‘It’s actually very cut-throat’: 13-year-old wins New Zealand spelling bee title

A 13-year-old from New Zealand’s Far North has proved that mastering words takes more than a good vocabulary, emerging as the country’s top young speller after correctly spelling 150 words in a fiercely contested national competition.

Beau Mounter, a Year 9 student at Kerikeri High School, won the Aotearoa New Zealand Spelling Bee, competing against a field made up largely of Year 10 students in Wellington. Despite the seemingly quiet nature of spelling competitions, Beau said the contest was far more intense than it might appear. “For a pretty passive-sounding sport, it’s actually very cut-throat,” he was quoted as saying by RNZ’s Morning Report.

Keeping his composure under pressure proved crucial, with Beau suggesting that nerves may have cost some competitors their place in the contest. The competition allowed participants to request additional information about each word, including its origin, meaning and grammatical classification, before attempting to spell it. The opportunity also gave contestants valuable moments to pause, gather their thoughts and steady their nerves.

The contest reached its climax when the final three competitors took their places on the podium for the decisive spelling showdown. For Beau, the winning moment came with the word ‘auspicious’ – one he immediately recognised and felt confident spelling. His love of language, however, began years before his national victory. At the age of seven, he won a medal after scoring in the top 1 per cent of a spelling competition, an early indication of his exceptional aptitude for words. He also credited public speaking and years of participating in high school speech competitions with helping him remain composed in front of an audience.

“I love words - not in like a strange way, though,” he said. Beyond spelling and language, Beau has other ambitions. After finishing school, he hopes to study visual effects and model making, with an eventual goal of working at Wētā Workshop, the renowned New Zealand creative studio.