University Challenge - 2010 Series
In this page:
- Selection process for the University of Manchester team
- Team membership - Are you eligible?
- Availability for filming
Selection process for the University of Manchester team
Do you have a good range of general knowledge? Can you cope with facing Jeremy Paxman? Then why not come along to the two-stage selection test for the University of Manchester team which will apply for the next series of University Challenge?
The first stage is a written test comprising 100 general knowledge questions, which will take place in Meeting Room 4 in the basement of the Student Union Building on Oxford Road. This will take place on Wednesday 2nd December.
It will start at 3.00 p.m., but you can turn up at any time provided that you finish the test by 5.30 p.m. The test should not take longer than about 45 minutes to complete.
The people who achieve the highest scores in this written test will be invited to the second stage in the process, which will be a test of speed on the buzzer in answering University Challenge starter questions.
This will take place later the same day, between 7.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m.
If you are keen to apply to be on the team but you aren't free on that afternoon, please let me know (Stephen.Pearson@manchester.ac.uk), and I'll do my best to make alternative arrangements if this is at all possible.
It would, however, probably prove impossible to make alternative arrangements for anybody who wasn't free between 7.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. on that evening for the head-to-head competition between the highest scorers on the written test.
To get an idea of whether you're likely to be in contention for a place on the team, you can test yourself with a previous year's selection test. You can choose to see the questions with answers if you would prefer not to answer the questions.
Unless you can score at least 25/100 on this test, you probably won't be in contention for a place on the team, and most people who have made it onto the team in past years have scored at least ten points more than this on a similar test.
Team membership - Are you eligible?
You are eligible to be a member of the team if you meet the following two requirements.
1) You will still be a student of the University of Manchester during the periods when all stages of the competition are filmed (see below).
2) You have not appeared on television in University Challenge in either of its incarnations, namely while it was hosted by Bamber Gascoigne between 1962 and 1987 or while it has been hosted by Jeremy Paxman since 1994.
Availability for filming
Team members must be available for filming at studios in Manchester on all potential filming dates. The first-round matches will be filmed during the period 25-28 February 2010, the second-round matches will be filmed during the period 19-21 March 2010, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be filmed during the period 16-18 April 2010.
Stephen Pearson
Team Manager, University of Manchester team for University Challenge