From staff reports

The Cherokee High School High Q team is squaring off against Walton High School on the popular show on WSB-TV Channel 2 today at 12:30 p.m.

Cherokee team members include seniors Jordan McPherson, who serves as captain, Mason Mayes, Ashley Tofil and Jebb Ricketts.

Team alternates are seniors Jacqueline Kim and Nathan Smith.

Team advisor is Heather Smith.

The locally produced game show pits high schools against one another in a quiz bowl-type format.

The first High Q aired on Oct. 18, 1986, and in the first show LaGrange High School defeated Cherokee High 155-40.

The show was first conceived to give scholars a chance to compete in the same way a school’s athletes do.

Now, all public and private schools in the Atlanta viewing area with a student body of 100 or more students are eligible to participate. Twenty-seven schools take part each season.

High Q shows average 115 questions and subject matter include current events, history, geography, literature, science, math and sports. Questions are provided by QNA Inc. of Decatur.

The game format is in four rounds.

* Round 1: Open round with each correct answer worth 10 points; 1 Higher Q question (similar to Double Jeopardy Questions; teams bid between 0 and 50 points in increments of 10; if correct teams gain points; if incorrect, they lose points)

* Round 2: Extra Credit Round; Starts with a toss-up question. The team that answers the toss-up question correctly gets to answer a set of three bonus (extra credit) questions worth 5, 10, and 15 points. If that team answers any questions wrong, the other team has the chance to steal (If they choose to steal, they must answer all of the remaining questions for that set and will lose points if they give an incorrect answer)

* Round 3: Quick Quiz; Teams pick one of four categories and must answer as many questions (worth 10 points each) as possible in one minute; if the team answers any questions incorrectly or if they pass on a question, the other team will have a chance to answer them for 10 points each.

* Round 4: The Final Exam; same as first round except each correct answer is worth 20 points; one Higher Q question (this time with the bidding going from 0 to 100 in increments of 20).