Girls beat 900 rivals in green quiz

Pupils questioned on UAE's biodiversity and global warming.

Dubai,United Arab Emirates-May 26, 2012; (L) Akshaya Shankaran and (R) Kritika Srivastava of The Millenium School, Dubai participate at the Quiz Competition in Dubai . ( Satish Kumar / The National ) Show more

DUBAI // Two pupils from the Millennium School used their environmental knowledge to triumph in a quiz this weekend.

Akshaya Shankaran and Kritika Srivastava beat 900 pupils from around the country in the contest, which was hosted by the Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wildlife Fund and Hamley's toy store.

Teams of pupils aged between 10 and 14 from four schools - JSS International School, the Millennium School and United International Private School (UIPS) in Dubai, and Victoria International English School in Sharjah - made it through to yesterday's final round of the competition. The event was broadcast live on radio from the toy store.

Akshaya and Kritika answered three rounds of questions on the UAE's biodiversity, global warming, water scarcity and the food chain.

"I am really excited because all my practice paid off," said Akshaya, who received a trophy and gift vouchers.

"I read a lot about the UAE environment and issues affecting the world, so this was a great learning experience for me.

"We got to know more about the UAE in particular and that is important because we live here. I particularly enjoyed reading about its flora and fauna."

The Grade 5 girls finished with 97 points - more than double the 44 scored by the runners-up.

Cecik Gutierrez, whose son Justin Raphael, 11, was on the UIPS team, said it was the first time he had taken part in such a big competition. "I am proud that he has made it this far," she said. "A lot of what he knows is taught in school but we also encourage him to do his own research and find out more about his surroundings."

Organisers said they plan to make the quiz an annual event and hold one in Arabic later this year.