Schools across the country came together at The University of Warwick this week for the first-ever national School Tasking final, hosted by Taskmaster’s Alex Horne, in front of over 800 year-five children.

From memory tasks to turning classmates into snowmen, the final was described by one audience member as “A school day I’ll never forget”.

The event was a contest of the winning School Tasking teams from each region, following the national rollout of the School Tasking initiative, and it was St Michael’s Catholic Primary from Newcastle who were crowned overall Champion of Champions.

The other competing schools included:

North Region: Halifax Academy
The West: Cabot Primary
In the Middle: Stoke Heath Primary
The South: Christ Church Primary
Ireland: St Gabriel’s National School

The School Tasking programme is created by Dr Ali Struthers from The University of Warwick’s Law school. The widening participation initiative is designed to encourage young people to connect with higher education from an early age.



Dr Struthers said "It's incredible to see so many young minds engaged and excited about the possibilities of higher education. The enthusiasm and creativity displayed by these students is truly inspiring."

The programme’s success sparked a nationwide rollout, with more than 20 Universities across the UK and Ireland introducing sessions in their regions, providing over 3000 children with the opportunity to get involved.

Ali continued: “The national roll-out was more than I could have imagined when I started the initiative, and to feel it all come together in the first-ever final was incredible.”

The final included a series of high-energy tasks and audience interaction on a huge scale, including Alex Horne identifying the loudest audience member.

Alex Horne said "The energy and enthusiasm of these kids are infectious. Watching them tackle the tasks with such creativity and joy has been an absolute highlight. This initiative is a fantastic way to show that learning and having fun can go hand in hand."