Newcastle Angels Academy spelling bee star keeps shining

Mpilonhle Malinga kept Angels Academy Newcastle’s flag flying high when she again came second in the hotly contested Phumelela Circuit Spelling Bee championships held last week at Suryaville Primary School.

This is the second time in a row that Mpilonhle secured a second-placed finish.

The overall winner, from Lennoxton Primary School, was a runner-up in the same contest last year.

Interviewed after the competitions, Mpilonhle said she is ecstatic to have achieved the runner-up position this year, and she vowed to scoop the first-place trophy in the next district competitions.

Her coach, Mr. J. Manzou, said he was very proud of the speller, whom he described as better at spelling than ‘several teachers teaching in our schools today’.

“Today Mpilonhle was just unlucky; if it was her lucky day, she could have scooped the top prize, ” Coach Manzou said.

There was a tie between her (Mpilonhle) and the speller who scooped the top prize.

It took four rounds to just split the two sellers, and that clearly shows that the duo’s level of spelling competence is extremely high.

Mr. Manzou concluded by urging other schools in the circuit to take part in this interesting academic sport, as learners who take part in the sport are academically in their own league.