It pays to do your homework - just ask the winners of last night's Otago Daily Times Extra! Central South Island Spelling Quiz.
South Canterbury schools took top honours. Craighead Diocesan School celebrated success in the years 7 and 8 category, and Waihi School in the years 5 and 6 section at Timaru Boys' High School last night.
Eighty teams from Waitaki and Mid and South Canterbury battled it out for the top spots.
Craighead's winning years 7 and 8 team, made up of Holly Bamber, Emma Miron and Pieta Prouting scored 96 points out of 100.
They were neck and neck with Ashburton Intermediate on 95 until they claimed victory when it went to a spell-off. Holly said the team had studied hard and put in many hours in the weeks leading up to the event.
The girls said they were looking forward to sharing their win with their classmates today.
St Joseph's School, Ashburton, narrowly missed out with 94 points.
Waihi School boys went to the top of the class, winning the years 5 and 6 section. The Waihi team was made up of Hugh Saunders, Lachie Short and Will Goldsbury.
Competition was tough, with five of the 30 competing teams being placed fourth. Two teams Gleniti 1 and Allenton 2 - were second-equal after scoring 93 out of 100.
Hugh, Lachie and Will had a nail-biting finish, with just one extra point to claim the win.
Hugh said his team was not expecting to win, and each of the boys agreed the toughest challenge was the "All or Nothing'' round.
"If you answered straight away and got it wrong, you got no points,'' Lachie said.
Ashburton Borough 1 also found parts of the competition tough, but were quietly pleased with their efforts in the first half. Team member Violet Lambert-Lane (9) said the competition was ``pretty good''.
Fellow Ashburton Borough 1 team member Steven Harris (10) was pleased with his team's effort but was not sure how successful they had been, he said during the first half.
"I think we're falling behind a bit because we handed [our answers] up late in round two.''
The years 5-6 competition attracted schools from far and wide, including Dorie School, in Mid Canterbury, and Fenwick School, in North Otago.
The event continues in Timaru tonight, with teams battling it out for top spot in years 9 and 10. - The Courier
