Aarav Singh displays some of the awards he has won for academic competitions.

Aarav Singh, an eighth grader at Hopkinton Middle School, won the regional History Bee and qualified to compete at the national and international levels.

The International Academic Competitions event was held on Nov. 26 at Star Academy in Wellesley.

Singh explained that to qualify for the regionals, he first had to complete a 50-question test in 20 minutes.

He and his competitors, who Singh described as “really good,” had to use a buzzer to be the first to answer questions. So, being quick with the buzzer is one aspect of the competition along with knowledge about history.

Because competitors do not know what they will be asked about, learning a vast amount of information is key.

“I read a lot of books to get as much as I can in my head,” Singh noted.

He said history across continents is covered, including American, Latin American, European and African. Singh said he is especially interested in American and European history — specifically “fascinated about the wars — both world wars and the Civil War and kings and queens.”

Singh said he does not really get nervous during competitions, but he does “get more drive” when he appears to be “closer to losing.”

Winning the regional competition means that Singh will compete nationally in Orlando, Florida, in May and internationally in Paris in July.

Singh’s father, Amit Raj, helped coach him for the competition and pointed out that his son is being modest about his current and past accomplishments.

Raj noted that competitors from all around the country take the qualifying exam and only a certain percentage of regional winners can advance to the higher levels.

Raj said his son won the regional competition for three years, previously placed sixth at nationals and made the semifinals in the world competition last year.

He said he noticed Singh was “just kind of interested” in history and started asking him questions, realizing how much his son knew.

In addition to reading a lot, Singh watches videos about history, and his father took him to the library to explore areas where he needed to gain more knowledge.

“I’m for sure proud of him,” Raj said, pointing out that national competitions involve more than 1,000 students from around the United States.

During competitions, Raj said he gets nervous for his son.

“I get stressed watching to see how quickly he hits the buzzer,” he said. “It is difficult because he has to read everything to prepare because there is no prescribed book or resource.”

Singh studies for the History Bee about an hour per day but is unbothered by all the effort required. He recommends other students give it a try.

“If you like history, why not?” he said. “There is no harm in trying. … Even if you lose, it is just fine.”

Singh is taking a civics class at HMS, where he also is a member of the robotics team. He enjoys karate as well.

Although he has many more years to decide, a history-related career is one possibility.

“I don’t know what I’ll do — maybe be a history professor,” Singh said.