It’s been half a century since four students from Gonzaga High School thrilled the province and impressed the nation by winning the Reach For The Top crown.

Reach For The Top was a CBC show that featured teams of high school students competing in a general knowledge quiz.

Each province had its own version of the show, with provincial champs eventually whittled down to the top two.

In 1974, it came down to Alberta versus Newfoundland, represented by Peter Chafe, Gerry Beresford, Tom Harrington and Sethu Reddy from Gonzaga.

And last weekend, the four got together for a 50th anniversary reunion from their winning year.

Harrington said they’ve kept in touch with each other over the last five decades, but noted the reunion was a first for them.

“As a group, we’ve never done this,” says Harrington. “But it was Sethu’s idea back in the spring to get together, and I thought it was a great idea, and so that’s how the idea of getting together came about.”

Reddy figured the time was right.

“Fifty years is a long time,” he laughed, adding they did get together in the past, for his wedding in 1986.

But he said that wasn’t a formal reunion to reminisce on their Reach for the Top experience.

50 years later, a reunion of our national championship team of @CBC “Reach for the Top”. The only H.S. from Newfoundland to win it. Maybe thicker around the middle, but still sharp as tacks. A wonderful weekend sharing memories of a special time in our lives. #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/H8FGNZZ0Aj

— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) August 27, 2024