Daniel Premsukh, a student of Mon Repos Primary, is now the proud winner of the Guyana Power and Light/Inter-American Development Bank’s (GPL/IDB) National Spelling Bee following the competition’s finals yesterday morning.
The competition, which started in April, saw participation by a number of eager young spellers from schools in regions 3, 4, 5 and 6, including Enmore Primary, Zeeland Primary, Port Mourant Primary and Windsor Forest Primary.
Travis Williams, of Sheet Anchor Primary School, placed second with a score of 10 out of a possible 15 points, just 4 points fewer than Premsukh.
When Stabroek News spoke with the boys after the competition, they both admitted to being nervous before its start. While Williams thanked his teachers for his success, Premsukh stated that his mother and sister, who were in attendance, had helped him practise for the competition in the evenings.
According to Aeshwar Deonarine, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GPL, the competition was developed to educate children on energy conservation and was officially opened in April with a workshop. This workshop was aimed at preparing the 60 selected students for the competition and also to educate them about key principles, including vocabulary and pronunciation.
At yesterday’s final, Premsukh and Williams were each given 15 words to spell, all related to energy concepts. Premsukh’s winning word, “Ethernet”, was delivered with clarity and confidence.
Premsukh was awarded a number of trophies and over $30,000 in book vouchers. Runner-up Williams also received multiple trophies and over $20,000 in book vouchers.
Besides the finalists, a number of other students were awarded prizes for previous accomplishments during the competition.
Amongst the awards were prizes for the best spellers, top scorers and semi-finalists. Teachers from the semi-finalist schools were also awarded trophies for their dedication and assistance to students.
GPL has also partnered with the IDB for a National School Debating Competition, which is currently ongoing.
