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Posted on: June 13th 2018

MFL Spelling Bee Competition

Spelling bee competitionOn Thursday 3rd May, I had the privilege to accompany three Year 7 students to Upminster to attend and compete in the French/German Spelling Bee Regional Competition. Kareni Selvakumar (7NE) represented Whitmore High School for German and Milly Collins (7RI) and Ria Lamichhane (7ML) represented the school for French. All three took part in the MFL Spelling Bee competition in September, and had won the Stage 1 competition (competition to select the best three students in each class) followed by the Stage 2 competition (competition for all Stage 1 Winners to select the best two students to represent Whitmore High School in the Regional Stage).

Upon arrival at Cooper’s Company and Coborn School, the school hosting the Regional Competition, we were congratulated for being the 79 winners (out of the 6,591 students who took part in the Region) who made it to the Regional Stage (Stage 3).

All competitors were given one minute to translate and spell as many words as they could in the target language in front of an audience of parents, carers, teachers, students and last but not least a panel of two judges per language.

It was a really proud moment to see Kareni, Milly and Ria perform with so much passion and determination, and whilst Kareni and Milly were not selected in the National Stage, their performance was absolutely phenomenal. Ria’s calmness, confidence and hard work paid off and earned her the third space in the Regional Competition and most importantly the chance to compete in the French National Spelling Bee Competition in Cambridge on the 29th June!!

Huge congratulations to all three of them, they have been absolutely wonderful, and I am looking forward to sharing some more good news soon. Next time it’s some of our Year 8 students who will be taking part in the Regional Translation Bee Competition in the University of Westminster!

Mrs R Bali (French and German Teacher)

Spelling bee competitionSome quotes from the students:

Kareni "My experience at the German Spelling Bee in Upminster was incredible. It was something I had never done before but I am delighted to have done it. I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting me and helping me to get this far; I wouldn’t have done it without them."

Ria "At first, when I arrived at Upminster, I wasn’t that afraid as I had gained confidence and realised that this isn’t just about competition but about participation and learning new things. However, when the competition started, I became very anxious but I overcame it with belief and practice. I am proud to have represented Whitmore and come third."