Raffles Institution emerges as champs in Big Quiz
It beats closest rival Hwa Chong Institution by only one point
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Their deep knowledge of current affairs put the winning Raffles Institution team members, comprising (from left) Teo Hoong Chen, Ryan Quek, Chan Kai Yan and Loo Tien Pan, on top of the game. They win a cash prize of $5,000 and a trophy. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN
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Straits Times Editor Warren Fernandez (second from left) and Education Minister Heng Swee Keat (centre) present the cash prize to second placed Hwa Chong Institution’s (from left) Yeo Quan Yi, Jarel Tang and Matthew Wong. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN
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The first-ever national current affairs quiz attracted a 200-strong audience at Raffles City Convention Centre, who came to support the four finalist teams. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Their deep knowledge of current affairs put the winning Raffles Institution team members, comprising (from left) Teo Hoong Chen, Ryan Quek, Chan Kai Yan and Loo Tien Pan, on top of the game. They win a cash prize of $5,000 and a trophy. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Straits Times Editor Warren Fernandez (second from left) and Education Minister Heng Swee Keat (centre) present the cash prize to second placed Hwa Chong Institution’s (from left) Yeo Quan Yi, Jarel Tang and Matthew Wong. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN
The first-ever national current affairs quiz attracted a 200-strong audience at Raffles City Convention Centre, who came to support the four finalist teams. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Question: Which school won the first-ever national current affairs quiz, The Big Quiz, on Friday?
Answer: Raffles Institution (RI).
The 30-minute quiz finals - the last show-down after weeks of intense competition - went down to the wire for the four finalist teams on Friday.
When the clock ran out, RI beat its closest rival Hwa Chong Institution by only one point.
Background story
Teams generate lots of buzz
Speed-readers
RI's team members came out storming at the start of the "Buzz In" round, in which the fastest team on the buzzer would win the right to answer the question.
Several times, Chan Kai Yan, 17, buzzed and answered the question just seconds after it was flashed.
Amused quiz master Ravi Nadeson said: "You speed-read, don't you? I haven't even read the questions!"
Going for broke
As the "Buzz In" round progressed and it was clear that River Valley High trailed RI and HCI significantly, the team went for broke, buzzing the moment a question was flashed - six times in a row.
RV got only one out of the six correct, though, which caused a stir in the audience.
Loh Ying Hao, 17, explained afterward: "At that point, we had nothing to lose."
For more information, articles and videos, go to www.straits times.com/thebigquiz
Some of the questions
Question: At a recent foreign ministers' meeting this year, Asean failed to agree on a communique for the first time in its 45-year history. What was the source of the disagreement?
Answer: Territorial rights in the South China Sea.
Question: The Singapore courts recently ruled on how gifts between spouses in the course of a marriage will be treated when a couple divorces. How will these gifts be treated?
Answer: As matrimonial assets.
Question: The Government is reining in the rapid increase of the taxi population in recent years. What has been the average growth rate of the taxi population in Singapore since 2003?
Answer: 5 per cent a year.
Question: The Straits Times Index, which is made up of 30 stocks, broke a psychological point barrier earlier this year. What is this point barrier?
Answer: 3,000.
Question: "Today, Singapore is a success story, but the world is not standing still. The next two decades will be very different." Who recently said this?
Answer: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
