A team from Geraldine High School has proved it is the master of spelling.
The team, Geraldine 1, beat 13 others from throughout the central South Island to win the years 9 and 10 Otago Daily Times Extra! Spelling Quiz, held at the Timaru Boys' High School hall yesterday afternoon.
The winning team, Lily MacMillan, Emily Dodd and Matthew Hornsby (all 14), earned 97 points out of a possible 100 in the quiz. They were followed closely by Timaru Boys' High School team Timaru Boys' 2, with only one point separating them after the ninth round. The boys' high team was second (93 points) and Craighead Diocesan School's Craighead 2 team third (90 points).
The Geraldine team is not unfamiliar with spelling quiz wins - it was the third time for Emily and the second for Lily.
The trio said they were surprised by the win.
''We all really like spelling,'' Matthew said.
''I wish this [the competition] was in year 11, 12 and 13 too.''
While spelling words correctly was relatively easy for the three, they all agreed the pressure associated with being in the spelling quiz had made it more challenging.
Quiz co-ordinator and Extra! editor Ivan Behrnes said the competition had been a high-scoring one.
''The result of 97 is one of the highest scores for this type of quiz,'' he said. A Dunedin school's team scored 100% at a recent Extra! spelling quiz in Dunedin.
''This was an awfully close competition and it's great to see the pupils taking part.''
Quiz competitors took part in 10 rounds, including matching words to their country of origin, spelling words, abbreviations and matching words with their meanings.
Placegetters and their schools received plaques, pens and book vouchers. There was also a special round for supporters.
The event was run by the ODT through its Newspapers in Education publication Extra!
