Kingston College (KC) students celebrate with members of the triumphant Schools' Challenge Quiz team yesterday. They beat Ardenne High School 42-14 in the finals Tuesday night. In blazers (from left) are Oral Lawson, captain Kenneth Peart, Roland Douglas and Alain N'Dalla.

The Melbourne campus of Kingston College (KC) erupted with shouts yesterday when the winning 2009 Television Jamaica Schools' Challenge Quiz team walked on to the school's compound.

The victorious team members, who are all based at KC's North Street campus, marched to the lower school with their trophies and purple and white flags in their hands.

"Fortis! Fortis! Fortis!" the excited lower-school boys chanted as the team entered the school's compound.

The teachers, some of whom were decked out in their purple and white outfits, turned paparazzi as they took photographs of the team.

"This trophy not coming back out of KC," one teacher yelled.

"KC a big side," the another said, while her excited colleagues waited their turn to pose with the boys.

The team, which went up against an all-girls' team from co-ed school Ardenne High, won 42-14 in the finals Tuesday night.

Overwhelmed

"We are overwhelmed. We went into the match confident and we didn't want to let anybody down," Alain N'Dalla told The Gleaner yesterday.

And when the final bell went, the boys were confident that they had won.

"We were not surprised at all," 16-year-old Roland Douglas said.

Kenneth Peart, 17-year-old team captain, said they could not have done it without the assistance of several persons.

"Everybody wants to think that it was the team, but we would not have got this far if it were not for the teachers, old boys, coaches and others," Peart said.

He added: "They have done so much for us and made us into better persons."

The team members said prayer was also integral in their victory. The team prayed before, after and during matches.

KC is no stranger to Schools' Challenge Quiz victories. The school has won nine matches and has been to 16 finals. The last victory prior to Tuesday was in 2007.

Burning the midnight oil

The team members said this feat required intense preparation.

"It's all about burning the midnight oil. The preparation was hectic and it takes a lot of dedication," Peart told The Gleaner.

The team members said they spent numerous weekends preparing for the quiz, sometimes going to bed just for a few hours. The boys were forced to put aside activities that they once enjoyed.

"It's all about sacrifices. We couldn't call our friends as often as we used to, but it was all worth it in the end," Oral Lawson, 18-year-old lower sixth-form student, told The Gleaner.

"And we had to give up most of our teenage lives."

N'Dalla said being part of the quiz team has made him a more committed student.

"It has helped us tremendously. We appreciate the meaning of focus and dedication and all the traits," he said.

He added: "It has made us more disciplined. It is really a life-changing experience."

Reserve member of the team, Maurice Brown, has warned the other teams to watch out for him next year.

"I'll be taking back the trophy," he said.

Kenyatta Powell, one of the coaches, said he was not surprised that the team had won the competition.

"We were quite confident that they would have won (but) I was a little surprised by the margin of victory," he said.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com

Kingston College (KC) students celebrate their school's victory in Television Jamaica's Schools' Challenge Quiz Tuesday night. The celebration took place at KC's Melbourne campus on Elletson Road in Kingston yesterday. - photos by Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer