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Praise from old school Latymer Upper following Tim's victory

Law student Ted Loveday who has been hailed as the best ever contestant on BBC's University Challenge, is a former pupil of Latymer Upper school.

The Cambridge University student, who was instrumental in Cambridge's Gonville and Caius victory over Oxford's Magdalen ( 255-105), has paid tribute to teachers at his former school, saying they played a role in his success.

During the final, Tim (pictured above) correctly answered ten Starter for Ten questions consecutively and then went on to surprise the audiance and presenter Jeremy Paxman with his quick response to a particularly tricky question. When asked what the ancient Greek term for an expression found only once in literature was he replied ‘hapax legomenon’- a Greek term for ‘said only once’

Tim was surprised at the attention given to him in the media following the final of the television show - including favourable comments about the cable-knit sweater he wore during filming. He told an interview he swotted for the show by watching old You Tube editions of University Challenge and reading Wikipedia.

In 2010 Ted was part of a Latymer school debating team which beat seven other schools in the final of a national debating competition.

The Latymer Upper School website congratulated Tim on his success and teachers recalled that his academic talent had been apparent while he was in senior school.

Mr Lewis, Head of Classics at Latymer Upper School said; "He was one of the best Classicists. He got full marks in all four A Level Latin modules. The best thing about him was his modesty and willingness to help and support others."  Head of History, Mr White told The Times: "His recall was always 100% but he had a brilliant intellect, rather than just being a fact grinder."

Ted thanked his old school on Twitter and said "Owed "hapax legomenon" (and others) squarely to teachers @LatymerUpper.

April 18, 2015