When a single vowel stands in the path to victory, the stakes could not be higher for these spelling bee champions

Primary school students bested 200,000 competitors across New South Wales to reach the Premier’s Spelling Bee finals in Sydney

Competing in a spelling bee is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes, the difference between victory and loss is one incorrect vowel and you’re undone, months of training reduced to nought.

At a small theatre hall in Sydney’s west on Friday afternoon, 34 primary school students sit stony-faced on a brightly lit stage, knowing this pressure only too well.