participated in the heats and the final will have gained skills and knowledge that will benefit them through out the rest of their time at school and beyond.”
Jamie Miller, one of the winning pupils on The Edinburgh Academy team said, “We’ve had a fantastic day and we’re ecstatic to win. The four of us gave up the first day of our school trip to Holland to compete today so it’s all been worthwhile. We’re looking forward to joining our friends to celebrate.”
Headmaster Gavin Calder was thrilled for the team and acknowledged the huge amount of work that the children and their families had undertaken alongside the Academy’s Mrs Paterson in preparation for the final. He also admitted that he would have struggled to answer some of the questions himself. Having watched the competition grow over a number of years Mr Calder was keen to stress just how valuable an opportunity the Euroquiz is in broadening horizons.
