Pre-2000
University Challenge was introduced in 1962 when Granada Television launched their new intellectual quiz show onto our screens. Perhaps contributing to its success, the show was traditional, compared to other embelished game show formats of the time.
Originally hosted by Bamber Gascoigne from 1962–1987, the show found new fame in 1994 when Jeremy Paxman took over the quizmaster’s chair.
1984: Team Open win for the first time
Team Open won University Challenge for the first time in 1984. OU Student champions of the season were David Wintle (Literature), Marjorie Sachs (Science), Barbara Thompson (Mathematics) and Tony Elbra (Mathematics and Technology). They reached a score of 425 against St Andrews, the fourth highest score in the history of the programme (source).
1996: High scoring finalists
The 1996-97 team 
also performed brilliantly, reaching the final. The team consisted of: Harriet Courtney, Martin Heighway, Ida Staples and Peter Bissett. Although the team did not win the competition, they achieved a magnificent score of 415 in the semi-final against Charing Cross Hospital, which is still the highest score of the Paxman era onwards, and the joint fifth highest score in the history of the programme (source). The team also scored 395 in the first round against University of Wales, Swansea - the second highest score of the Paxman era onwards (source). Our thanks to Harriet Browne (was Courtney) for the photograph and information on the team.
1999: A second win
Team Open won the challenge for a second time in 1999. The winners were David Good, John Burke, Sue Mitchell and Lance Haward, reading Classical Greek, Computing, Humanities and Literature respectively.
Post-2000
2014: The comeback
After a long run of Team Open not making the televised show from 1999 - 2014, 2014 was our year again! You can watch the moment we received the call in a special programme, University Challenge documentary: Class of 2014. We feature from 14:30.
2023: Quarter-finalists!
In Series 30 (2023-24) of University Challenge, Team Open reached the quarter-finals - the best Team Open performance yet since winning in 1999. You can meet the 2023 team and hear about their experience here. The Series was hosted by Amol Rajan for the first time.
The team included Ellie Romans (Nursing), Mike Holt (Open Degree), Ann Gavaghan (Art History), and James Davidson (English Literature).
Here's how Team Open performed throughout the series:
- First round, 4 September 2023: Open - 155, Hertford College, Oxford - 230
- Repechage, 30 October 2023: Open - 255, Oxford Brookes - 155
- Second round, 13 November 2023: Open - 265, UEA - 130
- First quarter-final, 29 January 2024: Open - 170, Trinity College, Cambridge - 190
- Second quarter-final, 4 March 2024: Open - 75, Christ Church, Oxford - 170
At the end of their last match, host Amol Rajan praised Team Open 2023 for applauding their opponents Christ Church, Oxford when they buzzed in quickly for starter questions: 'I thought that was wonderfully noble of you and in keeping with what a wonderfully entertaining team you've been.' You can catch up on the match on iPlayer here if you're in the UK.
"Getting to be part of such an iconic programme is a real privilege and a once in a lifetime opportunity" - Mike
A photograph of Team Open 2023: Romans, Holt, Gavaghan, Davidson.
2024: Two years in a row
Then, for the second year in a row, Team Open once again reached the quarter-finals in Series 31 (2024-25). Karie Westermann (studying Art History), Hector Payne (studying MSc in Finance), Nicky Maving (studying Natural Sciences) and Tom Barber (studying Physics) comprised the brilliant team. You can read more about their experience on our meet the team 2024-25 page.
Their performance in the competition was as follows:
- First round, 19 August 2024: Open - 190, UCL - 175
- Second round, 9 December 2024: Open - 180, Durham - 115
- First quarter-final, 3 March 2025: Open - 90, Bristol – 135
- Second quarter-final, 31 March 2025: Open – 105, UCL – 235
"Getting to represent Open University with these fine folks is something I will treasure forever." - Karie
A photograph of Team Open 2024: Maving, Barber, Westermann, Payne.
If you have any information on previous teams, please get in touch with us at oustudents-community@open.ac.uk.