All against all as Whanganui High School houses have first ever quiz war

Whanganui High School prefects Raoul Sarup and Rhea Colaabavala ensure that the competition runs smoothly. Photo / Stuart Munro

One hundred teams battled it out at Jubilee Stadium, putting their brains to the test in Whanganui High School's first house quiz.

About 500 students from Awa, Maunga, Moana and Whenua houses combined to take on each other, answering 10 questions from 10 categories with prizes on the line.

The grand prize was a trophy designed by head of technology Craig Adam which incorporates the house names and the meanings behind them.

Whanganui High School prefects Raoul Sarup and Rhea Colaabavala helped to organise last Friday's event.

"The house system's new this year, this was a way that we could incorporate an academic event and get people involved in something that isn't sports," Sarup said.

"It also gets people to work together who potentially wouldn't have worked together otherwise."

Max Verhaaren, Isaac Paterson, Josie Verhaaren, Brylee Atkinson and Evan Ross of Moana got into the house spirit. Photo / Stuart Munro

Sarup came up with the idea of having a trophy made for the winning team and their house.

"We're hoping that over the years we can add plaques to it and hopefully when we're gone it will carry on for years to come.

"This was a challenge that I wanted to take on. It has been a real group effort and it's a testament to the culture of the school and how well the house system has worked."

Principal Martin McAllen started his tenure at the school last year and was surprised the school did not have a house system in place.

He believed it was better than the age-group system the school was working with, so he put the idea forward and it was implemented earlier in 2018.

Colaabavala said the house system had been absolutely fantastic.

"It has encouraged students to get involved and participate in all aspects of student life.

"A little bit of competitiveness doesn't hurt."

Students were able to compete in the quiz on an opt-in basis and more than 500 of the 1500 students at Whanganui High School wanted to take part.

There were so many entries, they had to have a cut-off.

"It really shows the enthusiasm the students have for participating in school events and how much they value having an event like this that's a little bit different and new," Colaabavala said.

"Organising this was uncharted territory for us. To begin with we wrote up a 13-page proposal which we presented to the senior leadership team and Mr McAllen."

Whanganui businesses got on board with sponsorship, and spot prizes included Whittaker's chocolates, Mars Pet Care vouchers and Subway vouchers.