Vivaan Shabish, a sixth-grade student from Navy Children School, New Delhi, emerged as the champion of the fourth season of the Collins National Spelling Bee, which took place at Elpro International School, Pune, on September 16, 2023. Adding to the achievement list, Sinduja S from TVIS Velammal Vidyalaya, Ponneri, secured the first runner-up position, while Myra Kanshal from National Academy for Learning, Bengaluru, claimed the second runner-up spot in this fiercely contested competition.
The Collins National Spelling Bee is a platform dedicated to enhancing students’ vocabulary, pronunciation, and their understanding of etymology and word usage. In its fourth season, the Collins National Spelling Bee 2023 witnessed an impressive participation of over one lakh students, with 6000 students successfully advancing through the various heats.
The competition unfolded through preliminary rounds and semifinals conducted online, featuring a blend of quizzes and spelling challenges. The top 36 scorers from the preliminaries battled it out in six thrilling semifinals, with 12 of them earning their coveted spots in the grand finale. The final showdown, hosted at Elpro International School, Pune, was broadcasted live on Collins’ Facebook page, attracting a substantial audience of teachers, students, and parents who enthusiastically cheered for the finalists. The ultimate contest stretched across an impressive 19 rounds, with participants tackling words of increasing difficulty. A grand total of 154 words were presented during the final, and Vivaan clinched victory by correctly spelling the word ‘liability,’ within the allotted 30 seconds.
Dr Elaine Higgleton, International Publisher at Collins, served as the competition’s esteemed adjudicator and compiled comprehensive word lists. Ajay Poonia, a renowned quizmaster and anchor, not only hosted the event but also played the role of co-adjudicator, adding a layer of expertise to the proceedings said, “This year’s edition saw a remarkable uptick in both quantity and quality compared to previous editions.”
