NSW's best young spellers will come together at Penrith's Q Theatre with 64 students today competing to be crowned the winner of the 2025 NSW Premier's Spelling Bee.
The junior and senior finalists from Years 2 to 6 have arrived from all corners of NSW to compete in today's final, with some students travelling to Sydney from Broken Hill, Tregeagle, Tathra and Bega to compete.
This year almost 200,000 students from more than 1,000 NSW public schools participated in this years' spelling bee, marking a new record for the program.
Half of the finalists are from regional, rural and remote NSW, including all 2025 returning finalists.
Last year's junior division winner, Wafiq Ayyash from New Lambton Public School, will return to defend his title after winning with the word 'treachery'.
Year 6 Coonabarabran Public School student William Weatherall will be making his fourth consecutive appearance at the 2025 state finals.
Hargraves Public School in NSW's Central West is the only school to be represented in both the junior and senior finals, with junior finalist, Year 2 student Jack Primmer, one of this year's youngest competitors.
Contestants will begin with 'seen' word lists provided by Macquarie Dictionary before facing 'unseen' challenges that test spelling skills and composure under pressure.
Almost 2,000 students competed in 64 regional finals over two weeks to reach the State finals. Among this year's competitors are 23 finalists who speak a language other than English at home, making up 36 per cent of the competing cohort and representing 16 language groups.
Launched in 2004 by the Carr Labor Government, the program was created for students to engage with spelling and literacy.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said:
"It's fantastic to see students from every corner of NSW coming together to put their skills to the test in one of our state's great public school traditions.
"This year's record participation shows how much young people across the state value literacy and education.
"From Broken Hill or Bega, every finalist here today represents the incredible potential of our public school students."
Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said:
"The Premier's Spelling Bee is a proud Labor legacy, because we believe every child deserves the opportunity to discover a love for reading and writing.
"From Broken Hill to Bega and Bankstown, this challenge gives students across the state a chance to learn, compete and succeed.
"Lifting literacy outcomes is a key priority for the Minns Labor Government, backed by a focus on phonics in the early years, and this contest gives our young learners the opportunity to challenge themselves."
