Could you remember how to spell randomly picked words from a list of 80 tricky ones at a moment's notice within a window of 45 seconds, in front of a big live audience?
Last Wednesday Faulconbridge Public School Year 6 student Stephanie Mader competed in the state final of the Premier's Spelling Bee competition in Sydney, which was streamed live on the ABC.
Stephanie successfully spelt her way out of trouble in round one of the final in the senior division against 39 other finalists from schools across NSW.
She then correctly spelled the word 'budget' but eventually came unstuck when faced with 'artillery'.
The winner of the senior division was Mica Kryzanowski from Woollahra Public School.
Stephanie made the final by winning a regional tournament in September.
Ahead of the final, Stephanie told the Gazette she initially wasn't going to go in the competition, "but my mum filled out the entry form and encouraged me to have a go . . . so, thanks mum!"
"They give you a big list of words in advance, so my strategy was to find the hardest words and focus on practising those."
Stephanie's teacher, Trevor McDonald, described her as "a diligent student, strong in literacy, who's very good at applying herself to any task or challenge”.
