The Premier's Spelling Bee is an engaging way for NSW public primary school students to expand their vocabularies and improve their spelling.

The program includes activities that encourage students to become more confident users of language through broadening their vocabulary, and promotes improved literacy skills in conjunction with the NSW English syllabus.

Last year almost 180,000 students from 880 public schools contested the Spelling Bee through regional finals, culminating in 60 students battling it out in the State Final for the title of junior or senior Spelling Bee champion.

Jade Arnold, NSW Premier’s Programs Officer for The Arts Unit, said this year’s Spelling Bee was launching five weeks earlier than the traditional Term 2 start to maximise participation in the competition.

“We’re launching earlier to give schools more time to participate and use the resources available for spellers online,” Ms Arnold said.

“We’re also moving the state finals to western Sydney this year, which will be a nice change for competitors.”

Last year’s junior champion, first-time Spelling Bee competitor Maya Thiruchelvam from Hamilton South Public School, said she practised spelling most nights in the lead-up to the competition.

“I just pictured the word in my mind – that’s what I usually do – because I’ve probably read it in a book somewhere, and then I pretend it’s written down and I can spell from what I’m picturing,” she said.

Senior runner-up in 2023, Aditya Paul from Epping Public School, encouraged Spelling Bee competitors to learn the words, not just how to spell them.

“I think with spelling, it’s a better strategy to learn what the words mean, than to just memorise the words,” Aditya said.

This year’s Premier’s Spelling Bee enrolments opened on 11 March and close on 21 June. Regional finals will take place from 12 to 23 August with the State Final held on 1 November in Penrith.

The 2024 NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee is proudly supported by major sponsor Grok Academy and supporters Primary English Teaching Association Australia and ACCO Brands Australia. The official word list partner is Macquarie Dictionary.

For more information, visit the Premier’s Spelling Bee website.