St Andrews University through to next round after win on BBC’s University Challenge

St Andrews University triumphed on BBC2’s University Challenge after winning against Cambridge’s Gonville & Caius College on Monday night.

The St Andrews team now advance to the next round of the long-running panel show hosted by Jeremy Paxman.

The student team won their match with a final score of 140-120.

And their victory comes just weeks after St Andrews was declared Scotland’s best university, beating Edinburgh and Glasgow to the top spot.

The Fife university ranked first in Scotland and second UK-wide in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.

The St Andrews students took an early lead on the television quiz show, but their Cambridge-based opponents fought back with the teams on equal footing by the half way point.

Wow what a jumper! Csukai is the clear winner of this weeks #universityknitwear on #universitychallenge @univofstandrews pic.twitter.com/frxx1dAno7

— Jenny L (@crewlewisjen) October 10, 2022

St Andrews then hit a bad patch with some point losses allowing Caius and Gonville to push forward, before the St Andrews team bounced back to eventually clinch the win.

They will now go through to the next round on University Challenge.

Through to the next round! Well played team! 🙌

St Andrews 140
Gonville and Caius Cambridge 120 #UniversityChallenge #EverToExcel pic.twitter.com/OwkgrYhhk3

— University of St Andrews (@univofstandrews) October 10, 2022

The current team from St Andrews is being led by captain Joseph Cryan, from Lancashire, along with Alec Csukai from Berkshire, studying astronomy and astrophysics; Simon Gibbons from Nottinghamshire, who is doing a masters in sustainable development and Sofya Anisimova, Moscow, studying a PhD in military history.

The University of St Andrews became the first Scottish institute to be crowned champions on University Challenge in 1982, with University of Dundee following suit a year later.

In September last year, the University of Dundee featured a team winning their debut match after competing on the iconic show for the first time in 38 years.