University Challenge 2025: Pi Meets with the UCL Team before their next Quarter-Final

Image Courtesy: University Challenge Production Team

Next Monday, 31st March, UCL is set to compete in the second leg of their three quarter-final matches, this time against the Open University. The stakes are high, especially since their last encounter with Open ended in a narrow fifteen-point defeat. They must win to stay in the competition after a 120–225 loss to Darwin College, Cambridge, in their first quarter-final.

Ahead of the programme airing, Pi spoke to the UCL team about their experiences on University Challenge, their preparation strategies, and what it’s really like to compete in the studio.

Pre-challenge Preparation

Watching University Challenge, you often wonder: how do they know so much about so much? According to team member Sanjay Prabhakar, the key isn’t last-minute cramming. “None of the stuff I specifically learnt helped. I memorised all the provinces of Italy, and that did absolutely nothing for me. It was the stuff I knew before.” An important lesson as exam season looms: cramming may not work.

“Nobody knows everything!”

Each team member brought their own expertise. Josh Mandel focused on history and literature, while Callum Jack, a film buff, admitted his knowledge “didn’t always manifest itself on the programme.” They each specialised on subjects ahead of the competition too; for instance, Olivia Holtermann Entwistle revised all she possibly could about contemporary jazz.

Even with all that knowledge in the bank, the pressure of the show was intense. Olivia, a qualified doctor, admitted that “under pressure you can mess up even the things you know really well, which definitely happened to me on some medical questions.”

The Highs…

For Mandel, one of the most satisfying moments was correctly answering a question on Middlemarch—one of his favourite books. Callum Jack, meanwhile, joked that “Jane Austen still collectively haunts us.”

And how did they celebrate their wins? Sanjay revealed that Amol Rajan, University Challenge’s presenter since 2023, ran past the team on the way back from a celebratory dinner and said, “See you all in the bar - I’ll buy you a drink.”  

The team clearly loved the experience. “When you’re in that studio it’s like a weird twilight zone,” Olivia said. “All the lights and the iconic background - it’s so fun, and you can’t believe you’re there. The whole thing was great!”

Advice for Future Quizzers?

For those inspired to give it a go, Mandel suggests joining the UCL Quiz Society. Over 100 people applied to be on this year’s team, so competition is fierce. His advice? “Enjoy it and have fun.”

Olivia, the team captain, nearly didn’t show up for the final round of UCL’s selection. “I had no background in quizzing and thought there’s literally no way I’ll ever get on the team.”

Sanjay described the rigorous selection process: “Over three rounds of try-outs, I was given 580 questions. It was actually very good fun.”

Callum noted that University Challenge is a very different experience from a casual quiz. “I’d never quizzed seriously—I’d done some pub quizzes and watched far too many TV quiz shows, but until the try-outs, I hadn’t really done proper quizzing. You improve a lot. By the time you end up on TV, you’ll be much better.” His final piece of advice? “Go for it.”

The programme will air on BBC2 at 8:30pm on Monday 31st March and UCL’s Quiz Society will be hosting a watch party at the IOE Bar.