A school with just 32 students has a speller in the state finals of the NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee for the second year running.
Layla Clayton from Bungwahl Public School, on the Mid North Coast, is the junior division’s only returning finalist, having qualified for a second consecutive year.
She is one of 68 junior and senior finalists from Years 2 to 6 meeting at Penrith’s Q Theatre for the 2026 state finals on Friday, 6 November.
The finalists represent the top 0.03 per cent of around 210,000 students who took part in school spelling bees across more than 1,070 NSW public schools this year.
They earned their places after winning 68 online regional finals in August, which saw around 2,100 students compete for a spot on the state stage.
Contestants will start by spelling words from lists supplied by Macquarie Dictionary before moving on to increasingly challenging unseen words.
“Every one of these finalists has already achieved something extraordinary, earning their place among the best young spellers in NSW,” said Premier Chris Minns.
“Whether they come from a small regional school or the heart of Sydney, these students are showing what can be achieved through a love of learning.”
The competition was launched in 2004 to help students engage with spelling and literacy.
“The Premier’s Spelling Bee is about so much more than spelling,” said Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car.
“It helps students build confidence, develop their vocabulary and discover the joy of language.”
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