LOCAL LEARNER PARTICIPATES IN AFRICAN SPELLING BEE

November 2018
Grade 6 learner, from Pellsrus Primary School, Jeffreys Bay, will be setting off to Kenya later this month, to take part in an international Spelling Bee. Twelve year old Maurice Botha, won last year’s Spelling Bee, whilst in Grade 5, making him eligible to compete in the African Spelling Bee, a consortium of sixteen Spelling Bee organisations from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Malawi, Gambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Tunisia and South Africa
The South African team will comprise: Maurice Botha (Eastern Cape), Krithika Gia Dewnarain (Kwa Zulu Natal), Tshegofatso Morapedi (Limpopo), Mulamuleli Ramarumo (Limpopo), Livhuwani Siphuma (Limpopo), Hlulani Victoria Baloyi (Limpopo).
“The school is very proud of Maurice and we wish him well in Kenya at the African Spelling Bee,” said Pellsrus Primary School’s Principal, Mr De Vries.
Maurice Botha, won first prize, in 2016’s regional Spelling Bee, as part of Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm’s literacy programme. The Wind Farm has also put their support behind his debut on the international stage. “We are happy to be supporting Maurice Botha’s participation in this international event, especially as it’s the first time a young learner from the Eastern Cape has manage to get to this level,” said Hlengiwe Radebe, Economic Development Manager for Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm.
The third African Spelling Bee, is being hosted in Kenya 22nd-25th, November 2018. A team of literacy enthusiasts have come together to improve literacy and unlock our children’s imaginations on the continent, through creating the very first African Spelling Bee in July 2016. The Spelling Bee programme impacts over 10 million learners across the African continent through national spelling competitions, teacher trainings and reading interventions among other literacy interventions in participating countries.