Kenilworth’s busy bees can spell

The Kenilworth School team got into the “I before E except after C” way of thinking when they competed against eight teams from across the West Midlands at a heat held recently in Cineworld, Birmingham.

And knowing the difference between spelling the verb practise, as opposed to the noun practice – which are pronounced the same – could see them going all the way in the 2011 Times Spelling Bee competition.

The Kenilworth School team consisted of four players – Rachael Sturdy, Ffion Davies and Asha Chakrabarti, all aged 12, and 11-year-old Jordan Ellershaw.

Pupil Asha said: “I’m really happy that we won and we can’t wait for the next round.”

Taking part in the competition was part of a school library project.

Librarian John Evans said: “I’m really proud of them and the fact that all four team members contributed to the victory.

“They kept very cool under pressure and in front of a very large audience.

“It makes spelling exciting because it’s an audience event.”

Around 40 pupils started off for a place in the school team before it was whittled down.

Mr Evans said it makes youngsters think more about spelling and not become too reliant on computer spell checkers, many which use American forms of spelling.

The youngsters showed off their skill in two rounds – one of which was a two-minute session where they were fired at with words to spell.

He added: “They also have to be aware of homophones – like steak and stake – where they sound the same but have very different meanings. It forces them to think on their feet and they have to work out the difference between the words.”

It is the second time in three years that the school has made it through to the semi-finals.

In second place was Windsor High School, Halesowen, with Alcester Grammar School coming third.

Kenilworth School will face their semi-final opponents in May, on a date and venue to be arranged, and the 11 winning teams will compete in a London final on June 23.