Ault Academy’s first day of school looked a little different than some in Troup County on Monday morning. Teachers and staff competed in the third annual Fear Factor competition that involved eating worms or crickets and other challenges.

“We do it every year. A lot of times when they come (students) they are nervous about school, about what to expect,” said Dr. Janice Brewer, Ault Academy principal and educational coordinator. “We want to let them know, do not fear. Education is not a bad thing; it is a good thing.”

Dozens of fifth through twelfth grade boys filled the school’s gym with commotion, cheering on their teachers to tackle each challenge.

“For the staff, we want them to know we have fears as well,” Brewer said. “We go through challengers in life as well, so we do the fear factor challenge to face our fears. They can see that we all have fears no matter the kind.”

A few students even wanted to jump in the competition themselves. Ten teams began the competition but after three rounds there was only one team who could win.

“Eating bugs and worms and the ice was a challenge,” Brewer said.

The first round included teams finding, retrieving and then eating 10 worms from a pan filled with whip cream. The next had one competitor stand in a bucket filled with ice while the other person had to eat a plate full of crickets, which were seasoned and cooked.

“The third round was really gross,” Brewer said.

For the third round, each remaining person had to break through a sucker using only their mouth. The twist was that the sucker had a scorpion or other type of creepy crawly in the middle that they had to eat.

“It is something we do to get the kids excited,” Brewer said. “We want to start off with something positive Even though we wanted the fear factor theme, we tried to incorporate the education piece.”

Brewer said they wanted the students to know that they faced their fears, so the students can too with education or anything else in life that they may face.

“Just know we are here to help, and go through those fears with you,” Brewer said. “Just hearing the boys root for you made you want to get in there and conquer those fears.”