On Monday 2 March, the Junior Section proudly hosted its annual Spelling Bee. Building on the success of previous years, pupils in Years 3–6 were eager to take part, motivated not only by the challenge itself but also by the opportunity to earn valuable house points. With 200 points awarded to the winner of each year group, 100 for the runner up, and 50 points for all finalists, the competition offered a fantastic chance for pupils to represent their houses and make a significant contribution to the overall house standings.

The competition began with a written spelling round, completed by all pupils. Once marked, teachers selected the top 20 performers to progress to the second stage: a spoken Spelling Bee. In this round, pupils competed against members of their own house for the honour of reaching the final. The two highest-scoring pupils from each house then advanced to the final, which took place on Monday afternoon in the Jubilee Hall.

During the final, pupils were invited onto the stage and asked by their teachers to spell a series of challenging words. Each finalist confidently recited their spellings into the microphone in front of their peers, who watched and supported them with great enthusiasm. The hall fell impressively silent as each word was announced, creating a focused yet thrilling atmosphere.

The winners and runners up from each year group were as follows:

Year 3 – 1st place: Zirwah (Saville-Mackie). Runner up: Sana (Freeston-Lee)
Year 4 – 1st place: Ella (Freeston-Lee). Runner up: Lucy (Blakey-Bentley)
Year 5 – 1st place: Kavishna (Saville-Mackie). Runner up: Anna (Saville-Mackie)
Year 6 1st place: Meera (Saville-Mackie). Runner up: Jiya (Freeston-Lee)

House points will be added directly to the overall totals.

Congratulations to all of our finalists. The standard was exceptionally high, and despite facing some very challenging words, pupils demonstrated remarkable composure, confidence and resilience throughout. We are incredibly proud of everyone who took part.

Mrs Walker