SPELLBOUND by the magic of words, siblings Anushka and Annika lyengar are putting their literacy skills to the test as they prepare to compete among the state's best.
The Maryland Public School students will join 10 others from the Hunter at the NSW Premier's Spelling Bee finals in November.
Anushka is in year 6 and her sister, Annika, is in year 3 and together, they spend countless hours perfecting their spelling and pronunciation.
"I like to have everything spelt correctly. I'm very particular," Anushka said.
She said the hardest word she's had to spell was 'onomatopoeia', and that her favourite word at the moment was 'gobbledygook'.
Annika said her favourite word at the moment was 'discombobulate' and the hardest word she's had to spell so far was 'encyclopedia'.
The sisters said that practising with each other, and their dad's guidance, helped to calm their nerves before a big competition.
"I do feel nervous sometimes, but I'm mostly confident in the fact I'm doing as well as I can," Anushka said.
"I get nervous too but practising with my sister helps," Annika said.
Alongside excelling in the English language the girls are learning to speak, read and write Hindi, which is their family heritage.
I think it's awesome that we get to learn a second language as well as doing well at English, which is our first language," Anushka said.
"We're learning how to speak and write in Hindi, we can understand it. It's really nice to be learning from our parents," she said.
The state final will be contested by 30 students in years 3 and 4 (junior) and 30 students in years 5 and 6 (senior).
The girls said they were looking forward to heading to the spelling bee finals and were equally proud of each other.
"I am super proud of Annika, she has made it this far too," Anushka said.
"I'm really proud of Nushi," Annika said.
Annika said she was eager to find out what the words are going to be at the competition.
"I wonder how tricky they will be and I'm excited for the refreshments," she said.
Maryland Public School principal Deborah Kelly said Anushka and Annika worked "very diligently with kindness and empathy to achieve wonderful things in their learning".
"Knowledge is power and these girls just absorb everything. They are very thirsty to learn. We are very proud of them and wish them the best of luck," she said.
Arts Unit Premier's Spelling Bee support officer Desiree Lane said the 2024 spelling bee's enrolment increased by almost 10 per cent on last year with almost two-thirds of NSW public primary schools competing.
"This year we've had a noticeably lower number of withdrawals from the Bee, which suggests the new Zoom format we've implemented is making it easier for schools to participate, especially in rural and remote areas," Ms Lane said.
