Your starts at ten: meet the SOAS university team

SOAS returns to the iconic BBC University competition with a team of talented students ready to compete with some of the UK’s top universities. We caught up with them to find out how they prepared, what memorable University Challenge moments they had, and what’s next for them after the competition.

For the first time in 6 years, SOAS University of London is taking part in the long-running BBC University Challenge. For the past 62 years, the famously challenging television quiz show has seen university students from across the UK answer questions on everything from history to science, literature to pop culture – that is, before the bell rings.

Following tryouts at the SOAS Students’ Union, five SOAS students were successfully selected to take part in the latest series of the show. Meet this year’s team: Tom Hasler (Captain), Ella Dorn, Janet Delves, Cameron Lambert and Lola Finch.

What was it like to be accepted?

Cameron: The acceptance was extremely exciting. Watching the show grow and knowing how many teams applied to be on the show but didn’t get in, I had to try hard not to get my hopes up too high before we heard. However, as soon as we found out about it, it all came out and I couldn’t stop smiling for a week.

Janet: I was a student during the empty interregnum years of the University Competition, so I knew that applying to graduate school was a last-ditch attempt to make up for the lost opportunities of my youth. I was incredibly excited to be selected for the SOAS team and delighted that we made it to the TV rounds.

Lola: It was surreal because I’ve been watching University Challenge for as long as I can remember. Knowing that I was a part of it was a really nice feeling; Although I was a substitute player and did not appear on the television show, I really enjoyed being part of the team, getting to know my teammates and being constantly impressed by their knowledge.

How did you prepare for the show individually and as a team?

Volume: We had weekly training sessions where we, as a team, solved old questions from the University Challenge. We tested our general knowledge by finding out what our strengths and weaknesses were and who might be more knowledgeable in different areas.

Cameron: Personally, I must have re-watched hundreds of old episodes in the lead-up, trying my best to be as fast as possible. As a team, we would often get together to look through a book of old questions from the show that Ella found for us. It was so fun to get together and see whose strengths were in what areas.

How did I prepare? I watch so many old episodes that this issue continues to haunt me.

Janet: Individual: learning lots of facts, UK prime ministers, US state capitals, etc. (none of this happened!) Also, I watch so many old episodes that the theme tune keeps haunting me. As a team we got together regularly to answer questions from Ella’s UC book and we tried a couple of pub quizzes which were fun.

Ella: The preparation starts from the day you are born – I read as much as I can about what interests me and hoped that it would carry over into the show. We went through a whole book of sample questions from the previous series, practiced bell techniques and attended a few pub quizzes in London.

Lola: I trained regularly with the team and then with my friends at the SU pub quiz where I managed to win lots of free drinks!

What was one outstanding fact you learned during the process?

Volume: Shortly before filming, it was interesting to hear one of the producers ask questions. Some are created in-house, but most are created by a group of freelance scientists. The production team then filters these questions and sorts them by difficulty, with comparatively easier questions used for earlier rounds and more difficult ones saved for subsequent rounds.

Cameron: The answer is 41, but I’m not allowed to ask you the question.

Janet: You have to be very, very quick on the call.

Ella: “Bamber Gascoigne” is an anagram of “BBC Game Organisation”!

Lola: It’s much easier to answer trivia questions without a hangover – I was guilty of this too often during our training.

Is there a question on the show that you remember?

Volume: Another memorable question that I almost couldn’t answer was where Amol Rajan was looking for an ancient civilization and in the list of facts about that civilization he mentioned the name of a particular god, after which it immediately became obvious to me as well as to my opponents, and we all tried to get in almost immediately.

Cameron: There was a bonus round where my nerdy teenage years came to the fore. I knew that if I got any of them wrong, my brothers would never forgive me.

Janet: I can’t remember the question, but I know the answer was Coventry Cathedral.

Ella: Our opponents were asked a bonus question about the classic Hollywood actress – I’ve seen 19 of her films, and the Guardian even commissioned me to write a long article on the centenary of her 1924 debut. I remember being very sad because I could have done it.

Lola: Our opponents received several additional questions regarding delivery forecast regions. Even though I was biting my tongue throughout the filming, it was especially difficult not to respond to them. During training, it was often joked that I was interested in the supply forecast and sometimes carried a handkerchief with regions printed on it to help me remember them.

What was it like representing SOAS?

Cameron: It was wonderful. The University Challenge is closely associated with traditionally prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, so it was fun to showcase our smaller, more unique institution there.

Janet: I was very proud that we got on TV tours from a niche university like SOAS, without the help of pure scientists, mathematicians, doctors etc. SOAS seems to be doing something with its broad world view.

The University Challenge is closely associated with traditionally prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, so it was fun to showcase our smaller, more unique institution there.

Lola: I was very proud that we went through the difficult selection process. I think as a team we were all very aware of the fact that SOAS’s focus is not on maths and science, so competing with more traditional universities was always going to be a challenge for us. When it came to answering questions on these topics, a lot of the pressure fell on our Captain Tom. It was inspiring to watch him fight against entire teams of scientists.

What are you looking forward to for the rest of the school year?

Volume: I’ll be busy applying for jobs for the rest of this school year. That being said, I have some interesting modules next semester that I’m looking forward to, such as Environmental Economics and China and World Development.

Cameron: I am really enjoying working on my dissertation on labor struggles in the Bangladeshi garment industry. It’s a daunting amount of work, but it’s very satisfying to have complete control over the direction of your research.

Ella: I completed my BA in September and am now working as a freelance writer while doing events and social media work for the Academy of Ideas in London. I have no plans to return to academia, but I am very excited to continue writing about film and culture for as many publications as possible, planning a few book projects, and perhaps working on Chinese-English literary translation.

Janet: I’ve completed my master’s, so I’m looking forward to the final results and enjoying my free time from studying.

Lola: I had just started my third year at SOAS and was most interested in studying Zoroastrianism. I chose this topic with no prior knowledge and I’m so glad I did; The teachers are so interesting and their knowledge is so comprehensive. Every time I walk into their classroom I am reminded of why I decided to come to SOAS.

Watch SOAS on BBC2 University Challenge at 8pm on Monday 11 November. There will be a screening at SOAS SU JCR. Interested in joining the SOAS University Challenge team next year? Express your interest.