Tullamore pupil is Offaly Spelling Bee champion!

A sixth class pupil at Charleville National School in Tullamore is this year's winner of the County Offaly Eason Spelling Bee final.

Rhylin Schreiber triumphed after a tense competition in which she faced eleven fellow Offaly spelling aficionados.

Rhylin will now represent the county in the Leinster Spelling Bee in May. She is an avid reader, and the Spirit Animals book series is her favourite.

Celebrating its 11th year, the Eason Spelling Bee is part of an overall literacy and reading drive which encourages and inspires children to develop their spelling and pronunciation skills.

Over the years the competition has helped school children gain a greater appreciation of words and fostered vocabulary growth and increased self-confidence.

Group Head of Marketing at Eason, Brendan Corbett, said: "We are thrilled to be kicking off the 2024 Eason Spelling Bee with such accomplished children taking part in Offaly – they are a great testament to the talent of the children of Ireland."

The All-Ireland winning bee will get a selection of books for their school library, valued at €7,500, in addition to the coveted title of Eason Spelling Bee 2024 Champion.

The winner themselves will also receive a goodie bag packed of books worth €500.

This year, over 525 schools nationwide will compete against each other in a bid to win the prestigious prize.

The champions from the provincial Spelling Bee finals will then go head-to-head in the All-Ireland Final Bee, taking place in June 2024, with the lucky winner being crowned King or Queen Bee.