2017 Spelling Bee finals this weekend

Friday, September 22, 2017

The Basic Education Department will on Saturday host the 2017 National Spelling Bee Competition finals for Grade 4 to 6 learners at the University of South Africa (Unisa) Main Campus in Tshwane.

The department on Thursday said it would host the competition in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture, Spell It, UNISA, SABC Education, the AVBOB foundation and Monash South Africa.

The Spelling Bee supports the Integrated National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, which is the department’s response to the need for urgency in addressing the low achievement levels of learners in literacy and numeracy.

The department said the initiative aims to develop a culture of reading in the country through the Read to Lead campaign and also improving learner’s performance in languages, especially English.

“Reading is a foundational skill on which all other learning is built. A child who reads is more likely to improve in language use and spelling as well,” the department said.

The 2017 Spelling Bee competition will be addressed by the department’s Deputy Minister Enver Surty. He will hand over prizes to the winning school teams. - SAnews.gov.za