REACH FOR THE TOP (1966 - 1989)

Before setting a world record with ‘Jeopardy,’ host Alex Trebek quizzed high school students on ‘Reach For The Top’

Before Alex Trebek became the Guinness World Record holder as the longest-running game show host on TV for “Jeopardy,” he had a hosting stint on “Reach For The Top.”

The Canadian quiz show for high school students aired on CBC from 1966 to 1984 and was later revived on Ontario’s TVO from 2001 to 2009.

With local versions airing around the country, the Toronto-based “Reach For The Top” featured five hosts (Warren Davis, Jan Tennant, Bob Karstens and Sharon Dunn) during its 18-year run with Sudbury, Ontario’s Trebek taking his turn as Quizmaster from 1966 to 1973.

Although no longer on the air, “Reach For The Top” continues today as an academic quiz competition for high school students around the country. There is also the Reach For the Top Foundation, which presents bursaries to students each year at the National Finals. 

It is estimated that up to 150,000 students have participated in the competitions over “Reach For The Top’s” five-decade run.

One of the notable alumni was Former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper who appeared in a 1978 episode with his Toronto high school Richview Collegiate Institute. The team lost to Vincent Massey Collegiate but Harper was considered the best player by his peers.

The show is so ingrained in Canada’s culture it even became the subject of a CBC TV movie called “Pray for me, Paul Henderson” about Henderson’s winning goal in the 1972 Canada-Soviet hockey game.