NSMQ 2026 Seeded Schools: Full List of 27 Schools To Skip Regional Qualifiers

Twenty-seven senior high schools have secured seeded positions for the 2026 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ).

The seeded schools will not participate in the ongoing 2026 Regional Qualifiers. They have already secured automatic places at the National Championship after reaching the quarter-final stage of the 2025 competition.

More than 400 schools are expected to compete in the Regional Qualifiers for 139 available places. Successful schools will join the 27 seeded schools at the 2026 National Championship, according to the official NSMQ organisers⁠.

What Does Being a Seeded School Mean?

A school becomes seeded after winning its one-eighth-stage contest and qualifying for the quarter-finals of the previous year’s National Championship.

Therefore, the 27 schools that reached the 2025 NSMQ quarter-finals automatically became seeded for NSMQ 2026.

These schools will skip both the Regional Qualifiers and preliminary stage of the National Championship. They will enter the competition at the one-eighth stage, where they will face schools that progress from the preliminaries.

The image carries the NSMQ 2025 branding because the schools earned their seeded positions during the 2025 National Championship. However, their automatic qualification applies to the 2026 edition.

Full List of Seeded Schools for NSMQ 2026

The 27 seeded schools are:

1. Mankranso SHS

2. St. Thomas Aquinas SHS

3. Ghana National College

4. Our Lady of Grace SHS

5. Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon

6. Ghana Secondary Technical School

7. Prempeh College

8. Mfantsipim School

9. Adisadel College

10. Osei Tutu SHS

11. Amaniampong SHS

12. St. James Seminary SHS

13. Swedru Secondary School

14. Pope John SHS and Minor Seminary

15. Mpraeso SHS

16. St. John’s School

17. Abetifi Presbyterian SHS

18. St. Augustine’s College

19. Mawuli School

20. University Practice SHS

21. St. Peter’s SHS

22. Opoku Ware School

23. Aburi Girls’ SHS

24. Accra Academy

25. Koforidua Secondary Technical School

26. Achimota School

27. Keta Senior High Technical School

The list includes former NSMQ champions such as PRESEC Legon, Prempeh College, Mfantsipim School, Adisadel College, St. Augustine’s College, Opoku Ware School, Achimota School, St. Peter’s SHS and Ghana Secondary Technical School.

It also features emerging contenders such as Mankranso SHS, Our Lady of Grace SHS, Osei Tutu SHS and Amaniampong SHS, which delivered impressive performances during the 2025 championship.