Abstract: A method of tempering a glass sheet heated to a tempering temperature includes cooling the glass sheet at a first heat transfer coefficient at a first quench station and cooling the glass sheet at a second heat transfer coefficient at a second quench station downstream of the first quench station. The second heat transfer coefficient is greater than the first heat transfer coefficient. In a multistage process of the invention, a plurality of quench stations could be used with each downstream quench station having a larger heat transfer coefficient than the previous upstream quench station.