Staring down his second-place opponent, Jack Waterhouse, seventh-grader Patrick Ware came out on top in the National Geographic Bee at Bromfield Friday, December 22. Ware correctly answered the question, “Which West African country, a member of OPEC, is known for its major oil reserves and is one of the largest producers of oil in the world?” The answer is Nigeria, Ware said in an interview Wednesday. The contest, which is open to all middle school students in the U.S., is an annual event coordinated by Bromfield teacher Patricia Ward and emceed by Associate Principal Scott Hoffman.

Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the Bee, which is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms and spark student interest in the subject.

Ware advanced through several rounds of classroom competition before stepping onto the stage in Cronin Auditorium in front of all of his middle school classmates and teachers. The final round, made up of five students from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades — for a total field of 15 — was both fun and a little nerve-wracking, he said. While most of the answers came to him with relative ease, he struggled a little when asked, “Which southern American state has a strong French infuence?” he said. Ware came up with the correct answer, however, when he answered, “Louisiana.”

The next step in the competition, from which one U.S. middle school student will emerge as the ultimate winner, is for Ware to take a qualifying test after school Friday, January 12. Providing he passes, Ware will advance to the state competition.

When asked if geography is his favorite subject, Ware responded promptly, “I just happen to be good at it.” The subject he really likes is science, he said. Ware also plays the tenor sax and piano, and is active on the Bromfield soccer and baseball teams. He is the son of Sharon McCarthy and Jim Ware, East Bare Hill Road.

Hoffman said Ware’s win was well-deserved. “I thought his knowledge of geography was impressive,” he said. “He beat a lot of very knowledgeable kids.”

After he was declared winner of the student competition, Ware and the other middle school students had fun watching their teachers compete in teams in a mock geography bee. Although it was close, Hoffman said, the sixth-grade teachers, joined by Principal Jim O’Shea, narrowly beat out the seventh-grade team for a victory roundly applauded by all.