SUN CITY, North West — 10–11 December 2025.

What began in classrooms and community halls months ago ended under bright lights at Sun City, where South Africa’s finest junior and senior spellers faced down nerves, syllables and etymology at the 2025 National Spelling Bee Finals. The result was equal parts competition and celebration: a countrywide love letter to reading, multilingualism and youth ambition.

Now in its 15th year, the South African National Spelling Bee has grown into a flagship literacy showcase—one that awards national colours for literacy through spelling and puts rural villages, townships and cities on the same stage. “Every word a child learns strengthens the standing of the nation,” said Roger Dickinson, CEO of the South African Spelling Bee. “Confident readers uplift families, schools and communities.”

Co-hosted by A Better Africa Foundation and the Department of Basic Education—with the NECT, Nal’ibali and other literacy partners—the finals again leaned into South Africa’s linguistic richness. Contestants were tested across all 11 official languages and South African Sign Language (SASL), with a written component in Italian and Shona to deepen linguistic awareness and social cohesion. In between rounds, spellers and caregivers joined support sessions—and, because childhood should still feel like childhood, they got time to splash in the Valley of Waves.

Hosting the event on home soil proved poetic for the province. Mbulelo Tom (Grade 6, Klerksdorp Primary, Dr Kenneth Kaunda District) clinched first place at the national finals. He earned R15 000 and a laptop (sponsored by Cell C), and will represent South Africa at the African Junior Championship Spelling in Zimbabwe, March 2026.

Team North West’s cohort—Amarachi Ekwua (D.P. Kgotleng Primary, Mahikeng), Igberas Botlhale (Mmatope Primary, Jericho near Brits) and Mbali Hlongwani (Diphetogo Primary, Jouberton)—all earned their spots by topping provincial contests; Botlhale battled into the national Top 16.

“Congratulations to Team North West, and a special salute to Mbulelo,” said MEC for Education Viola Motsumi. “To those who fell short this year: reaching nationals already marks you as the best. Thank you to the educators and parents who walked this road with our learners.”

Why it matters

Behind each finalist lies a village of support—teachers drilling pronunciation patterns, parents quizzing roots and affixes, peers cheering through practice bees. Many are returning ‘Word Warriors’ who missed the cut by a whisker in past seasons and came back sharper. The programme’s blend of rigour (multi-language rounds, etymology, orthography) and care (wellbeing sessions, caregiver involvement) models how literacy work can build resilience, discipline and self-belief.

A movement bigger than a trophy

The Spelling Bee is more than a contest. It is a national campaign for reading culture, a case study in multilingual education done right, and a reminder that excellence blooms wherever it’s watered—whether in a farm school, a mining town, or a city magnet school. As Dickinson put it, the Bee “remains a powerful platform for multilingualism, social cohesion and youth development.”

With Sun City’s lights dimmed and dictionaries closed, the class of 2025 returns home—prouder, louder and one step closer to the future they’re spelling into being.

-The VIP Team 

-DBE

-SA Spelling Bee

-NW Education