Series 45 of University Challenge began on 13 July 2015 on BBC Two.

In this series, several institutions made their University Challenge debut, those being the Institute of Cancer Research and Kellogg College, Oxford, while the University of Kent and Nuffield College, Oxford had only previously appeared in the Bamber Gascoigne era of the show in the 1980s.

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 (current highest scoring losers, teams that won their first quarter-final match, teams that won their second quarter-final match having lost their first, or teams that won their first quarter-final match and lost their second). Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match). Team with gold score in the final indicate the champion of the series, while the team with silver score in the final indicate the runner-up. 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 Glasgow155185 Peterhouse, Cambridge 340 13 July 2015 University of Liverpool205130 St Peter's College, Oxford 335 20 July 2015 University of Kent160 Newcastle University 275 27 July 2015 University of Manchester265 University of York 355 3 August 2015 University of Nottingham135 Swansea University 245 10 August 2015 Institute of Cancer Research190 St George's, University of London 260 17 August 2015 Christ's College, Cambridge205 Kellogg College, Oxford 265 24 August 2015 University of Sussex195 Queen's University Belfast 320 31 August 2015 King's College, Cambridge195 Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 255 7 September 2015 University of Reading285 Imperial College London 395 14 September 2015 St Catharine's College, Cambridge165135 University of Southampton 300 21 September 2015 Clare College, Cambridge195 University of Warwick 295 28 September 2015 Queen Mary University of London130165 Nuffield College, Oxford 295 5 October 2015 St John's College, Oxford255 University of Bristol 380 12 October 2015

Highest Scoring Losers play-offs Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date St Peter's College, Oxford180 University of Glasgow 300 19 October 2015 University of Southampton235 Queen Mary University of London 355 26 October 2015

Second round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge305 Imperial College London 380 2 November 2015 University of Warwick160 Nuffield College, Oxford 280 9 November 2015 University of Glasgow175 Newcastle University 310 16 November 2015 University of Southampton190 University of Liverpool 345 23 November 2015 Christ's College, Cambridge225 University of York 345 30 November 2015 St George's, University of London195 Peterhouse, Cambridge 285 7 December 2015 University of Nottingham210 St Catharine's College, Cambridge 330 4 January 2016 St John's College, Oxford180 Queen's University Belfast 280 11 January 2016

Quarter-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of York165185 Peterhouse, Cambridge 350 18 January 2016 St Catharine's College, Cambridge170175 St John's College, Oxford 345 25 January 2016 Imperial College London19085 Nuffield College, Oxford 275 1 February 2016 Newcastle University150190 University of Liverpool 340 8 February 2016 St John's College, Oxford150195 Peterhouse, Cambridge 345 22 February 2016 St Catharine's College, Cambridge180 University of York 295 29 February 2016 Imperial College London130185 University of Liverpool 315 7 March 2016 Nuffield College, Oxford205 Newcastle University 320 14 March 2016 University of York260 Imperial College London 395 21 March 2016 St John's College, Oxford210 Newcastle University 330 28 March 2016

Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Peterhouse, Cambridge145 University of York 245 4 April 2016 University of Liverpool195 St John's College, Oxford 290 11 April 2016

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Peterhouse, Cambridge215 St John's College, Oxford 245 18 April 2016

The trophy and title were awarded to the Peterhouse team of Thomas Langley, Oscar Powell, Hannah Woods, and Julian Sutcliffe. The trophy was presented by Marcus du Sautoy.

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2015 Each year, a Christmas special sequence is aired featuring distinguished alumni. Out of 7 first-round winners, the top 4 highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals. The teams consist of celebrities who represent their alma maters.

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 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.

First Round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University College London155 University of Birmingham 235 20 December 2015 Oriel College, Oxford Trinity College, Cambridge 275 21 December 2015 University of Manchester195 University of East Anglia 230 22 December 2015 Christ's College, Cambridge University of Essex 230 23 December 2015 University of Exeter220 Magdalen College, Oxford 350 24 December 2015 University of Aberdeen185 University of Sheffield 275 28 December 2015 Durham University London School of Economics 270 29 December 2015

Standings for the winners RankTeamTeam captainScore1Magdalen College, OxfordLouis Theroux2202University of ManchesterChristine Burns1953University of SheffieldAdam Hart1854University College LondonLynne Truss1555=Trinity College, CambridgeFaisal Islam140University of EssexDotun AdebayoDurham UniversityMonica Grady

Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Manchester160 University of Sheffield 265 30 December 2015 University College London195 Magdalen College, Oxford 295 31 December 2015

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Sheffield 230 Magdalen College, Oxford 290 1 January 2016

The winning Magdalen College, Oxford team of Robin Lane Fox, Heather Berlin, Louis Theroux and Matt Ridley beat the University of Sheffield team of Sid Lowe, Nicci Gerrard, Adam Hart and Ruth Reed.

References

External links University Challenge homepage Blanchflower Results Table University Challenge 2015–16 at subsaga.com