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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy

Gasps, nerves and five-syllable words: the tense world of NSW’s school spelling bee

A boy standing at a microphone on a stage, holding his hands up to his face and gasping with excitement
Finn McGhee from Narellan Vale Public School competes in the 2025 NSW Premier's Spelling Bee. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

It’s Friday morning in a packed theatre hall in Sydney – and despite the hundreds of teachers, families and students, you could hear a pin drop.

Two students, aged nine and 10, sit on a brightly lit stage. One of them points finger guns in the air. Another, 10-year-old Finn McGhee, cannot stop clutching his face. “Oh my God,” he moans.

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