MORE than 300 students took part in an Oldham school spelling bee competition.

Every one of Alexandra Park Junior School’s 360 pupils put their spelling to the test for the annual challenge.

Due to Covid-19, both 2020 and 2021's regional competitions had to be cancelled but the school saw no reason to cancel their in-school competition.

Pupils at the school challenged themselves to learn the trickiest spellings for their year group. Each class held their own in class competition to select a champion to take on the rest of the school. Twelve "superstar spellers" were then put to the test by a judging panel of teachers including headteacher Jenny Seabright.

With words ranging from bruise to vacuum, the competition was tough and it took four rounds before any of the pupil's were knocked out.

The school's top speller, Laiba Arshad, came from Class 6 (Year 4), with second place going to Hasan Ali, Class 9 (Year 5).The winner will have her name engraved on the school Spelling Bee plaque.

Mrs Griffin, deputy headteacher said: "We have been taking part in the regional spelling bee for a couple of years now and in 2018 we were delighted to come second. We have truly missed not taking part the last two years but were proud to still hold a school event. The calibre of our entrants was phenomenol, the children are working incredibly hard to become good spellers and we are striving for first place when the regionals return.”