The 55th series of University Challenge began on 14 July 2025 on BBC Two, and finished on 20 April 2026, with the University of Manchester triumphing for a record-equalling fifth time, over the University of Edinburgh.
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 Sheffield170210 University of Warwick 380 14 July 2025 University College London210170 School of Oriental and African Studies 380 21 July 2025 University of Bath255 University of Southampton 325 28 July 2025 University of Newcastle200 University of Edinburgh 305 4 August 2025 University of Manchester170150 New College, Oxford 320 11 August 2025 Cardiff University180 University of Bristol 295 18 August 2025 Trinity College, Cambridge210 Linacre College, Oxford 325 25 August 2025 Lancaster University170 University of Lincoln 315 1 September 2025 Green Templeton College, Oxford135 Darwin College, Cambridge 265 8 September 2025 Trinity Hall, Cambridge215 London School of Economics 350 15 September 2025 Durham University235 Merton College, Oxford 355 22 September 2025 Harper Adams University205 University of Strathclyde 250 29 September 2025 Imperial College London160175 Churchill College, Cambridge 335 6 October 2025 Magdalen College, Oxford245 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 Studies220 Imperial College London 335 20 October 2025 University of Sheffield175 New College, Oxford 300 27 October 2025
Second round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Magdalen College, Oxford190 Darwin College, Cambridge 270 3 November 2025 University of Sheffield290 University of Strathclyde 350 10 November 2025 University of Southampton190 Imperial College London 370 17 November 2025 University of Bristol180 University of Warwick 325 24 November 2025 University of Manchester160 London School of Economics 295 1 December 2025 Trinity College, Cambridge180 University of Edinburgh 330 8 December 2025 University of Lincoln190 University College London 275 15 December 2025 Churchill College, Cambridge180 Merton College, Oxford 295 5 January 2026
Quarter-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Manchester80195 University of Edinburgh 275 12 January 2026 University College London150160 Merton College, Oxford 310 19 January 2026 Darwin College, Cambridge115155 University of Sheffield 270 26 January 2026 Imperial College London190105 University of Warwick 295 2 February 2026 University of Edinburgh10585 Merton College, Oxford 190 23 February 2026 University of Manchester150 University College London 270 2 March 2026 University of Sheffield120160 Imperial College London 280 9 March 2026 Darwin College, Cambridge175 University of Warwick 300 16 March 2026 University of Manchester185 University of Sheffield 320 23 March 2026 Merton College, Oxford175 Darwin College, Cambridge 305 30 March 2026
Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Edinburgh155 Darwin College, Cambridge 265 6 April 2026 Imperial College London250 University of Manchester 320 13 April 2026
Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Edinburgh145 University of Manchester 250 20 April 2026
For their first title since 2013, the winning Manchester team consisted of Ray Power, Kirsty Dickson, Kai Madgwick (who got all nine of their team's starters-for-ten in the final) and Rob Faulkner, who beat the Edinburgh team of Parthav Easwar, Johnny Richards, Alice Leonard, and Rayhana Amjad.
The trophy and title were presented by Miriam Margolyes, on location at the Clapham Grand.
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, one team from each prior series was 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 University200 University of Manchester 340 22 December 2025 University College London235 University of Leeds 305 23 December 2025 Keble College, Oxford275 University of Hull 360 24 December 2025 University of Bristol260 Trinity College, Cambridge 315 26 December 2025 Exeter College, Oxford Trinity Hall, Cambridge 295 28 December 2025 St Hilda's College, Oxford University of Edinburgh 315 29 December 2025 Middlesex University University of Lancaster 240 30 December 2025
Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University College London170 Keble College, Oxford 285 31 December 2025 Durham University185 Trinity College, Cambridge 310 1 January 2026
Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Keble College, Oxford165 Durham University 280 2 January 2026
Taking the honours for the second year in a row, the winning Durham University team consisted of Liz James, Tracey MacLeod, Carla Denyer, and Sophia Smith Galer, who beat the Keble College, Oxford team of Paul Johnson, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Anne-Marie Imafidon and Caroline Criado Perez.
References
External links University Challenge homepage Blanchflower Results Table