2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Years 9-10
Sponsored by the Wright Family Foundation
Teachers and educators can register for the 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee here. There is no charge to register and the resources will be available online from March onwards.
The 2020 Spelling Bee
This year thousands of Years 9-10 students around the country took on the challenge of learning the New Zealand Spelling Bee Wordlist. In the second week of June they did the Classroom Spelling Bee Test that involved spelling 50 words from the Wordlist and 50 words they had not seen.
The test papers were marked and sent to the Spelling Bee Organiser who ranks the papers by results to determine the country’s top 200 spellers.
These spellers will now compete at one of six regional spelling bees around the country to determine the 18 finalists. These finalists will win travel to Wellington and overnight accommodation so they can compete in the 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Final on 1-2 November. The Champion Speller wins the 2020 Champion Speller Trophy and $5000 for the advancement of their academic studies.
Semi-final Key Details
More detailed semi-final details will be posted as they become available.
Timeframes for the 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee
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Register for 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Click here |
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March onwards |
Schools with Years 9-10 students register online. 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee resources available online |
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March – 8 June |
Participating Year 9-10 students study The 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Wordlist. |
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8 June – 12 June |
Participating Years 9-10 students do The 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Test. This is a written test of 100 words (50 from the 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Wordlist and 50 unseen words). |
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15 June |
Test sheets marked and papers couriered to Spelling Bee Organiser. |
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24 June |
Schools advised of the country’s top 200 Semi-finalists by email |
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24 June onwards |
Semi-finalists register online to access the 2020 New Zealand Spelling Bee Semi-final Wordlist |
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Semi-finals |
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10 August |
Lower South Island Semi-final, Dunedin |
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11 August |
Upper South Island Semi-final, Christchurch |
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13 August |
Lower North Island Semi-final, Wellington |
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15 August |
Upper North Island Semi-final, Auckland |
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17 August |
The Far North Semi-final, Whangarei |
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18 August |
Central North Island Semi-final, Hamilton |
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31 October |
2020 Spelling Bee Final, Wellington, City Art Gallery, 12-3.30pm |



