<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/08/gasps-nerves-and-five-syllable-words-the-tense-world-of-nsw-school-spelling-bee>
"It’s Friday morning in a packed theatre hall in Sydney – and despite the
hundreds of teachers, families and students, you could hear a pin drop.
Two students, aged nine and 10, sit on a brightly lit stage. One of them points
finger guns in the air. Another, 10-year-old Finn McGhee, cannot stop clutching
his face. “Oh my God,” he moans.
After three hours and 10 rounds of the New South Wales Premier’s Spelling Bee
in Penrith, it’s all come down to this. Around them are empty chairs where
their other competitors once sat.
It’s been a long road to get here: a record 200,000 students from about 1,000
public schools participated in the qualifiers.
The day started at 9am with 32 finalists from years two, three and four,
including last year’s junior division winner, Wafiq Ayyash from New Lambton
Public School, back to defend his title after taking 2024’s crown with the word
“treachery”.
The format is relatively simple. Contestants begin with “seen” words that
they’ve been able to practise at home, before facing “unseen” words testing
their broader skills and composure. Each round is sudden death.
To kick off, each student is introduced to the crowd by the host, ABC presenter
Toni Matthews, with colourful descriptors. Anika Bhattacharyya “likes the
colour black but not the colour pink” and hopes to become a doctor or an
architect “so she can earn lots of money”.
Jack Primmer, a year two student, “admires his best friend Ewan because he can
type very quickly”. His favourite foods are “pizza, pasta, tacos and treats
that aren’t caramel flavoured”."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
