Education Sunday, 01 November 2026

Three local students reach state finals of Premier's Spelling Bee

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Three local students reach state finals of Premier's Spelling Bee

THREE talented young students from the Parramatta region are preparing to test their spelling skills against NSW's best when the Premier's Spelling Bee state finals are held in Penrith on Friday, November 6.

Year 6 students Liam Min from Northmead Public School and Kobe Hyun from Burnside Public School in North Parramatta will join Year 5 student Samrudh Kamarshi from Metella Road Public School in Toongabbie.

The trio have secured places among just 34 senior division finalists, representing an outstanding achievement in a competition that attracted approximately 210,000 students from public schools across NSW.

A total of 68 students from Years 2 to 6 will compete in the junior and senior finals at Penrith's Q Theatre, placing them among the top 0.03 per cent of participants statewide.

The Parramatta representatives will face experienced competitors, including former junior champion Wafiq Ayyash from New Lambton South Public School and 2024 junior runner-up Bobby Ivaneza from Annandale Public School.

Seven senior finalists have previously competed at state level, with five making their third appearance.

The competition also celebrates the cultural diversity of NSW public schools, with 23 finalists speaking languages other than English at home.

Among them are Liam, who speaks Korean, and Samrudh, who speaks Hindi and Telugu.

Since its introduction in 2004, the Premier's Spelling Bee has expanded from 431 participating schools to more than 1,070 this year.

Students qualified through school competitions held during Terms 1 and 2, followed by regional finals in August.

At the state finals, contestants will initially tackle familiar words from lists supplied by Macquarie Dictionary before progressing to unseen words designed to challenge their knowledge, concentration and confidence.

Half of this year's finalists come from regional NSW, highlighting the competition's statewide appeal.

ABC presenter Rae Johnston will host the senior final from 1.30pm to 4.30pm, while Toni Matthews will oversee the junior competition.

For Liam, Kobe and Samrudh, the event offers an opportunity to represent their schools and communities on the state stage.

Details: www.artsunit.nsw.edu.au/program/nsw-premiers-spelling-bee