Enterprising Sam spells his way to State finals

Orange Public School student, Sam Dunlop, will line up against the State’s best spellers after winning his way to the junior state final of the NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee.

Ten-year-old Sam secured his finals spot by successfully spelling the word “enterprise” at the regional final, one of 60 that took place online over the past few weeks, involving competitors from 820 schools.

It was the trickiest word of the competition, reckons Sam, whose favourite word to spell is “suspicious”.

Sam and other regional winners will travel to Sydney on Friday, November 4 for the prestigious NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee State final, which will be held at the Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Centre, Ultimo. 

“I am very excited and feel a bit pressured, as I want to win for Orange,” Sam said, adding that he’s also looking forward to Yum Cha with his family when the competition is over.

It’s actually Sam’s second win in a regional spelling bee, although COVID put a halt to him progressing any further in the competition last year.

With a little over four weeks to go until the big day, Sam plans to continue the same training regime that got him there: Reading every night and practising spelling list words at dinner with the family.

Good luck, Sam!