Madien Interclass Spelling Bee at Brighthouse Academy
Our Pupils Showed Up and Showed Out
There is a particular kind of silence that falls over a room when a small child walks to the front, picks a number from a bowl, and waits to hear their word. Every parent leans forward. Each teacher holds their breath. Then the child begins to spell, letter by letter, clear and confident, and the room simply melts.
That was the scene at Bright House Academy on the day of our 2026 Interclass Spelling Bee. Without a doubt, it was every bit as wonderful as it sounds.
What the Day Was Really About
The Interclass Spelling Bee was not designed to find one perfect speller and send everyone else home disappointed. Instead, it was built to do something far more important. We wanted our Nursery 2 pupils to stand in front of an audience, face a real challenge, and discover for themselves that they are more capable than they think. We also wanted parents to see their children in a new light and to send a clear message that reading, spelling, and literacy are worth celebrating loudly and joyfully.
Fifty-seven parents and guardians came out to be part of that message, and their presence filled the room with a warmth that no decoration could match. Alongside them stood the teachers who had spent weeks preparing these children, quietly proud as they watched their hard work walk confidently across that stage.
Four Classes, Four Colours, One Big Stage
The competition brought together four Nursery 2 classes going head to head: Topaz Class, Emerald Class, Opal Class, and Ruby Class. Each class carried its own energy, its own cheering section in the audience, and its own determination to walk away with the top prize.
What set this spelling bee apart from a typical interclass competition was the thoughtful way the organisers structured it. Rather than relying on a single format, the event featured four different activities, each one testing a different spelling skill. As a result, the children were not simply memorising words. They were applying them, writing them, pronouncing them, and physically forming them with their own hands. It was spelling experienced in the fullest and most exciting sense of the word.
Breaking Down the Four Activities
The first activity challenged contestants with Word formation using letter tiles. Each class team received a CVC word and used physical letter tiles to arrange the correct spelling on the table. The moment their word was complete, they pressed the buzzer. This round rewarded focus, speed, and the ability to stay calm under pressure.
Next came the writing activity. The moderator read each digraph word aloud, placed it in a sentence, and then read it once more. After listening carefully, each contestant wrote the word on paper as neatly and accurately as possible. Judges looked not only at correct spelling but also at handwriting quality, with bonus marks available for particularly neat work. The concentration on those little faces during this round was genuinely something to see.
Following that was the Wheel activity, perhaps the most visually exciting round of the entire event. Each contestant spun a wheel and had to correctly pronounce and spell whichever tricky word the arrow landed on. Tricky words are famously the ones that refuse to follow regular phonics rules, and they can catch even confident readers off guard. Nevertheless, the children handled them with a composure that delighted everyone watching.
Finally, the Oral Spelling round brought all three word types together in one grand finale. The moderator called each word clearly, and the contestant had to spell it aloud, one letter at a time, in front of the full audience. Of all the activities, this one demanded the most confidence. Our children rose to meet it.
A special thanks to NTA Kabba for the coverage of the event and for using your platform to showcase our story
And the Results Are In
When the final scores came in, Topaz Class emerged as the overall winners with a commanding 100 points, taking home the Spelling Bee trophy and gold medals. Their performance reflected weeks of consistent preparation and a team spirit that carried them through every single round.
Ruby Class earned a well-deserved second place and collected silver medals, while Opal Class claimed third position and the bronze. Emerald Class finished fourth and, just like every class that competed, showed tremendous heart throughout the day.
Importantly, every participant received a certificate of participation. At Bright House Academy, stepping forward and giving your best is already an achievement worth recognising. The certificates were not a consolation. They were well-earned recognition.
The People Who Made It All Happen
A competition is only as credible as the people who judge it. Miss Joy Ekele and Mr James served as our judges, bringing professionalism and careful attention to every single round. Thanks to their impartiality, the results were fair, the scores were accurate, and every child who won did so honestly and deservedly.
Behind the scenes, moreover, an entire team worked quietly to bring the event to life. The timekeeper kept things moving on schedule. The scorekeeper tracked every point with precision. The DJ maintained the energy in the room throughout. The media team captured every precious moment for the record. The decoration team transformed the venue into something celebratory and beautiful. And a dedicated assistant ensured that everything ran smoothly from start to finish. This was truly a team effort in every sense of the word.
The Reason Behind the Competition
We live in a time when children face constant noise and digital distraction. Getting a young child to sit still, focus on a word, and spell it aloud in front of an audience is genuinely no small thing. Yet it is exactly the kind of experience that builds something lasting inside a child: the belief that they can do hard things.
Literacy, after all, is the foundation of everything else. Children who can spell learn to read fluently. Children who read fluently go on to learn anything the world has to offer. The Interclass Spelling Bee was our way of making that truth feel exciting, celebratory, and completely real to our youngest learners.
Furthermore, we wanted to show the children that learning deserves to be celebrated, not quietly or reluctantly, but loudly and with great joy. When a child sees a room full of adults cheering because they spelt a word correctly, something shifts inside them. They begin to understand that what they know truly matters.
A Final Word
Long after the trophies are placed on shelves and the certificates are framed on walls, what our Nursery 2 pupils will carry from this day is the memory of standing up and doing something brave. Of being seen. Of being cheered. Of knowing, without any doubt, that Bright House Academy believes in them.
To every child who took part in the 2026 Interclass Spelling Bee: you were remarkable. Every one of you.
And to the fifty-seven parents who showed up to watch: thank you. Your children saw you sitting there, and it meant more than you will ever know.
