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University Challenge 1996–97

season of television series

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 12, 2026
Entity authorityQ7894552 ↗
Source-derived summary

Series 26 of University Challenge ran between 12 November 1996 and 4 June 1997.

Results

Winning teams are highlighted in bold.

Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.

Teams with orange scores have lost, but survived as highest scoring losers.

A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

The trophy and title were awarded to the Magdalen team of Colin Andress, Gwilym Thear, Jim Adams, and Alison Reeves.

The trophy was presented by Germaine Greer.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “University Challenge 1996–97” as season of television series. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around University, Challenge and season.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1996, 1997—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with University, Challenge and season providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “University Challenge 1996–97”, the useful work is to connect “season of television series” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7894552. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1996 and 1997.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “University Challenge 1996–97”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow University Challenge 1996–97 primary sources, University Challenge 1996–97 archive and University research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “University Challenge 1996–97”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “University Challenge 1996–97” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.