Second time contender, Giovanni Adjei, has emerged winner of the 2024 Spelling Bee Competition, after defeating N’Adom Darko-Asare.
The 10-year-old student of Christ the King International School took the title after correctly spelling the word Guijo.
N’Adom, the 2022 and 2023 National Champion of the Spelling Bee took the 1st runner up position with Abena Kwaffo, a student of the KNUST Basic School, emerging the 2nd runner-up.
For his prize as the winner of the 2024 Spelling Bee, Giovanni won a trip to Washington DC, USA to represent Ghana at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee, US$500 spending money, an engraved trophy, a fully installed DStv Explora decoder with four-month subscription, indomie products, a gold medal, GH¢1,000.00 Goil fuel coupon and 1-year Merriam- Webster dictionary subscription.
Both N’Adom and Abena won the same prize – a fully installed DStv HD Zapper decoder with 4 -month compact viewing, Indomie products, silver medal and Goil fuel coupons worth GH¢ 500.00.
In her introductory remarks at the finals of the competition, the Country Director of Young Educators Foundation- organisers of the Spelling Bee, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, highlighted the importance of the competition, stressing on its ability to enable spellers understand the intricacies of language.
“The spelling Bee programme is not about memorization or reciting a list of words. Instead, it deals into the roots of language, helping students comprehend the how’s and why’s behind the sounds and spellings of words,” she stressed.
Invited guests from diverse sectors graced the event with their presence and took turns to deliver words of encouragement to the participants. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, indicated that the competition provides students with a chain of benefits – resilience, confidence, effective public speaking and positive curiosity, among others.
All 99 spellers comprising 34 males and 65 females from nine cities across the country who converged at the Christ the King Parish in Accra to battle for the championship title received certificates of recognition, Indomie products, branded T-shirt and customised citation.
Other guests invited were Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Abla Dzifa Gomashie; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai; Managing Director of Ecobank, Abena Osei-Poku; and the Managing Director of First National Bank, Sylvia Inkoom.
In an interview with the father of Giovanni, Daniel Adjei, he indicated that the efforts and hard work of his son has paid off.
“It’s been a time of hard work. He wakes up at dawn to study and after school he does his homework. He has put in a lot of effort and it paid off. We are happy when we see our children justify the investment we put in them,” he said.
About the Spelling Bee
The Spelling Bee is a premier national spelling competition aimed at promoting literacy, vocabulary and a love for language among Ghanaian youths. Since its inception in 2008, the programme has become a platform for young spellers to showcase their linguistic talents on a national and international stage. The Spelling Bee is committed to nurturing a new generation of wordsmiths and promoting the importance of literacy throughout the country.
