The Osun New Era Leo’s Club hosted a Spelling Bee competition for secondary school students, with Fakunle Grammar School emerging victorious.
The event, which took place yesterday at Osogbo City Hall, aimed to promote educational excellence and language skill acquisition among students.
The event had representatives from various schools across Osun state, aiming to promote language skill acquisition and foster educational excellence among young learners.
Giving his speech, the president of the Osun New Era Leo’s Club, Leo Muritala Abddullateef Adejare highlighted the motivation behind organising the competition.
He explained that the programme was organized for secondary school students in Osun state to test their ability with their prowess and language capacity.
“I see spelling bees as a way of testing the ability of people with their prowess and their language capacity.”
According to him, the event serves to “add to the quality of education in our community,” with the substantial prize money; ₦100,000, ₦50,000, and ₦30,000 for the top three winners, acting as an encouragement for students to excel in their studies.
Addressing the students who didn’t win, Leo Moritala emphasised that “competition is not about winning but what you get along the line.”
He encouraged all participants to take pride in their efforts, stating, “Everybody is a winner, and it is not that we want that competition to set in but the prestige they will have after the whole thing is done.”
The Chairperson of the Spelling Bee, Leo Yewande Oladejo, who serves as the second Vice President of Osun New Era Leo’s Club, shared insights into the reason for organising the competition.
She explained, “We wanted to do something special for the students… that’s why we settled for a Spelling Bee competition among secondary school students.”
Oladejo added that the initiative is expected to have a positive impact on students by putting them “on their toes” and demonstrating that “there is a reward for excellence.”
She urged the government to do more to encourage students in order to excel in the education pursuit.
Oladejo said: “We want the government to actually help improve these students by conducting such competitions, especially big competitions, debate competitions, quiz competitions within these schools.”
While speaking, Lion Bob Shalom Taiwo, the Leo Advisor of the Osun New Era Lions Club, praised the initiative as “exquisite” and “educating.”
He highlighted the need to showcase the talents of students in Osun state, stating, “It’s to sensitize the schools to be prompt in language skill acquisition. We have good students who could do well in any competition anywhere.”
Lion Taiwo urged: “I would advise them to invest more in those schools,” while Lion Oladejo echoed the call for a supportive environment that motivates students to excel academically.
The competition offered substantial prizes, totaling N100,000 for first place, N50,000 for second, and N30,000 for third.
In addition to inspiring participants, the event aimed to convey a message to the government regarding the importance of investing in public education.
Schools that participated in the competition included: Fakunle Grammar School (1st place), St. Mark’s Secondary School (2nd place), Islahudeeen Grammar School (3rd place).
Other participating schools included; Ilesha High School, Christ School, Unity High School, St. Michael’s Secondary School Government Secondary School, Ilesha among others.
