Winners of the first ever #BVSpellingBee announced
News
A tense few days of finals have resulted in the winners of the first ever Bellevue Education Group Spelling Bee.
On 24 and 26 February, schools from across the Bellevue Group and the country took part in semi-finals and a Grand Final respectively, competing to spell the trickiest words in a knockout format.
The finals were hosted over Google Meets, with Bellevue Education Director Sam Selby and Head of Digital Development Adam Atkinson hosting, and members of school staff adjudicating.
Four overall winners were announced, from Brabyns Preparatory School, Cheshire (Lower Key Stage Two); Skippers Hill Manor Preparatory School, East Sussex (joint first for Upper Key Stage Two); and two winners from Sherfield School, Hampshire (joint first for Upper Key Stage Two, and Key Stage Three winner).
Runners up for Lower Key Stage Two were pupils from Forest Preparatory School, Cheshire; Gateway School, Buckinghamshire; and The Webber Independent School, Milton Keynes.
For upper Key Stage Two, runners up were from Wandsworth Preparatory School, London (in third place), and Gateway School, Buckinghamshire (fourth place). For upper Key Stage Three, a pupil from Farlington School, West Sussex, came in second place; followed by a pupil from Skippers Hill (third place); and a pupil from Holmwood House School, Essex (fourth place).
‘I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the Bellevue Spelling Bee,’ comments Adam Atkinson, Head of Digital Development. ‘My biggest worry was running out of words to give the entrants to spell! In some of the heats, they almost worked through the entire lists without making any mistakes. I was very impressed with the spelling ability of all of our entrants.’
All winning pupils were awarded a trophy and a prize in person once schools had reopened, allowing their achievements to be celebrated by their wider school communities.
Bellevue Education Director Sam Selby adds: ‘The Bellevue Spelling Bee provided a fantastic opportunity for our schools to be part of something while they couldn’t come together in person. I’m thrilled at how much our pupils enjoyed being a part of it.
‘Our pupils showed a huge amount of confidence and skill on navigating some amazingly tricky words, and apparently, lots of them are asking for Spelling Bees now they’re back in school. The technology provided a brilliant advantage in bringing our schools together smoothly to participate, so there’s great potential for us to host similar competitions across the Group in future.’
To read more of Bellevue’s news, visit our News & Opinion pages.