A 7-year-old was among the finalists of over 800 spellers who enrolled in the 11th edition of The Spelling Bee.  

In the quest for Ghana's best speller in 2018, children from Accra, Tema, Ho, Aflao, Kumasi, Techiman, Tamale, Kasoa, Akropong and Akosombo took part in this year’s regional competitions for an opportunity to qualify for the national finals.

Determined children as young as seven years worked assiduously to make their families and schools proud in the oral rounds after having successfully cleared the written (vocabulary) round of the competition.

Indeed, it was a sublime and a jaw-dropping sight to behold as these young, passionate, motivation-driven and adrenaline-filled 'spellerbrities' uttered letters to spell words as if they were lexicographers!

It was too much to take in as the spelling exercise was both exhilarating and challenging.

This year, the excitement rose with the qualification of a seven-year-old boy, the youngest ever, to reach the final stage of the 11-year-old competition.

The national finals promises to be excitingly nerve-racking as a boy and a girl shared honours as having scored the highest points during the regional competitions.  

Spellerbrities from Akosombo International School

At the launch of 2018 Spelling Bee, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, Country Director of Young Educators Foundation, organizers of The Spelling Bee in Ghana, underscored the importance of the programme in the lives of many children.

“Over the last decade we have devoted our time and effort to building a platform that would encourage and motivate young people to read and we can say for a fact that we have managed to attain this objective over the 10 years that The Spelling Bee has been here,” she said.

The National Finals will comprise a tricky written test and a hard- nut-to-crack oral spelling of words by the 199 finalists.

The Spelling Bee 2018 is sponsored by Indomie Instant Noodles with support from South African Airways, DStv Ghana, Blue Knights Bookshop, Rufus Green Parks, and PAS – US Embassy, iSpace and Voltic Mineral Water.

Some of the qualified school are:

Qualified schools in Accra:  Ebenezer Methodist School, Falsyd foundation School, Christ The King International School, Dayspring Montessori, Dayspring International school, Kay-Billie-Klaer School, Vilac International School, Ridge Church School, University of Ghana Basic School, Ghana International School, The Roman Ridge School, Phiga School, Alpha Beta Educational Centres, Jack and Jill School, Soul Clinic, Shield International School and Adedeikpo 1 & 2 Primary School in James Town.

Qualified Schools in Tema: DPS International Ghana, Solidarity International, Beacon International College, Angels Ridge, SOS Hermann Gmeiner, First Baptist Church School, Tema Parents Association School and Angels’ Specialists School Int., Able Academy

Qualified schools in Kumasi: Nagie’s Angels Educational centre, Riverside Academy and Headlines Educational Centre

Qualified schools in Techiman: Valley View Basic School, Good Shepherd Educational Centre and Pentecost Primary school

Qualified Schools in Tamale: Startrite Montessori and Christ Legacy International School.

Qualified Schools from the Eastern region: Akosombo International School and Akropong School for the Blind.

Qualified Schools in Tamale: Laurenda International School, Kanvilli R/C School Complex, Kamina Barracks School, and Dahin Sheli Primary School will find their way to Accra in February 2018.