Reach for the Top

Reach for the Top
Final moments of an episode of the Montreal version of Reach for the Top, as aired on CBMT-6 in the late 1970s
Genre	Quiz
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
Release
Original network	CBC
Original release	Original series: 1966 (1966) – 1989 (1989) Revival series: 2000 (2000) - 2009 (2009)

Reach for the Top (also known just as Reach) is a Canadian academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Teams qualify for national rounds through several stages of non-televised tournaments held at high schools throughout Canada during the year which are known as Schoolreach.

The televised Reach for the Top series was first shown on CBC Television affiliate CBUT in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1961. It was based on the BBC programme Top of the Form. In that first year, a team from three high schools in Burnaby, British Columbia - Fred Affleck, Robert French, Lynne Mader and Marilyn Pelzer - defeated every other team and took all the prizes. The first national Reach for the Top tournament took place in 1965, and was won by Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute from Etobicoke, Ontario. The series was filmed at locations across Canada with the national championships held in Montreal, Quebec. In 1968 joint effort by CBC and BBC led to the short-lived Trans-World Top Team in which teams from the United Kingdom played teams from Canada.

Alex Trebek hosted the Toronto version for several years. In Vancouver, the show was hosted by Terry Garner (1961-1982). In Windsor, the show was hosted by Don Daly. In London, the show was hosted by Mark Lade, with judge Steve Officer. In Montreal, the show was hosted by Bob Cadman and by Marc Coté. Shelagh Rogers, later a host for CBC Radio, was a contestant on the original broadcasts of the show. Bill Guest hosted the National Finals on CBC from 1969 to 1985.