Spelling Seth’s road to success

KNYSNA NEWS - A young schoolboy from Hornlee, Seth Davidson, recently earned his stripes by being selected as one of 15 spelling aces to represent SA at the Canadian Regional Spelling Bee in Toronto next month.

Seth's journey in spelling bee competitions started when he was in Grade 4 at Fraaisig Primary School in 2018, when the school entered the Spelling Bee competition for the first time.

The school and its representatives were still novices and were pleasantly surprised when Seth, who was in the Bumble Bees division, secured third place.

He repeated this feat in the 2019 competition, but in 2020, as with countless other events, Covid-19 prevented the competition from taking place.

But, in 2021, Fraaisig entered the competition again - and this time Seth competed in the Honey Bees division, going on to represent Fraaisig and the Garden Route district at provincial level. On this platform, he advanced to represent the Western Cape at national level in Pretoria where his performance was outstanding.

This ensured that Seth was selected as one of the top 15 learners to make up the South African squad that was invited to the Canadian Regional Spelling Bee.

The Canadian Regional Spelling Bee is one of the largest gatherings of young-sters from Canada and Africa and serves as a platform through which unity and collaboration are encouraged, through the mastery of English.

It enables the youth to participate at an international level and to sharpen their language skills through healthy competition.

The community of Fraaisig is extremely proud of Seth's tremendous achievement. He has been the top academic achiever in his grade for five consecutive years and is passionate about reading and language, and as a result became a keen participant in the spelling bees.

Talisman Development Company is helping Seth and his family raise funds to ensure that the trip to Canada becomes a reality.

"This venture would enable a hard-working, talented young man to become a deserving role model in his community that other learners can look up to," said Glendyrr Fick of Talisman. "[He can] prove to them that with hard work and tenacity, even they may dare to dream big. It will fulfil Seth's dream of competing internationally in a sports code that he loves and excels in."

Seth Davidson in his Fraaisig Primary School uniform.