University Challenge 2025–26

The 55th series of University Challenge began on 14 July 2025 on BBC Two.[1]

Twenty-eight teams were selected for the televised episodes, of which the University of Lincoln, Harper Adams University and Green Templeton College, Oxford made their University Challenge debuts.

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 had to win one more match to return in the next round.
  • Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match).
  • A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First round

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
University of Sheffield 170 210 University of Warwick 380 14 July 2025
University College London 210 170 School of Oriental and African Studies 380 21 July 2025
University of Bath 70 255 University of Southampton 325 28 July 2025
University of Newcastle 105 200 University of Edinburgh 305 4 August 2025
University of Manchester 170 150 New College, Oxford 320 11 August 2025
Cardiff University 115 180 University of Bristol 295 18 August 2025
Trinity College, Cambridge 210 115 Linacre College, Oxford 325 25 August 2025
Lancaster University 145 170 University of Lincoln 315 1 September 2025
Green Templeton College, Oxford 130 135 Darwin College, Cambridge 265 8 September 2025
Trinity Hall, Cambridge 135 215 London School of Economics 350 15 September 2025
Durham University 120 235 Merton College, Oxford 355 22 September 2025
Harper Adams University 45 205 University of Strathclyde 250 29 September 2025
Imperial College London 160 175 Churchill College, Cambridge 335 6 October 2025
Magdalen College, Oxford 245 105 Robinson College, Cambridge 350 14 October 2025

Highest scoring losers play-offs

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
School of Oriental and African Studies 115 220 Imperial College London 335 20 October 2025
University of Sheffield 175 125 New College, Oxford 300 27 October 2025

Second round

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
Magdalen College, Oxford 80 190 Darwin College, Cambridge 270 3 November 2025
University of Sheffield 290 60 University of Strathclyde 350 10 November 2025
University of Southampton 180 190 Imperial College London 370 17 November 2025
University of Bristol 145 180 University of Warwick 325 24 November 2025
University of Manchester 160 135 London School of Economics 295 1 December 2025
Trinity College, Cambridge 150 180 University of Edinburgh 330 8 December 2025
University of Lincoln 85 190 University College London 275 15 December 2025
Churchill College, Cambridge Merton College, Oxford 5 January 2026[2]

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date

Semi-finals

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date

Final

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2025

A spin-off Christmas series has been aired since 2011, featuring distinguished alumni. For the 2025 series, to mark the fifteenth edition of the Christmas version of the show, teams who appeared on the programme before were invited back to have another go, in break of the tradition of inviting new famous graduates.

First round

Out of seven first-round winners, only the top four highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals.

  • 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 grey scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
  • A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.
Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
Durham University University of Manchester 22 December 2025
University College London University of Leeds 23 December 2025
Keble College, Oxford University of Hull 24 December 2025
Trinity College, Cambridge University of Bristol 26 December 2025
Exeter College, Oxford Trinity Hall, Cambridge 28 December 2025
St Hilda's College, Oxford University of Edinburgh 29 December 2025
Middlesex University University of Lancaster 30 December 2025

Semi-finals

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
31 December 2025
1 January 2026

Final

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
2 January 2026

References

  1. ^ "University Challenge, 2025/26, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  2. ^ "University Challenge, 2025/26, Churchill College, Cambridge vs Merton College, Oxford". BBC. Retrieved 11 December 2025.