The competition held at St. Peter’s Technical senior and junior secondary school brought together 32 contestants.
Angel Francis Okoye, a pupil of Gate Way Learning Academy expressed delight and pride at securing her place in the national championship. She added the competition was not difficult for her as she prepared well for it. She also expressed optimism of being victorious during the national championship.
Bakary Sabally, a teacher at Gate Way Learning Academy said securing their spot in the national championship means a lot to them as a recently established school.
He described his pupils as ‘super talented’, adding that he was proud of them and also hopeful they will be victorious during the national championship.
Landing Sanno, senior education officer at regional education directorate 2 in deputising for his director described the competition as well organised, adding that pupils gave their best on words assigned to them.
Mr. Sanno lamented that quality education is going down and organising such competitions for pupils would contribute towards improving their performance.
He noted that the more words students know the better their chances of being able to read and understand.
Nancy Bass, a teacher at El-Shaddai Academy said this was their first time taking part in the competition, adding that they will encourage and assist their pupil who qualified for the national championship to better prepare.
She hailed the organisers of the competition, which is meant to help boost students learning and public speaking abilities.
Tunde Muyi Ogundimu, CEO of TAKE-M Transformation Organisation thanked Central Bank of The Gambia, Unique Solutions and all those who have supported the competition.
The purpose of the Spelling Bee competition is to engage participants with an energetic and informative program of young students and to facilitate networking and business opportunities through an interactive exhibition and a dynamic programme for education and social events.
Over the years, the Spelling Bee competition has grown into a massive event that every pupil in the country looked forward to participating. It is dubbed the most successful, credible and challenging regional and national competition for lower basic schools in the country.