Spelling Bee 🐝 Competition 2026
• Age limit: Students from 7 to 14 years old are eligible.
Students must not have passed beyond the ninth grade (cannot be older than 14).
• Spelling Bee, Preliminary rounds will be available in eight districts including Jaffna.
Preliminaries - Word lists will be published 3 weeks (21 days) prior for each centre
- March 7th, morning - Word list for Jaffna District will be published for preliminaries.
- March 28th - Preliminaries for Jaffna District.
Final Championship - Colombo
- May 16th & May 17th - Final Championship for Spelling Bee for all four Grade Categories
Examination Fees for year 2026
| # | Category | Examination Fee (LKR) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grades 2-3 | 3,500 |
| 2 | Grades 4-5 | 3,800 |
| 3 | Grades 6-7 | 4,100 |
| 4 | Grades 8-9 | 4,400 |
Please contact to get registered +94 766990050
Spelling Bee Overview
In the initial round, candidates undergo a rigorous assessment of their spelling proficiency, encompassing two key stages: a written test and an oral spelling exercise.
Participants are then accorded recognition through the awarding of gold, silver, bronze, or a participation certificate. It is important to note that the first round is not a competitive
phase; rather, it serves as a critical examination for all candidates. The top spellers across the four age groups from the qualification rounds will be selected and moved on to the final rounds.
The second stage, the finals of Spelling Bee by Lyceum Assessments, a competition in all it's sense. This phase unfolds across three distinctive rounds designed to identify and crown a champion. The sequence of events includes:
- Spelling Round (oral): Participants showcase their spelling prowess in this initial segment of the finals.
- Word Meaning Round (oral): This stage delves into the contestants' understanding of the meanings behind the words, adding a comprehensive dimension to the competition.
- Spelling Round (Final) (oral): The competition concludes with a second spelling round, affirming the overall mastery of the finalists in this linguistic arena.
Preliminaries
Round 01 - written test
All spellers will complete a test of spelling and word meaning.
Round 02 - spelling round
• Time: Spellers have 40 seconds to spell the word. A warning bell is rung at 30 seconds and two bells at 40 seconds to indicate that the candidate’s time has expired. At the second bell, any incomplete spelling is taken as the contestant’s final answer.
• Questions: Spellers cannot ask questions in the preliminary rounds.
At the conclusion of their preliminary exams, spellers will be provided with their results, along with a certificate and a Spelling Bee badge.
These individual results will play a crucial role in determining the finalists for the Final Championship competition.
Grade Category 01 - Grades 2-3
Round 01
Dictation - 20 words
Word meanings - 5 words
Round 02
Spelling round - 5 words
Grade Category 02 - Grades 4-5
Round 01
Dictation - 25 words
Word meanings - 5 words
Round 02
Spelling round - 5 words
Grade Category 03 - Grades 6-7
Round 01
Dictation - 30 words
Word meanings - 5 words
Round 02
Spelling round - 5 words
Grade Category 04 - Grades 8-9
Round 01
Dictation - 35 words
Word meanings - 5 words
Round 02
Spelling round - 5 words
Final Championship
Round 01 - spelling round
Time: Spellers have 70 seconds to spell the word. A warning bell is rung at 50 seconds and two bells at 70 seconds to indicate that the candidate’s time has expired. At the second bell, any incomplete spelling is taken as the contestant’s final answer. Spellers cannot ask questions during the final 10 seconds of their turn.
Questions: Spellers are permitted to ask the pronouncer:
• Definition
• Use the word in a sentence
• Repeat the word
Round 02 - word meaning round
Intent: Word meaning rounds are introduced as an onstage element to challenge a speller’s understanding of the words, putting less emphasis on the rote memorisation of spelling.
Rules: Spellers are given 30 seconds to answer a multiple-choice question about the definition of a word.
Round 03 - spelling round
Time: Spellers have 90 seconds to correctly spell a word once it has been pronounced; spellers cannot ask questions during the final 15 seconds of their turn.
Questions: Spellers are permitted to ask the pronouncer all the information:
• Definition
• Part of speech
• Use the word in a sentence
• Language(s) of origin
• Alternate pronunciations
• Repeat the word
How the spell-off works
• Origin: Introduced in 2021 by Scripps National Spelling Bee
• How it works: Officials will activate a Spell-off if one of the following conditions is met:
• There is a tie and no champion has been declared before the 2-hour, 25-minute mark of the competition window (as determined by the officials) and a championship round is not about to begin.
• A championship round ends before the 2-hour, 25-minute mark in the competition window and there is no way to complete a subsequent round by the 2-hour, 25-minute mark allowing 90 seconds per speller.
• A potential winning word is misspelled at or after the 2-hour, 25-minute mark in the competition window.
• Rules: Each speller has 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible while the other speller is sequestered, unable to hear the words being read. Each speller gets the same words read in the same order. The winner is determined by who spells a higher percentage of words correctly. The spellers may not pass and are encouraged to try to spell each word given.
Pretty important details...
• Contestants may ask the announcer to repeat the word within their 45 second time limit.
• Students may also self-correct within their time limit if they have not yet clearly finished by stating the word for the second time. To do this they need to indicate that they are starting again, and follow the same procedure; say the word, then spell it from the start, then say it again.
• Students will NOT be judged incorrect for failing to indicate that the first letter of a proper noun is capitalised (e.g. Australia).
• When a student has finished spelling a word, the Announcer states ‘That is correct’ or ‘That is incorrect. The correct spelling is…
• Students who misspell a word should remain seated on stage until the end of the round. At this point the Announcer will instigate a round of applause and ask those who have been eliminated to join the audience. This makes it clear how many students are still spelling.
• Spellers are strongly encouraged to saying the words, spelling it and then repeat it when they have finished spelling it. However the judges will not disqualify any speller for failing to pronounce the word either before or after spelling it.
• By saying the word aloud before spelling it, the speller has a chance to confirm what they have heard.
• If the speller says the words differently from what the master speller has pronounced, the master speller will clarify the word by repeating the word to the speller.
• If the speller fails to complete the spelling within the allocated time frame, the speller will be disqualified / dropped from the competition.
• The spellers are only allowed once to ask for the word to be repeated during their allocated time frame.
• Once a speller begins spelling a word, he or she may pause and start all over from the beginning within the time frame.
• If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer will indicate which word is to be spelled. If the listed word is not properly identified, either by defining it or using.
Final Championship procedure:
• In an oral word meaning round, a speller may answer the item by providing,
a. the letter associated with the chosen answer along with the chosen answer, or
b. the chosen answer alone. If the answer is identified by the associated letter alone, officials should prompt the speller to provide the text of their answer.
For example: If the speller is offered the question, “ What is porridge made from? A. fur, or B. grain,” the following methods of answering are correct: “grain,” or “B. grain.”
End of the Spelling Bee procedure:
If all spellers in a round misspell or answer word meaning questions incorrectly:
If none of the spellers remaining in the spelling bee at the start of the round spells a word correctly or answers a word meaning question correctly during that round, all remain in the competition and new spelling round begins.
Ties: All spellers eliminated in the same rounds are tied for the same place. After the champion has been determined, spelling bee officials may opt to conduct tiebreaks (of their own design) if tiebreaks are necessary for the awarding of the prizes or the determination of qualifying spellers for the next levels of competition.
If only one speller in a round spells correctly or answers a word meaning question correctly:
If only one speller spells correctly or answers a word meaning question correctly in a round, new spelling round begins and the speller is given an opportunity to spell a word on the list (anticipated championship word). If the speller succeeds in correctly spelling the anticipated championship word in this round, the speller is declared the champion.
Example: In round 12, an oral spelling round, there are four spellers. Spellers A and B misspell. Speller C spells correctly. Speller D misspells. So, Speller C is the only speller in the round to spell correctly. Speller C Begins Round 13 and is offered the anticipated championship word . Speller C correctly spelled the anticipated championship word and is declared champion.
Example: Two spellers compete in Round 10, an oral word meaning round. A answers correctly. Speller B answer incorrectly. Speller A begins Round 11 and is offered the anticipated championship word. Speller A correctly spells the anticipated word and is declared champion.
VERY IMPORTANT: If a speller misspells the anticipated championship word in a one- word round:
A new spelling round begins with ALL the spellers who participated in the previous round. These spellers spell in their original order.
Example: In Round 8 three spellers. Speller A spells correctly and spellers B and C misspell. Round 9 begins, and Speller A is offered the anticipated championship word and misspells. Round 10 begins and includes spellers A, B and C. The riles prescribe that spellers A,B and C spell in their original order; so, Speller A gets the next word on the list even thought speller A misspelled the previous word on the list. Round 10 is not complete until all three spellers have spelled.
Glossary
associate pronouncer:
The associate pronouncer answers the speller’s questions about root words and is on-call to serve as pronouncer should the need arise and serves as quality assurance for the pronouncer during the competition. The associate pronouncer has expertise in etymology and in pronouncing words according to diacritical markings
finalist:
Speller who advances to the final rounds of the Final Championship competition.
head judge:
The head judge serves as the administrator of the competition rules during the
competition and delivers rulings on spellings and answers provided by spellers.
The head judge maintains a thorough knowledge of the competition rules and confidently rules on questions regarding the competition with input from fellow judges.
judges:
Judges maintain focus during the competition and rule on spellings and answers provided by spellers. Judges maintain a thorough knowledge of the competition rules and confidently and swiftly weigh in on internal or external questions regarding the competition.
pronouncer:
The pronouncer pronounces the words and provides all requested word information to the speller during spelling rounds and reads word meaning questions and answers during word meaning rounds using prepared competition materials. The pronouncer has expertise in etymology and in pronouncing words according to diacritical markings.
time keeper:
The time keeper is responsible for monitoring and managing the time during the exam/ competition. Starting the timer when the speller begins spelling the word and stopping it when they finish. Keeping track of the total time each speller takes and providing warnings to spellers when they are approaching the end of their allotted time.
1. Entries
All interested candidates of grades 02 to 09 are welcome to apply to take part in the Spelling Bee.
There will be Spelling Bee registration posts shared across all social media platforms along with a link to a Google Form. Once you enter your basic contact information on this form, one of our officials will get in touch with you and guide you with the registration process.
Once successfully registered with a working email address with the help of our officials, spellers/parents will receive all the information related to the examinations including preliminary round and final championship via an email.
The examination fee is a one-time fixed payment, irrespective of whether you advance to the Finals or get eliminated in the preliminaries.
1.3 Examination Fees for year 2026 are as follows:
1.4. Once the Examination fee is made, candidates must join the telegram group to get updates on the examination. The link to the aforementioned group can be obtained from the official email we send and from our officials via the hotline number mentioned on the previous page.
1.6. Students should represent one centre only. Do not enter a student for the same grade level from a different centre to the one already entered. Do not enter a student for different grade level in the same centre or from a different centre.
1.7. The teacher/parent/participant must be contactable at all times. Please make sure that relevant telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, are given. The organisers cannot take the responsibility of communicating any urgent/unforeseen changes to the participants/teachers without the same.
2. Refunds
2.1. Refunds: Once paid and entered, a performer’s entry fee will not be refunded nor held to the credit of the participant for the following year if the candidate is unable to attend due to personal reasons. However, in the event the Festival is cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances, the entry fee will be refunded.
2.2. Substitutions for any reason is not allowed. The new candidate must enter as a new entry with full payment.
3. Centres / Venue
3.1. Spelling Bee by Lyceum Assessments for year 2026 will only be administered in eight districts: Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kurunegala, Kandy, Ratnapura, Galle and Jaffna.
3.2. The examinations will be held either in each of the respective branch schools of the Lyceum Group or an outside venue.
3.4. All candidates will be informed of their respective Examination venue in due time.
4. Entrance
4.1. Preliminary round - Only the candidate will be permitted to enter the venue.
Parents and/or well wishers will not be able to enter the premises.
4.2. Final Championship - Parents and/or well wishers are welcome to enter the premises by purchasing a ticket at the entrance at a minimal cost.
We will be grateful if these rules are adhered to as entrance will not be allowed only on recognition of a person.
5. Absence and Late Scheduling
5.1. Spellers must be present 30 minutes before the scheduled time.
5.2. Sessions start on time and spellers may miss out on an accurate scoring if they are late to the venue.
5.3. There will be no rescheduling of spellers who are absent. Dates for Spelling Bee cannot be requested or changed. Dates set by the organizers of the Spelling Bee by Lyceum Assessments will be final.
6. Candidate Identification
6.1. Once the payment is made and registration process is complete, candidates will receive their respective Candidate ID Number via the Telegram group.
6.2. On the day of the preliminary round, spellers must have a candidate ID card prepared by them, to be worn around their neck or pasted on their attire. The candidate ID card should be the size of 4 x 3 inches for the judges to clearly see and should clearly indicate the Candidate ID, First Name, School and the Centre.
6.3. On the day of the final round, spellers will be provided with a new placard with the same details as preliminary round. They may take these placards home.
6.4. Please double check the entries on receiving the IDs. Any omissions or errors should be brought to the notice of the organizers as soon as possible.
6.5. The placard will contain their unique candidate number, first name, and their school.
7. Marking Scheme
Judges will score each speller according to the accuracy of their spelling and word meaning questions set by Lyceum Assessments. All candidates will receive a certificate & award as follows.
85 and above: DISTINCTION (GOLD AWARD)
Demonstrated an outstanding mastery of spelling
70 – 84: MERIT (SILVER AWARD)
Exceptionally well spelling, demonstrating a high level of proficiency
51 – 69: PASS (BRONZE AWARD)
Demonstrated a spelling level that is deemed convincing and commendable
50 and below: CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION
Demonstrated awareness of spelling techniques and communication skills
8. Dress Code
8.1. Students are required to dress in smart casual attire.
8.2. Slippers, shorts and any form of revealing clothing will not be permitted. If the candidate fails to abide by the dress code, they will not be allowed to enter the centre.