East Antrim pupils buzzing for chance to '˜Bee' best speller

Among the 23 young spelling enthusiasts from around the county who competed in the Antrim heat in Templepatrick Primary School on May 4 were Aimee Scott, Templepatrick Primary School; Bailey Coates, Ashgrove Primary School, Newtownabbey; Ellie Gould, Fairview Primary School, Ballyclare; Georgia Crawford, Tildarg Primary School, Ballyclare; Harry Nicholson, St James’ Primary School, Newtownabbey; Jay Chaudhry, Antrim Primary School; and Laura Dunlop, Oakfield Primary School, Carrickfergus; and Miguel McRoberts, Tir na nOg Primary School, Ballyclare.

Lois Angell from Groggan Primary School emerged the heat winner and will now go on to take part in the Provincial Spelling Bee competition before the overall final in June, where the four provincial winners will battle it out to be crowned the 2017 Eason Spelling Bee Champion.

Primary Seven students from schools across Northern Ireland have entered the competition this year, with the County Bees currently underway, in a bid to be crowned the top speller on the island of Ireland.

Brendan Corbett, Group Head of Marketing at Eason, said: “Now in its seventh year, Eason Spelling Bee continues to grow and registration in Northern Ireland has increased every year since 2011. This year’s competition is set to be the most exciting year yet with hundreds of young minds from across the island of Ireland hoping to win the Eason Spelling Bee 2017 Champion title. We continue to be more amazed each year by the incredible talent in each school and by the motivation and determination shown by these children.”