Twenty-one high schools participate in Delco Hi-Q. Each school team has ten members, and each school hosts one contest during the regular season. Three teams compete at each regular season match, and there are three rounds in each match.

Questions, prepared from 14 subjects, cover standard high school course content as well as general scholastic knowledge that students are expected to have acquired. Guidelines and specific reference material are provided to each team at the start of each season.

Each participating high school hosts at least one regular season Hi-Q match. Team standings are determined by total cumulative earned points.

At the end of the regular season, the highest scoring team bypasses the semi-final round to advance directly to the championship round. Teams ranking second through seventh compete in the semifinal round before advancing to the championship match.

Four of the six semi-finalists will be eliminated during the semi-final matches. The second highest ranking team competes against teams ranking sixth and seventh. The third highest ranking team competes against teams ranking fourth and fifth.

The two semi-finalists compete against the season’s highest ranking school for the championship. The winning team is awarded the coveted Donna Zerby Trophy and $3,000 for their school. Second and third place teams earn for their schools cash awards of $2,500 and $2,000 respectively. The Most Improved team also receives a cash award.

All Delco Hi-Q teams are recognized at the annual Partners in Education Celebration, an awards banquet that highlights academic achievements in Delaware County and its neighboring communities.

Participants are asked questions on a variety of subjects. Students are provided with a reference list before the start of each season.

STANDARD

• American History
• American Government
• Art History
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Current Events
• Geography
• Literature
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Shakespeare
• World History

Early one morning in the summer of 1948, two Scott Paper executives, members of the newly formed public relations department, met to create a high school radio quiz program that would represent a constructive contribution to the youth of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the base of Scott Paper Company operations. Through negotiations with Chester radio station WPWA, Scott’s Hi-Q was born.

Robert O. Johnson, a young man with experience hosting quiz programs, was named quizmaster. Bob researched and wrote the questions, and also coined the name Hi-Q—“Hi” for high school and “Q” for I.Q.

During the first season, 20 schools with teams of four students competed. A series of weekly contests, between two teams at a time, resulted in the selection of five finalist teams. All questions in that first year were based on the current issue of Newsweek magazine.

The first Scott’s Hi-Q competition was held October 13, 1948. This history making event between Sharon Hill and Marple Newtown High Schools was recorded for broadcast on WPWA, a Chester, PA radio station. Sharon Hill High School was victorious.

Media High School emerged as the first Hi-Q champion in spring 1949 following a competition with finalists Swarthmore, Collingdale, Glen-Nor, and Haverford High Schools. Each member of the Media High School Hi-Q team was awarded an engraved gold watch, and the school received an auditorium size television set. Second and third place winners received leather wallets and tape recorders for their schools.

Hi-Q’s first season as a Current Events Quiz, proved to be not very exciting, so a format change was introduced. From 1949 through 1954, contest material was presented in the form of a fictitious story, containing a total of 20 errors. Students identified the error for one point, and corrected it for a second. The quiz was designed to test a general knowledge of history, geography, current events, literature, biography, science, and government. By 1954 it was decided to change the format using direct questions and a new scoring system. Minor changes in 1962 led to a similar format that is used today.

Eventually the radio broadcasts were cancelled as it became increasingly evident that Hi-Q was, and should be, an in-school activity, as much a part of school as classes, athletics, clubs, and all other elements that make-up the full high school experience.

The program became increasingly popular over the years and in the 1970’s Donna Zerby, manager of Hi-Q and special projects, led the initiative to expand Hi-Q to other parts of the country. Having been involved with the program since 1962, Donna had the experience and passion to grow Hi-Q. Scott Paper plants in Wisconsin, Alabama, Maine, Washington, and Arkansas sponsored programs identical to the flagship Hi-Q. A national championship was also created during this period. As national director, Donna produced the program through the 1990s, and she continued as Delco Hi-Q director until her death in 2005.

Through the Delaware County Education Foundation, local businesses began supporting Delco Hi-Q in the mid-1990s. Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU) and the Foundation of The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce became co-sponsors of Delco Hi-Q.

Today, Delco Hi-Q continues as a partnership between education and business organizations. The Delaware County Intermediate Unit, in conjunction with Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union, produces the competition. Partners In Education, a program of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Foundation, secures funding for Hi-Q, the annual academic awards celebration, and many related educational initiatives.

Hi-Q is alive and well in Delaware County and in the states of Alabama, Wisconsin, and Washington.

Over the course of over 70 seasons, sponsors have changed, schools have changed, and the format has changed but the founding principles have remained…

Hi-Q is a “program that stimulates young minds and a constructive contribution to the youth of Delaware County, Pennsylvania.”

DELCO Hi-Q FINALISTS

The All-Delco Hi-Q Team is comprised of one outstanding student from each participating school. Formal acknowledgment of the best-of-the-best began in 2005. Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union, Delaware County Intermediate Unit, and The Delaware County Daily Times sponsor this exclusive recognition at the annual Partners in Education Celebration.

The Delco Hi-Q Hall of Honor was created in 2005 to honor past Hi-Q participants and those who have made an outstanding contribution to the Delco Hi-Q program. The Hall of Honor will grow to include participants from each decade of Hi-Q.

Please check back for information about nominating your candidate in 2023.

2021-2022 Schedule

STRATH HAVEN-  41
CHICHESTER- 18
ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME- 34
Wednesday, December 1
9:30 AM

PENNCREST- 53
RIDLEY- 39
UPPER DARBY- 34
Friday, December 3
9:25 AM

PENN WOOD- 18
CARDINAL O'HARA- 32
INTERBORO- 19
Tuesday, December 7
9:15 AM

SUN VALLEY- 32
MARPLE NEWTOWN- 49
VFMA- 18
Wednesday, December 8
10:30 AM

BONNER & PRENDIE - 26
ACADEMY PARK - 24
CHESTER STEM -9
Thursday, December 9
9:50 AM

GARNET VALLEY- 66
SPRINGFIELD- 32
HAVERFORD- 44
Tuesday, December 14
9:55 AM

DEL. COUNTY CHRISTIAN- 48
ARCHBISHIP CARROLL- 6
RADNOR-32
Wednesday, December 15
10:45 AM

UPPER DARBY- 45
BONNER & PRENDIE- 23
CHICHESTER- 22
Wednesday, January 5
11:15 AM

POSTPONED!
SPRINGFIELD- 52
VFMA- 12
CARDINAL O'HARA- 32
New date- Monday, February 7
9:25 AM

ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME- 37
PENN WOOD- 21
PENNCREST- 36
New date- Tuesday, January 18
9:30 AM

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL- 16
GARNET VALLEY- 71
SUN VALLEY- 21
Monday, January 10
9:40 AM

POSTPONED! New Date- TBD
CHESTER STEM- 9
HAVERFORD- 66
RIDLEY- 35
New date- Wednesday, February 9
9:45 AM

INTERBORO- 25
DEL. COUNTY CHRISTIAN- 25
STRATH HAVEN- 40
Thursday, January 13
9:40 AM

ACADEMY PARK- 8
RADNOR- 32
MARPLE NEWTOWN- 46
Wednesday, January 19
9:40 AM

CHICHESTER- 37
CHESTER STEM- 3
PENN WOOD- 10
Friday, January 21
10:15 AM

RIDLEY- 49
ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME- 36
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL- 19
Tuesday, January 25
10:00 AM

VFMA- 27
INTERBORO-42
ACADEMY PARK- 23
Wednesday, January 26
10:30 AM

CARDINAL O'HARA- 18
SUN VALLEY- 33
BONNER & PRENDIE- 20
Thursday, January 27
9:45 AM

HAVERFORD- 45
UPPER DARBY- 34
DEL. COUNTY CHRISTIAN- 38
Tuesday, February 1
9:30 AM

RADNOR- 33
PENNCREST- 47
GARNET VALLEY- 53
Wednesday, February 2
10:00 AM

MARPLE NEWTOWN- 40
STRATH HAVEN- 46
SPRINGFIELD- 35
Thursday, February 3
10:05 AM

SEMI-FINAL CONTEST 1

PENNCREST- 41
MARPLE NEWTOWN- 46
STRATH HAVEN- 33
Tuesday, February 15
10:00 AM

SEMI-FINAL CONTEST 2

HAVERFORD
RIDLEY
SPRINGFIELD
Thursday, February 17
9:45 AM

DELCO HI-Q CHAMPIONSHIP:
Thursday, March 3
(Snow Date: Friday, March 6)

• Radnor High School
• Ridley High School
• Springfield High School
• Strath Haven High School
• Sun Valley High School
• Upper Darby High School
• Delaware County Christian School
• Garnet Valley High School
• Haverford High School
• Interboro High School
• Marple Newtown High School
• Penncrest High School
• Penn Wood High School
• Academy of Notre Dame
• Academy Park
• Archbishop Carroll High School
• Monsignor Bonner Archbishop Prendergast
• Valley Forge Military Academy 
• Chester High School
• Chichester High School
• Cardinal O'Hara High School

• Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union
• DCIU
• Wilbur C. & Betty Lea Henderson Foundation
• Daily Times
• Kimberly-Clark
• Enterprise Holdings
• CCRES
• Neumann University
• PSEA
• FMFCU Foundation Members
• FMFCU Employees
• Drexelbrook