THE EDITOR, Sir:

I write with shock and amazement over the poor performance of York Castle High School in TVJ's Schools' Challenge Quiz (SCQ) competition on January 23, 2013. I cannot recall a traditional high school getting zero in the competition.

At one point, SCQ could be regarded as a litmus test in scholastic achievements, but this has been thrown through the window when I saw Clan Carthy High getting a final score of 12 points and York Castle 0.

In 1972, York Castle was the winner of SCQ and holds the following records:

The first co-ed school to win SCQ.

The first rural school to win SCQ.

The first and only school in St Ann to win SCQ.

What has gone so wrong?

Over recent years, I have seen too many humiliating or dismal performances.

I recommend the following changes to the competition:

1) All teams must be subject to a preliminary quiz competition either during the summer or Christmas term to determine their seeding.

2) This score would create a two-tier competition such as a premier grouping of 30 seeded teams based on historical performance, and then a select group of another 30 teams.

3) Each quiz day you have a double-header of both sets of teams.

4) There will be relegation and promotion at the end of the competition period based on last performance in specific question categories and testing.

5) Premium teams must maintain an average or weighted average score above 25 points depending on the overall last performance in that competition in order to avoid automatic relegation.

Even if none of my recommendations are taken seriously, something radical has to be done. We have to continue to build and maintain the SCQ brand and take it to a regional level, where the top two teams from each Caribbean country are entered.

It is important to take SCQ to the next level and maintain high standards.

ONIEL RICHARDS

evadnodrog@gmail.com

Kingston 6