HT School’s tryst with quizzing began last year with an online school quiz named ClassAct 2022, The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz, which went on to create a world record. With 19,625 participants in the Prelims round, this mega quizzing event was declared by the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records as a record holder for “Maximum Participation in an Online School Quiz”. But this year, in its second edition, ClassAct 2023- The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz, the number of participants in the preliminary round broke last year’s record too. Conducted on 26th January, the Prelims saw 21,540 students from grades 1 to 12 battling it out for a slot in the Grand Finale scheduled for 5th February between 10 AM to 12 Noon. The top 100 scorers of the Prelims round from Grades 6 to 12 will compete in the Finale which will be conducted on Zoom by two of the most prolific quizmasters of the country, Dr. Navin Jayakumar and Mr. Avinash Mudaliar.
A total of INR 1.25 lakh worth of Amazon vouchers will be up for grabs as prizes while all the participants will be awarded with a participation certificate. However, it’s not the prizes or the certificates that drive these inquisitive minds to participate in a quizzing event. Their inspiration is their sheer curiosity to learn new things. Ahead of the Grand Finale of ClassAct 2023-The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz, HT School spoke to the top 10 scorers of the Prelims round. In a freewheeling chat, all these finalists from Grades 6 to 12 shared their experience in the Prelims round, their passion for quizzing, preparation secrets and much more. Here is what they have to say.
“I love to challenge myself. This is where I developed this knack for quizzing,” says one of the finalists, Moulshree, a 6th grader from Ryan International School, Jaipur. Sumanyu Aggarwal, another top scorer of ClassAct 2023 Prelims, began his quizzing journey in school. “My school gave me the opportunity to take part in inter-school competitions that has garnered my passion for quizzing,” says Sumanyu, studying in Grade X of Indraprastha World School, Delhi. However, for Rudransh Sharma of Maxfort School, Delhi, Grade XII, the reason behind entering the domain of quizzing is completely different. His interest in thrillers pushed him to become a quizzer. “I like how in detective movies and books, the investigators interrogate everyone and try to find clues. Quizzing for me is a similar experience,” he shares.
The quizzing genres that our top 10 finalists like include science and technology, geography, sports, general knowledge and current affairs. All of them agreed that the Prelims of ClassAct 2023 touched upon a wide variety of genres including these and the questions were very engaging. Talking about his experience in this round, Rudransh says, “Most of the quizzes I have participated in so far were related to science, maths, computers and medical science. But what I liked about ClassAct 2023 was the fact that the topics in this quiz were varied and included questions on movies, space, geography and more.” He loved a question on the movie RRR. Kushagra Chaurasia, studying in Grade IX of Sunbeam School, UP, also found this question the most intriguing. “We all have watched RRR. But the question that was asked in the Prelims round required us to join the dots and connect certain facts with the movie. This inspired lateral thinking. This is what I like the most,” he says.
For Sri Shivendra, studying in Grade IX of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School, Chennai, the questions were neither easy, nor difficult. In fact, he has a very interesting take on ClassAct 2023. “I was part of another HT School quiz, Smartacus and what I have realised is HT School always asks tricky questions. Unlike the other quizzes that I have attended, where the questions asked are very text bookish, those of ClassAct 2023 made us think a lot, though the answers were easy,” he says. Another of our top 10 finalists, Prachi Singh of Sunbeam School, UP, Grade XII, echoes a similar spirit. She found all the questions very engaging while her favourite was the one on Bharat Jodo Yatra. “I actually had to navigate through a map to find the answer,” she says. A seasoned quizzer, Shreyas Samantray of DAV Public School, NTPC, Odisha, found the quiz pretty thrilling. “The time was really running fast and there were so many pointers to ponder over for each question,” says the 10th grader.
The finalists of ClassAct 2023 are all gearing up for the Grand Finale. Being avid readers, all of them believe that reading up on a wide range of topics from authentic sources while staying abreast of the current affairs is the key to success in a quiz. Sharing his tips for other quizzers, Devansh Pandya of Sunbeam School, UP, Grade IX, says, “Be curious to know more. Whenever you read about something anywhere, do an in-depth research about it so that you can cover many aspects of the same topic. This not only increases our knowledge, but also helps us answer questions asked from different angles.” On the other hand, Tapan Gupta, studying in Grade XI of Narmada Valley International School, Madhya Pradesh, believes that to become a successful quizzer, one must stay on top of current affairs. “Also, practice is the key. You need to play as many quizzes as you can,” he adds. Another avid quizzer and finalist of ClassAct 2023, Kartikey Vashistha, like others, also believes in the power of reading. “Go beyond your syllabus and read from various sources including those out of your course,” suggests the 6th grader from Ryan International School, Navi Mumbai.
While the finalists of ClassAct 2023 seem to be basking in the glory of their success in the Prelims round, their preparations for the Grand Finale are in full swing. Happy quizzing to all the participants.