…as she retains her title, emerging as champion of TSB 2023
After an intense, yet interesting battle for the championship at The Spelling Bee 2023, N’Adom Darko-Asare, winner of TSB 2022, has retained her title as the best speller. The 11-year-old from the DPS International School, Ghana accurately spelt her word in the 17th round and effortlessly spelled her championship word ‘douroucouli’ to win The Spelling Bee 2023.
N’Adom Darko-Asare won a trip to Washington DC, USA to represent Ghana at the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, US$500 spending money, an engraved trophy, a fully installed DStv Explora decoder with four months subscription, Indomie products, a gold medal, and a GH¢500 Goil fuel voucher.
Speaking to the media after once again raising high the trophy, N’Adom said having been given another chance to represent the country on the international level, she will work hard to succeed and represent the nation with pride. “I will do my best to make Ghana proud at the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee,” she said.
The competition also saw 12-year-old Mychelle Kumah of Soul Clinic School, Accra emerge as first runner-up, and 12-year-old Janice Afiba Nketsiah from St. Francis of Assisi Schools emerge the second runner-up. Mychelle Kumah won US$100 spending money, a fully installed DStv HD Zapper decoder with four months of compact viewing, Indomie products, a silver medal, and a GH¢500 Goil fuel voucher.
Janice Afiba Nketsiah also won US$100 spending money, a fully installed DStv HD Zapper decoder with four months of compact viewing, Indomie products, a bronze medal, and a GH¢500 Goil fuel voucher.
The first and second runners-up, who also won the Yellow Bees category, took home GH¢1,000 worth of books, an opportunity to represent Ghana at the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and a 1-year Merriam-Webster subscription. The fourth and fifth spellers will enjoy a round trip to Kenya.
The First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has also promised to sponsor the top three contestants when they travel to the United States of America to compete at the Scripps Spelling Bee Championship.
All other spellers received a certificate of recognition, Indomie products, customised T-shirts, commemorative medals, a customised bag and novels donated by the PAS-US Embassy while the top three winners’ schools each received a certificate of recognition, GH¢1,000 worth fuel vouchers sponsored by GOIL.
The event was graced by the First Lady of the Republic, Rebecca Akufo-Addo; Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah; and other high-profile personalities who lauded the initiative and encouraged the spellers and commended the organisers for a successful stride over the years.
This year’s national finalists were made up of 46 boys and 58 girls representing 8 cities in the country.
The competition, which began in March of 2022, saw over 500 hopefuls – aged between 7 and 13 – receive training before being assessed through the Preliminaries, Quarter, and Semi-Final levels, where all 104 national finalists emerged.
About The Spelling Bee
The Spelling Bee-GH is a literacy programme targetted at primary school children in Ghana, with pupils aged from 7–13 years. It teaches them how to use the English language effectively. Over the past fifteen years, the Scripps Spelling Bee-franchised programme has been running in Ghana. The Spelling Bee has impacted over 30,000 students throughout the regional capitals of the country.
The Spelling Bee-GH operates an inclusive policy where students with special needs are supported to participate in the programme. Young Educators Foundation, a Ghanaian NGO, holds the Ghana franchise.
