Spellmaster, the all island schools spelling competition which is telecast on Sirasa TV and won the title of the best educational programme on TV in Asia last year is back and has reached the quarter finals.
With this stage of the competition been conducted on a provincial basis last week witnessed the quarter finalists from Galle, Matara and Hambantota compete at Sujatha Vidyalaya Matara.

Students from Sangamitta College Galle outshined, with 6 contestants from the school qualifying for the Semi Finals. Tangalle Balika Vidyalaya and Richmond College Galle were two other schools that did just as well, with 4 competitors from each school qualifying, of which, Kushani Hettiarachchi from Tangalle Balika Vidyalaya who took part in the Top 8 last year qualified to the Semi Finals again this year.
Speaking to competitors they felt that the competition gave students from some of the rural schools in the southern province the chance to compete with some of the big schools on a level playing field and at the same time giving them the opportunity to come into terms with the English language.

This Sunday evening 409 students who qualified to the quarter finals from the Western Province will take stage, where competitions were conducted to select the 58 contestants who would qualify to the Semi Finals. Competitors from the western province are in for tough competition this year with all the big names taking part. For instance, Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya, who produced the 1st ever Spellmaster in 2008, Ronali Perera and St.Peter's College Colombo 4, turned out Archana Perera, who is taking part in the competition this year again and went all the way to the Top 6 last year.

Watch the action this evening on Sirasa TV as competitors from Colombo, Kelaniya, Negombo, Kalutara and Gampaha fight it out for the 58 seats to the Semi Finals.