Super spellers at Chilton Primary School in Ramsgate are so good that they being tested at a higher level each time the Spelling Bee challenge comes around.
Pupils of all age groups have to spell a variety of words, including the more difficult ones that Year 6 children are expected to know by the time they leave Chilton.
But Helen Rowland-Hill, who co-ordinates the challenge with fellow teacher Michael Pile, said: “We hold the Spelling Bee three times every school year and such is the high standard that we are now having to introduce words they will learn in secondary education.
“It is a testament to how well the children have done and how advanced they are with spelling.
“The Spelling Bee is not easy, particularly when they are on stage in front of the whole school having to think under pressure. Every competitor deserves the highest praise for their efforts – many of them knew the correct answers quite clearly, but they just got it wrong in the heat of the moment.”
More than 20 contestants from all age groups took to the stage in the ‘spellbinding’ knock-out competition. Each incorrectly spelt word saw a contestant eliminated and in the end it came down to sudden death between Rebecca from Year 6 and Ollie from Year 5, with Queen Bee Rebecca taking the title with her spelling of quadrilateral.
Rebecca’s sister Esther, from Year 3, was in the competition; and third placed Libby from Year 6 was joined by her sister Evie from Year 3 in the challenge too.
The top three spellers each received stationery gifts and certificates.
Words facing the super spellers that catch many people out included accommodate, correspondent, embarrassment, guarantee, necessary, rhyme, recommend, mischievous, desperate, and achieve.
The Spelling Bee is held three times each year and is part of the school’s ongoing literacy drive.