Lexington High School is competing in Season 17 of GBH’s High School Quiz Show, which will have its broadcast premiere on February 7, 2026. A four-time state champion, the LHS team hopes to secure its fifth title this season.
High School Quiz Show is an Emmy Award-winning academic competition featuring 16 Massachusetts high school teams each year. Each team of four competes in buzzer-style elimination rounds designed to test their knowledge on a wide range of subjects, such as math, science, history, literature, and current events, such as sports and pop culture. Each episode consists of four rounds: Toss-up, Head-to-Head, Category, and Lightning.
“High School Quiz Show was created to showcase and celebrate academic excellence among high school students across the Commonwealth,” Hillary Wells, executive producer of the show, told LexObserver. “We wanted to give academically driven students the same recognition often given to athletes.”
The show is designed so that successful teams not only master core academic subjects, but also develop strategies to collaborate efficiently with fellow team members.
“When you see a successful team, you’ll notice that they have a strategy in place for who’s in charge of what. Who really knows geography, and who is strong at math? When questions come up, the team will develop a strategy to deal with different aspects of gameplay. Year to year, they’ll learn the tricks of the trade. Of course, Lexington has had plenty of time to learn the tricks,” Wells said.
This year, the LHS team captains are Shishir Bharadwaj and Alvan Hossain, two high school juniors who also competed in the Quiz Show last year.
“I first became involved in Quiz Show because I’m interested in literature, fine arts, history, geography, and I thought it would be applicable for the competition. I’ve also watched the episodes on YouTube, and it seemed like something that was interesting and pretty easy to get involved in, because it was through our school,” Bharadwaj said.
The LHS Quiz Show team welcomed a new coach this year, David Hough, following former coach Josh Olivier-Mason, who had guided the team through multiple successful seasons.
“We’re going to miss the former coach, Josh Olivier-Mason. They’ve had a great run, and we’ve all become very fond of him, but we’re equally excited to meet the new coach, David. It will be exciting to get to know him and his style,” Wells said.
Reflecting on how the team is shaping up this season, Bharadwaj highlighted the composition and chemistry of their new team.
“This year, we have a completely different team, besides Alvan and I who stayed from last year. Now, all four main starters are juniors, and we know each other well so we have a good vibe. I’m excited to see how our new team works out and how we can leverage our strengths and skills,” Bharadwaj said.
The captains emphasized that, beyond the intense competition, the Quiz Show is also an experience the team genuinely enjoys.
“My favorite part of High School Quiz Show is that even though it’s a high-stakes environment with a lot of preparation that goes into it, we’re having fun throughout it all,” Hossain said. “It’s a quiz show—it’s fun to watch, and the gamified aspect also makes it fun to play.”
As Season 17 of High School Quiz Show approaches, the LHS team looks forward to contributing skill and spirit to the competition.
“Hopefully we can bring another championship to Lexington this year. I think we have good chances,” Bharadwaj said.
You can watch GBH’s High School Quiz Show broadcast premiere on February 7.