Foxborough Wiz Kids Take On High School Quiz Show

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Foxborough High School student Noah Foley remembers the scene at the WGBH High School Quiz Show qualifier two years ago as a sophomore and team alternate. As he watched the teams answer questions and push their knowledge and his team fail to qualify, he knew he wanted to see his his make it to the prestigious tournament.

Two years later, Foxborough is among 16 teams that will compete on the High School Quiz show. The team, made up of Foxborough High School students Foley, Yasa Baig, Nate Dumont, Josh Jacobson, Will Pottey, and Hongyue Lin, were in front of the school committee Monday to talk about the challenge that lays ahead of them.

To get to the tournament, Foxborough had to compete against nearly 100 teams in the Super Sunday qualifier. Teams are quizzed on 10 categories with 10 questions each with a maximum score of 1,000 and a limit of 16 years. Foxborough earned their first trip to the show with a score of 810.

“Just making it this far is a first and wonderful. We’re so proud,” Foxborough Superintendent Debra Spinelli said.

Team members said a better team dynamic got them to the last 16. On the show, contestants will be quizzed on current events, general knowledge and Massachusetts high school curriculum standards in subjects including literature, history, science and math.

Foxborough's quiz bowl team has plenty of work to do before their first round matchup in January. The team says they are going to watch the last season of High School Quiz Show to get a feel for the format and use practice questions to scrimmage.

The team's first round opponent has yet to be announced.

Image via WGBH