Fingers on Buzzers: UCL to Compete in University Challenge 2024/25 Quarter-Final

Image Courtesy: UCL Imagestore

“Another starter question: What given name is shared by the Queen's consort to Richard II, Richard III and James I?”

If you answered Anne, just like Josh Mandel, one of the four students on UCL’s University Challenge team 2025, then you'll want to tune in for UCL's clash against Darwin College, Cambridge on Monday, 24th February. This is the team’s first quarter-final of three, they must win at least two in order to advance to the semi-finals.

Joining Mandel, who is an MA US History and Politics student, the team consists of MSc Science Communications student Callum Jack,  MA Science Education student Sanjay Prabhakar, and PhD Human Geography student and team captain Olivia Holterman Entwistle. So far in the competition, the team has answered questions triumphantly on topics ranging from Shakespeare to human anatomy.  

The UCL team has won two out of three contests so far, with support from their mascot—a replica of the iconic straw hat that adorns Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon. After losing by just fifteen points in their first appearance against Open University, UCL earned their place in the quarter-finals with convincing wins against St Andrews and LSE.

UCL is yet to win a University Challenge series, despite coming runners-up three times. The programme will air on BBC2 at 8:30pm on Monday the 24th and UCL’s Quiz Society will be hosting a watch party at Phineas. Ahead of the quarter-finals, you can catch up on the UCL team’s previous matches on BBC iPlayer.