The five chosen candidates have started their training for the televised tournament
On 10 November 2025, University of Glasgow’s Quiz Society held its final round of University Challenge trials. Undergraduate students Harry Braid, Taylor Reece, Sam McDermott, Grace Furrow Bauman, and Charlotte Brannigan will represent UofG’s 2026-27 University Challenge team.
University Challenge is a television programme, known for being Britain’s “toughest quiz team tournament”. Airing since 1962, the teams compete in answering quick-fire questions, representing a university or college. In 2018, the University of Glasgow reached the quarter-finals after defeating Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Goldsmiths, University of London. The University has not yet won a title on University Challenge.
With 13 contestants, the session offered Glasgow’s nerdists a chance to shine, and witnessed familiar faces who tried out for last year’s team. Each contestant buzzed in to submit their answers to both emulate a University Challenge-style round and put quick reflexes to the test.
The round consisted of academia-related questions, from geography to philosophy. Shaun Cairns, the session’s quizmaster and the SRC’s Communications and Technical Support Officer, challenged the members’ depth and breadth of knowledge; contestants were tested on topics of the Gilded Age, horror films, musicals, African dynasties, and even Aztec mythology. Charlotte, the Quiz Society’s President, playfully describes these trial rounds as a “Hunger Games” of intellect.
Five students were chosen for the team, consisting of four candidates and one ‘reserve’, who acts as a reliable stand-in. Each chosen member brings something different to the table, specialising in different subject areas: Scots Law, Aeronautical Engineering, History and Economics, Philosophy and Theology, and Classics and English Literature. The roles of Team Captain and Reserve are assumed by Harry and Charlotte, respectively.
