Spelling Bee Champion crowned

In its fourth year, the Gauteng Spell It initiative has become a staple in the provinces academic calendar with an impressive 150 entries this year. The competition, which is sponsored by Nedbank Capital in partnership with the Department of Education, aims to ensure that each pupil has the opportunity to achieve a good level of English literacy by the time he or she reaches high school with the initiative reaching Grade 5 pupils in 65 primary schools across District 14 of Johannesburg.

Divisional Executive of Corporate Social Responsibility of Nedbank Kone Gugushe said, “We welcome the opportunity not only to engage with our young and enthusiastic learners of tomorrow, but also to play a part in this Spell It initiative, which is achieving ground-breaking results in helping to promote the importance of literacy within and beyond Gauteng.”

The competition proved to be a nail-biting affair with 11-year-old Jethro Küstner from Theo Wassner Primary School remembering the ‘a’ in “vengeance” to clinch the title of 2014 Spell It champion. He received a R1 000 cash prize and a three-year scholarship to the value of R250 000 at Monash South Africa, securing a brighter future for the day he graduates from high school.

Not far behind him was the first and second runners-up 10-year-old Tharusha Kuni, from Dalmondeor Primary and 11-year-old Tashreeq Isaacs, from Discovery Primary.

Founder of the Spell It initiative Roger Dickinson said, “We encourage Grade 4 learners to prepare for next year’s championships by continuing with their reading and enjoying the discovery of new words. This opens learners up to a world of new possibilities in academia or creative thinking.”