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Posted on July 9th 2018
We are Federation Spelling Bee Champions 2018
After spending the day up against fierce competition from 20 Harris schools, our boys were crowned Harris Federation Spelling Champions 2018!
The event took place at Harris Academy Peckham, who had been champions for two years running, but we were determined to take the crown from them this year. Four of our Year 7s took part in the competition, testing their spelling wits with some tough words against some even tougher competitors.
Guglielmo, Eddie, Tomi and Dylan were chosen as HBAED’s spelling quartet after impressing in the class spelling heats. There were five rounds in the competition (one group spelling and four individual) with each one increasing in difficulty.
Eddie got us into a flying start impressing in the buzzer challenge. Round two saw Dylan amass an amazing 42 points in the quick fire challenge. That astonishing score put us in fourth position before the lunch break. Tomi then took the reins in round three showing off his spelling prowess. By that stage, we were joint second with only our local rivals Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich to beat.
Guglielmo was now left to take us into the home straight in the toughest “last man standing” round. After eighteen competitors crashed out, HBAED and Crystal Palace were left.
When Palace’s speller faltered on “paediatrician”, Guglielmo only needed to spell “bourgeoisie” correctly to win the final round and all but crown us champions!
The tension in the room was reminiscent of England’s penalty shoot-out as breaths were drawn after each letter said. When Guglielmo said his final letter, the room erupted in cheers, the loudest from his ecstatic team-mates. After a nail-biting wait for the final scoreboard, HBAED were confirmed champions and handed their maiden Spelling Bee title!
They weren’t only playing for spelling glory, however, their amazing feat also saw them win a Kindle Fire EACH, vouchers and their own trophy to take home!
Here are some comments from the famous foursome after their memorable victory:
Dylan: “I was slightly anxious as I was on the stage by myself – getting the words correct gave me a massive confidence boost which calmed my nerves.”
Tomi: “I was discombobulated because my buzzer seemed to fail on me sometimes! Luckily, it didn’t affect our final score!”
Guglielmo said it was “impressive the way you doubt yourself when you are under pressure” and described his emotions during his tense last round battle as “like I was about to have a heart attack".
Eddie could think of only one word to encapsulate his feelings on the day: “exhilarated”.
A big congratulations to our boys for their amazing win!
Miss Jama
