Pupils from Harrow School proved they are one of the borough’s top quiz teams as they stormed to victory in the 2018 ‘MasterMind in Harrow’ competition.

One of two squads representing the school, ‘Team Awesome’, they scored an impressive 116 points to take home the trophy.

It capped off an exciting day of quizzing, with dozens of Year 9 pupils from six schools putting their general knowledge skills to the test.

Hosted at Harrow School and conducted by St Mary’s Church vicar James Power, the students faced a number of challenges across a variety of subjects.

And it was all in honour of Mind in Harrow – a charity based in the town centre, which seeks to raise money for and awareness of mental health.

Rev James said: “Our mental health is just as important as our physical health.

“We must keep that in mind throughout our lives and remind people that there is plenty of material on there to keep us informed.

“When we started out, it was very much the ‘Cinderella subject’ and, thankfully, that’s not the case anymore.

“But that doesn’t mean it deserves any less of our attention and it’s fantastic that we can all come together for such a great cause.”

The schools collectively brought in an impressive £8,000 by coming up with a wide range of fundraising ideas.

John Lyon School was awarded the prize for ‘Most Innovative Fundraiser’ after it thought up a number of different ways to collect money.

This included hosting stalls at the Christmas Fair, organising collections at school concerts and plays, and putting on a number of specialist quizzes.

Harsh Hingorani, 13, said: “It feels really good to know that we raised so much money for such a worthwhile cause.

“We put a lot of thought and work into our ideas and tried to combine them with other school events to maximise the amount we could raise.

“The whole thing was a wonderful experience and I’d encourage people to get involved next year – I’ll certainly be talking to the Year 8s.”

Another school that took home a trophy was Hatch End High after it raised the most money in the run up to the competition.

Bringing in more than £1,500, it collected funds through events such as a sponsored silence, bake sales and a staff and student non-uniform day.

Wiktoria Kanska, 14, said it was “a great feeling to be able to bring something back to the school”.

And while Harrow School were crowned champions, everyone involved appreciated that the day was about having fun, competing hard and thinking about mental health.

Edward Blunt, 13, who was part of the victorious team, said it was a privilege to invite people into the school for such a great event.

“It was an exciting day and we were pleased to interact with so many different schools in an entertaining environment,” he said.

“General knowledge is something I enjoy – if I read or hear something that I find interesting, I try to remember it.

“Events like this give you an opportunity to learn new things and it brings everyone together. I’d definitely recommend it to people in the future.

“To win the competition topped it all off as I didn’t expect it – it was a challenging day but very, very enjoyable.”