University Challenge all-star alumni team through to semi-final

Wednesday, 03 January 2018

Congratulations to alumni Anna Machin, Martin Hughes-Games, Sophie Walker and Pippa Greenwood!

Did you catch University Challenge last night? 

In last night’s episode, alumni from the University of Reading and Brunel University fought for a place in the University Challenge Christmas 2017 semi-final (results ahead!).

And the winner was… Reading! Please join us in congratulating the team – we’ll be watching eagerly this week to see how they do! 

The Reading team comprised of four familiar graduates –   academic, science writer and broadcaster Anna Machin, who earned her PhD in Archaeology in 2006; Springwatch presenter Martin Hughes-Games, who graduated with a degree in Zoology in 1978; gardening writer and broadcaster Pippa Greenwood, who completed a Master’s degree in Crop Protection in the 1980s; and team captain and leader of the Women’s Equality Party Sophie Walker, who graduated from Reading with a degree in French and English in the 1990s.  

Reading secured a strong lead after a very successful opening round, beating Brunel with a final score of 155 to 45.

The team now join alumni from Keble College (Oxford), UCL and St John’s College (Cambridge) for the semi-finals and subsequent final, which will be shown on BBC Two every day this week. 

Make sure you tune in to see how far Reading can go!