Anlo SHS and Kumasi High Boycott 1/8th Stage of NSMQ 2026 After Disputed Ruling

Anlo Senior High School (Anseco) has withdrawn from its 1/8th stage contest of the 2026 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) following a disagreement over a ruling on a question during the competition.

The contest, which featured Anlo SHS, St. Augustine’s College and Kumasi High School, had remained closely contested until Anlo SHS walked off the stage during the final round.

The three schools started strongly, answering their opening questions correctly. At the end of Round One, St. Augustine’s College and Kumasi High School were tied on 20 points each, while Anlo SHS followed closely with 17 points.

The competition tightened further during the Speed Race in Round Two. St. Augustine’s College maintained a narrow lead with 22 points, followed by Anlo SHS with 20 points and Kumasi High School with 19 points.

In the Problem of the Day, St. Augustine’s College and Anlo SHS each scored two out of 10, while Kumasi High School earned one mark. At the end of Round Three, St. Augustine’s College had 26 points, Anlo SHS 22 points and Kumasi High School 20 points.

Disputed Round One question

The controversy emerged before the scores for Round Four were announced when the Quiz Mistress disclosed that St. Augustine’s College had protested a ruling on a question from the first round.

The question was: “What is the outer layer of the brain?”

St. Augustine’s College had answered “meninges”, which was initially ruled incorrect. The question was subsequently passed to Anlo SHS as a bonus, and the school answered “dura mater,” which the Quiz Mistress accepted.

Following St. Augustine’s protest, however, the matter was referred to the competition’s consultant, who recommended that the school’s answer should earn a partial point. The Quiz Mistress subsequently awarded the partial point to St. Augustine’s College.

The decision generated disagreement from the Anlo SHS team, which maintained that its answer was the more precise response to the wording of the question.

The timing of the protest also became a point of contention. Under the rules and regulations governing the contest, protests are expected to be raised during the round to which they relate and not after the competition has progressed to subsequent rounds.

Anlo SHS was therefore unhappy that a protest concerning a Round One question was considered later in the contest and resulted in a change to the earlier ruling.

Anlo SHS argued that “meninges” collectively describes the three protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, while the dura mater specifically refers to the outermost of those layers.

The school therefore maintained that its answer was more precise in relation to the wording of the question and disagreed with the decision to subsequently award St. Augustine’s College the point.

Anlo SHS protest rejected

Anlo SHS also raised a separate protest, arguing that one of its answers in an earlier round had been rejected because its contestants failed to attach the required unit of measurement.

The school requested that the same consideration extended to St. Augustine’s College following its protest should be applied to its earlier answer.

The Quiz Mistress, however, declined the request.

The contest subsequently proceeded, with St. Augustine’s College leading on 39 points at the end of Round Four. Anlo SHS followed with 34 points, while Kumasi High School had 21 points.

Anlo SHS, Kumasi High walk off stage

The situation took another turn when the competition entered the fifth and final round — the riddles.

Just as the Quiz Mistress began reading the first riddle, a teacher accompanying Anlo SHS approached the stage and called on the school’s contestants to withdraw from the competition over the disputed ruling.

The Anlo SHS contestants subsequently walked off the stage.

Contestants representing Kumasi High School also left the stage after Anlo SHS’s withdrawal, leaving only St. Augustine’s College contestants in the competition.

With both Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School no longer participating, the Quiz Mistress declared St. Augustine’s College the winner of the contest, securing the school’s qualification to the quarter-final stage of the 2026 NSMQ.

The dramatic withdrawal brought an abrupt end to what had been a closely fought contest, with only five points separating St. Augustine’s College and Anlo SHS before the final round.