The winners and runners-up of the quiz at the prize distribution ceremony at Tata Auditorium in Jamshedpur on Tuesday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Okay, Cinderella hour is midnight, when the ball is over and luxury coach goes back to being a pumpkin.

You may have guessed this one right — after all, most have read this fairytale. But the meanings of “playing possum” or “receptionist syndrome” are tough nuts to crack, as 200 teams from 45 schools discovered at the annual Tata Steel Interstate School Quiz held in Jamshedpur on Tuesday.

At the end of it, the steel city could afford to rejoice — Jamshedpur cradles Loyola School and Rajendra Vidyalaya stood first and third, conceding DAV Public School, Bhubaneswar, the second spot.

The jam-packed Tata Auditorium saw quizmaster Loyd Saldanha from Grey Caps India ask some mind-boggling posers. During the screenings around 1am, youngsters from Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Raipur and Bhubaneswar fielded milder ones. A couple of hours later, questions got tougher for teams of the selected eight — DAV Public School, Bhubaneswar; Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi; and six cradles from the host city, Sacred Heart Convent School, Rajendra Vidyalaya, Loyola School, Little Flower School, Jamshedpur Public School and Carmel Junior College.

From identifying music tracks to finding out the missing link in a picture or a clue, contestants had to flex their grey cells to figure out the answers.

The top three teams won cash prizes of Rs 35,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000.

“The winning teams have worked very hard. Their performance shows that they have taken out time from their first-term exams to prepare for quizzing,” said East Singhbhum DC Himani Pande, who was the chief guest on the occasion and gave away prizes to the winners.

“It was an amazing experience for participants and viewers. We were enriched. And the best teams won,” said Jenny Shah, head, Centre for Excellence and Tata Steel public relations, as well as one of the key organisers.

The Tata Steel inter school quiz started in 2005. This year, regional screening rounds were held around a couple of months before in Ranchi, Raipur and Bhubaneswar, cities where the steel major has a significant presence.