'Friendship helped us win University Challenge'

A student whose team were crowned champions of University Challenge has credited their victory to their strong bond and "unbelievable" captain.

Rob Faulkner, 23, of Norwich, was part of the University of Manchester foursome that triumphed over Edinburgh in the BBC quiz's final.

The physics graduate said the achievement did not sink in until he watched the show being broadcast on TV with a crowd of fellow students on Monday.

"I was quite disappointed with my own performance, but I was overwhelmed by how well we'd done as a team, and proud of everyone else," he said.

Faulkner said he was encouraged by friends to try out for the university team more than a year ago.

He was put through "pretty tense" mock challenges, complete with buzzers, watched by Manchester's previous competitors armed with clipboards.

Once selected, the team organised extra practice sessions simply because he and Ray Power, Kirsty Dickson, captain Kai Madgwick and reserve player Argyro Olympitis enjoyed each other's company.

"We gelled very quickly, from the get-go really — I think that's what helped us and stood us in such good stead," said the former City of Norwich School pupil.

"The process is so quick; you only get 25 minutes and you want to impress," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"The thing many people won't know - the buzzers are really hard to press, that took some getting used to."

After winning against the London School of Economics, the team defeated University College London and Sheffield in the "win at least two" rule in the three quarter-final rounds - where they lost to Edinburgh.

They then sailed past Imperial College London, scoring 250 points to 70 in the semi-final, and had a chance to right a wrong when they met Edinburgh again in the final.

The team aced a series of starter questions - thanks to Madgwick's distinctive quick-fire buzzing, his elbow aloft - to secure bonus rounds including the works of Alexander Pushkin and the Second Crusade of 1147-1149.

Faulkner admitted that "not even until the final gong went" did they believe they would win - by an impressive 145 points to 105.

"We were scraping through each round, and even though we had a super weapon in Kai, there was never really a moment where I thought 'we're going to do this'.

"It was all so quick, and the next thing, Amol [Rajan, quizmaster] was announcing we had won."

Faulkner said he was beaten to the buzzer a few times and was "frustrated" two of his subjects, sport and the periodic table, fell to the opposing team, and his one answer on a "starter-for-10", on opera, was incorrect.

He praised Madgwick, from Fowey in Cornwall, who buzzed "so quickly, you don't know how they do it".

"Not only are they [Madgwick] an unbelievable quizzer, they are so humble, so appreciative of the team," said Faulkner, who is now training to become a maths teacher.

"We all know we wouldn't have been there without them.

"They are one of the loveliest people I've ever met.

"Kai would rally the troops, and as a team we still meet up when we can."

The victory is an historic one for Manchester, which becomes the joint most successful university in the history of the British version of the competition, which started on ITV in 1962-1987, before being revived by the BBC in 1994.

Manchester now has five wins, alongside Imperial College London.

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