It’s all about the bragging rights as annual spelling bees brought out the best of the best from Cayman’s primary and secondary schools. The events were held at Prospect Primary School hall on 30 November 2011 and 1 December 2011 respectively.

Bodden Town Primary, proving to have some of the best spellers in the primary school division, was able to claim the coveted Premier Shield School Cup with a total of 86 points. Layman E Scott Sr. High School in Cayman Brac was the proud recipient of the coveted cup for the secondary division, garnering 66 points for the overall win.

A total of 48 students from primary schools throughout the islands and 20 from the secondary schools qualified during the preliminary rounds of the spelling bees. As things heated up in the competition a total of 19 students qualified for the final rounds.

The bee brought out the scholastic talent from each school as the primary students were ready to battle to the end. There were five competitors with perfect scores at the end of the spelling rounds and to find a winner a spell-off took place.

Mrs Wahler the Chief Education Officer at the Department of Education said “Once again, we have been impressed by the performance of our top spellers in this year’s competition.  At both primary and secondary level, the big news this year was the intensity of the competition for the top awards.

“Spelling bees are not only about spelling—they also signify discipline, determination, confidence in public presentation, and a focus on excellence.  These are qualities that we are proud to see our students exhibit and which will serve them well in the future.  Congratulations to the organizers and the many competitors, their teachers and their parents for all the hard work involved in preparing for this event.”

The spell-off had the tied students spell over 50 randomly chosen words to find an ultimate champion. Haley Brown from Bodden Town Primary was crowned the winner. She was closely followed by Courtney Charles from Prospect Primary School with second place, Amanda Ferguson of Creek and Spot Bay Primary in third and D’vonte Joesph of Prospect Primary and O’Neil Duncan of George Town Primary tied in fourth place.

The secondary competition was pumped with excitement as each of the final contestants ended up being separated by only one point. Abijith Anu and Chineme Ezema of Layman E Scott Sr. High School placed first and second respectively. Aaron Fernandez and Rashawn McElroy of John Gray High School held third and fourth places.

Spelling Bee prizes were donated by the respective sponsors with RBC providing each of the primary students with a laptop for all of their efforts in the competition. Mr. Tony Brown from Brown’s Esso also contributed laptop prizes for the primary division winners. The Lions Club, sponsor of the secondary division, donated laptop computers for each of those winners.