Now down to the top 6 spellers, the competition seems to be getting tougher with spellers not willing to leave without a fight, in the Spellmaster, the all island schools spelling competition.
Each week two contestants have been eliminated and it hasn't been easy to watch them bow out as each of them have turned out to be brilliant in their spelling. It is interesting to watch their individual feats which are unique as each of them has their own technique when it comes to spelling.

The competition took a different spin with the spellers being asked to entertain the audience further by displaying their talent. At first they were all reluctant but then got into it. Contestant number 5, Fathima Rustha from Mahmud Ladies' College Kalmunai, gave a quote that she had read. Rukshala Illukkumbura, who said she would have played the piano if there was one available, gave a modernised version of Mark Anthony's speech. Studying French in school, Rashidah Hassan introduced herself in French and said that unfortunately she never got any words that were of French origin to spell.

Nardhya Grero took another approach and sang a well loved nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Sarith Bandara sang a rendition of Michael Jackson's "Heal the world" this was followed by Archana Perera singing a Josh Groban song. On a much softer note, Kushani Kodippili Hettiarachchi from Tangalle Balika Vidyalaya recited a poem. Making his school St Patrick's proud, Sivapalan Chelvaniththilan sang a song dedicated to this saint. The spellers were thrilled and so were the audience with this programme which is catching on extremely well as a sound Saturday evening entertainment.

Moving in the competition proper, in the first round, each contestant had to provide a word to an opposing speller and in the second round spellers were given the opportunity to select a word from a pool of 50 words. Four contestants got their spellings right in the first round, with contestants giving their opponents words like "Jalapeno", "Coq au vin" and "hwyl". On the word she got from Rashidah, Kushani said "she's a sweet girl but gives tough words".

After the 2nd round of words, only 3 spellers had got both words right and whilst 3 had got at least one word right, 2 got both words wrong. It was an anticlimax to the previous closing round of the competition. Consequently, the two contestants who got both words wrong and leaving the competition this time around were Nardhya Grero from Lyceum International School Nugegoda and Kushani Kodippili Hettiarachchi from Tangalle Balika Vidyalaya. On her loss, Nardhya said she learnt lots of new words and is proud of herself for making it this far, continuing to say that even though she reads she usually tends to skip the big words without paying attention to their spellings, and said that Spellmaster has given her the opportunity to meet students from all over the island and that it was a new and exciting experience.

Kushani said she's happy to have come to the top 8 and doesn't' consider herself a loser, she thanked her parents, school and friends and wished the remaining contestants the best.
The competition is just a couple of weeks away from revealing the Spellmaster. Watch the action on Sirasa TV on Saturday from 6 pm - 7 pm to find out who will be eliminated next and witness the excitement as Spellmaster gets closer to revealing the Top 4 spellers who will battle it out in the Grand Finale.

The remaining 6 spellers in the competition are -
Fathima Rustha
Mahmud Ladies' College Kalmunai
Rukshala Illukkumbura
Gateway College Colombo
Rashidah Hassan
Good Shepherd Convent Kandy
Sarith Bandara
Trinity College Kandy
Archana Perera
St.Peter's College Colombo
Sivapalan Chelvaniththilan St.Patrick's College