By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY
The grand finale of the fifth edition of the Spelling Bee competition has been held over the weekend in Accra.
After over eight hours and fifteen rounds of intense competition among the 89 finalists, eleven year old Phelimon Awan of the Holy Spirit Catholic Preparatory School, Ho in the Volta Region came out tops after spelling the word –mariculture—correctly.
He went home with a gold medal, GHC 1500 Ecobank Junior Saver Account, a certificate of participation from the GES, a plane ticket from Delta Airlines to Washington D.C, and will be representing Ghana at the 85th Scribb Spelling Bee in the United States of America with $500 spending money from Indomie instant noodles and products from other sponsors.
The Country Director of the Spelling Bee, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, said the programme has impacted positively on pupils and students nationwide.
“The benefits of the Spelling Bee are immeasurable; students learn how to manage their time and prioritise, they gain self confidence by the unique method of questioning that the Spelling Bee encourages, and a host of other important life skills which prepares them to become responsible, well-balanced adults,” she said.
In an interview with the B&FT, Phelimon Awan said he was very happy to be crowned the overall best speller in 2012 and also very excited that he is going to the USA to represent Ghana.
“I feel very happy that I have won this competition and I am going to represent Ghana in the USA. I know it is not going to be easy over there but I will do everything in my power to make Ghana proud.
“From the beginning I was scared because I lost last year at the regional finals and felt that I was not going to make it again but with so much encouragement from my parents, teachers and coaches I was able to gather enough courage and improved on my confidence level,” he said.
Mother of the winner, Rosemond Akyena Awan expressed her appreciation to all persons who have contributed in diverse ways to his success.
“I am so happy that my son has won this competition and I will like to say thanks to his teachers, coaches and friends who encouraged him to go further in this competition. I will also like to add a big thank you to the organizers of such an educative programme. It is so educative and informative to the extent that I personally have learnt a lot of new words and to pronounce words properly,” she said.
She appealed to corporate Ghana and the government to invest in these educative programmes to safeguard the future of the children and the nation as a whole.
The first and second runners-up – Adwoa Onomoah and Christine Afonu – each went home with GHC 1200 and GHC 1000 Ecobank Junior Saver Accounts, certificates of participation, silver and bronze medals and products from other sponsors.
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