Britain’s Brainiest Pillai is an educational quiz competition which tests the knowledge of children in various age categories, in ten topic areas: General knowledge, Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, Tamil, Entertainment, Sports and Religion.
The competition consists of 3 rounds of which 2 rounds are completed at an earlier date to the final (3^rd) round, at different parts of London on the same day and at the same time. In the 1^st round the contestants will be presented with a written paper consisting of a set of multiple choice questions. Successful participants then proceed to the 2^nd round where they will be asked to answer a selection of oral questions within a given time limit. The successful participants are then chosen for the Final Round which will be taking place in August. This will be a stage show with various entertaining acts interwoven with the competition. Approximately 25 children from each age category will be battling it out to win the title of Britain’s Brainiest Pillai of the year!

To give you a taste of what the final showdown is like, here is what happened in BBP 2008’s Grand Finale… At the beginning of the competition, on stage was the elimination round in which high scoring children who had just missed out in the 2^nd round, were invited back and given a second chance. From the 10 children from each age group, the two top-scorers, in a round of ‘Countdown’ style conundrums and questions, were chosen to join the finalists for the 1^st round.  And so the 1^st round began, with 25 children from each age group being called up on stage in groups of five, and quizzed on a range of topics. Using the tie-breaker questions to distinguish between children with similar scores, the top 12 children of the 1^st round went through to the second round. This second round was a buzzer round, with the children being chosen randomly to compete head to head, leading to the 6 winners of this round who then proceeded to the third round. This rather tight and tense atmosphere was reproduced in the 3^rd round with the similar format leading to the 3 finalists being chosen from each age group.

The long awaited final consisted of the three finalists having to earn the right, in the form of correct answers, to step forward across 5 tiles, towards the glorious title of Britain’s Brainiest Pillai.

The competition was very tough, but after an intense set of questions, the winners and runners-up were finally chosen. Their prizes, along with medals for all the participants of the evening, were awarded in a prize giving ceremony by the respectable Dr. Josephine Francis. All the children that got so far in the competition to the final had faced a lot of tough competition from all the participants, and we thank them for getting involved, as well as congratulate them on their success!

Britain’s Brainiest Pillai 2008 Final did not just showcase the brain capacity of our younger generation… the amazing talents that they have were allowed to shine through a number of performances staged in between the competition rounds. Talented children were brought in to perform a range of items; from beautiful Bharatha Natyam to lively cinematic dance, from village Villu paattu to Carnatic saxophone and even fun-filled folk dance to an energised group finale performed by the UKTSU members themselves. A memorable feature of the show was the “Parents’ round”, with parents from the audience being called up on stage and asked questions on popular Tamil culture, history and literature! All of the performances provided good quality entertainment for the many people that had come to watch the show, and were well received by all.

We, the United Kingdom Tamil Students Union (UKTSU), are an organisation whose primary aim is to unite all Tamil students from Universities and Colleges as one. We provide Tamil students with the opportunity to come together in an environment to nurture their ambitions and enhance their awareness of identity, culture and community as well as providing them with the opportunity to succeed in a variety of fields. This is a registered charity formed by past and present university students who are dedicated to providing the less fortunate children back in Sri Lanka with the opportunities and help to realise their dreams. Our current project in Sri Lanka is the Mannar Orphanage which houses 50 Tsunami and war affected children. Our support since the last year has provided the children with food, shelter, educational resources and other basic amenities. The profits from BBP2010 will also go towards funding the orphanage.

As a student-run organisation, UKTSU thrives on the support and involvement of the masses, and so would like to thank those that participated in any way to make Britain’s Brainiest Pillai 2008 a success. We will continue to learn our lessons and grow with every step we take, and we hope that you will be there with us the whole way, as it promises to be an enjoyable journey!

BBP 2011 will be introducing 3 age categories for the first time: Under 10s, Under 12s and Under 14s.

Visit out webpage for past papers and competition round information: http://uktsu.org/bbp/

For further information and application forms please contact Prashanthy on 07825511252 or Pratheepan on 07940020813.  This will be an excellent opportunity to recognise and improve your child’s knowledge.