UNIV CHALLENGE | Trinity Oxford Wins in 1st Round

Jeremy Paxman, Host of University
Challenge

In the 2017-18 University Challenge, on Monday, September 3, Trinity College, Oxford defeated University College, London (UCL), which has 11,000 in staff serving 35,000 students, by 20 points in the first round of University Challenge.

The full YouTube show is here.

The Trinity team of four included one woman, Nicole Rosenfeld, a rarity in University Challenge. The team was led by James Gunn. Trinity alumnus Ian Senior adds:

He was as quick as Eric Monkman in the previous series but without Monkman’s gargoyle-like expressions of tortured brilliance. Monkman has already secured for himself a BBC radio show, so a bright future may await James Gunn if his team can keep it up.

The 2016-17 Challenge. In the final of the 2016-2017 University Challenge, Trinity College Cambridge defeated Somerville College, Oxford, correctly answering questions on topics from Jane Austen to tea production in countries of the Middle East and central Asia.

Trinity Cambridge Captain Ralph Morley, a Classicist, led his teammates Matthew Ridley (Economics), Filip Drnovsek Zorko (Natural Sciences) and Richard Freeland (Maths).

The win marks the third time Cambridge has won since the BBC series was revived in 1995 and is the third win for Trinity in the 43-year history of the series. A Cambridge team last claimed the title in 2010 when Emmanuel beat St John’s College, Oxford.

Nearly 130 teams entered the series - which is made by ITV Studios - with Jeremy Paxman (St Catharine's 1969) asking 3,039 questions prior to the final. 

University Rankings. In University rankings in September 2017, Oxford prevailed, ranking for the second year in a row as the best university in the world by Times Higher Education. The long-time competitor, "Fenland Polytechnic" (says Ian Senior), came second. Unlike the annual Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge are not the only two universities considered for the final selection by the Times in their ranking.