Season premieres on Saturday, April 3 at 6 p.m. on GBH 2, GBH.org and YouTube with first-ever homeschool team competing

BOSTON (March 23, 2021) – High School Quiz Show®, GBH’s award-winning televised academic competition for Massachusetts high school students, will premiere its 12th season at 6 p.m. on April 3 on GBH 2 and on the show’s web page and YouTube channel. Award-winning Boston media personality Billy Costa returns to host as 17 teams vie for the state championship. The show was produced using a new, innovative hybrid model with students competing remotely and Costa hosting from GBH studios in Boston.

“This year has brought many changes to our routines, and we are excited to have developed a safe, dynamic way to continue to bring High School Quiz Show to our audiences,” said GBH Executive Producer and Director of Youth Media Hillary Wells. “We know that communities across Massachusetts are looking forward to celebrating the perseverance and academic accomplishments of their schools this season. We hope they’ll join us in cheering on all of the students and coaches that make this show so special.”

Each high school team featured in Season 12 earned their spot with top scores at the show’s first virtual Super Sunday qualifier in January. On the April 3 season premiere, two first-time competitors will face off in the Wild Card play-in game, including Wakefield Memorial High School and The Homeschoolers, the first team of homeschooled students to earn a spot in the bracket in the show’s history.

High School Quiz Show is a fast-paced, bracketed academic competition for teams of Massachusetts high school students, broadcast annually on GBH 2. Aside from Jeopardy!, High School Quiz Show is the most popular academic quiz show on American television. Despite the impact of the pandemic on production schedules across the industry, High School Quiz Show will have the unique distinction of operating the gameplay remotely with software engineered at GBH.

Starting March 29, fans can test their knowledge at home with a new High School Quiz Show skill voiced by Billy Costa and available on Alexa and Google Home devices. Fans will be able to play along by prompting their devices to test them on a new five-question category each week, including math, current events, science, literature and history.

In addition to four teams making their High School Quiz Show debuts, Season 12 will feature each of the state champion schools from Seasons 6-11, including the two-time defending champion Boston Latin School; Season 9 champion Andover High School; Lexington High School, which took home the trophy in Seasons 7 and 8; Season 6 champion Advanced Math and Science Academy, and Season 4 champion North Quincy High School.

The full list of teams competing for the state championship title is as follows:

  • Advanced Math and Science Academy (Marlborough, MA)
  • Andover High School
  • Belmont High School
  • Boston Latin School
  • British International School of Boston
  • The Homeschoolers
  • Hopkinton High School
  • Lexington High School
  • Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science (Worcester, MA)
  • Needham High School
  • Newton North High School
  • North Quincy High School
  • Sharon High School
  • Wakefield Memorial High School
  • Wellesley High School
  • Westford Academy
  • Weston High School

The full bracket can be found here.

High School Quiz Show airs Saturdays at 6 p.m. and repeats Sundays at 10am and 5pm on GBH 2. Episodes can also be streamed at WGBH.org and on YouTube.

High School Quiz Show is endorsed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education and the Massachusetts PTA. Questions on the show are aligned with the Massachusetts high school curriculum standards in subjects that include literature, history, civics, science and math, as well as current events, and general knowledge. Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance. Additional funding is provided by the Museum of Science, Massachusetts Teachers Association, XFINITY from Comcast, Eastern Bank, Emerson College and Subaru of New England.

For more information, visit highschoolquizshow.org and follow the show on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About GBH

GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.
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