An 11-year-old schoolgirl from south-west Sydney has emerged as a national spelling champion after scoring an impressive 29 out of 30 in less than 65 seconds at the 2026 Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee.
Aarika Harsha, a student at Holsworthy Public School, won the Orange level for Years 5–6 in her first attempt at the national competition, finishing ahead of her rivals despite getting one word wrong.
“When Miss Kwan told me, my hand flew over my mouth,” Aarika said.
“I got one word wrong, so I thought someone might have got 30/30 and beat me.”
Her only incorrect answer was “demur”, a word meaning to express disagreement, raise an objection or hesitate because of reluctance.
“I hadn’t heard the word before, and I added an extra ‘r’ to the end, instead of going through words like ‘occur’,” she said.
Aarika said she was “extremely excited” about travelling to Canberra next month to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.
“Not many people can say they have met the Prime Minister before.”
An avid reader, Aarika enjoys Australian author Maryam Master’s Exit Through the Gift Shop as well as the Harry Potter series.
“If I come across any hard words, I usually Google them and try to incorporate them into my speech and my writing,” she said.
Her teacher, Denise Kwan, said she was proud that 18 Holsworthy Public School students qualified for the NSW state finals, with the school participating in the competition for the first time.
Three new champions make spelling bee history
Aarika was one of three first-time national champions crowned in the sixth annual Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee, organised by Kids News.
The 2026 competition recorded 98,783 registrations from students in Years 3–8 across Australia, setting a new opening-round participation record.
The three winners formed the first all-female national champion trio in the competition’s history. Tasmania also celebrated its first national champion, while a homeschooled student won the youngest age category for the first time.
Charlotte Edwards, 13, from Leighland Christian School in Ulverstone, Tasmania, won the Red level for Years 7–8 with 27 out of 30 in two minutes and 36.733 seconds.
Charlotte had previously entered the competition in 2022 but did not progress beyond the first round.
She said she was “speechless” when her mother, Anna, told her she had won.
“It’s still sinking in, I think – it doesn’t feel real yet,” Charlotte said. “I keep expecting someone to tell me they made a mistake.”
Charlotte said she was looking forward to meeting the Prime Minister and visiting Parliament House for the first time.
She also had a challenge in mind for Mr Albanese.
“I think I might ask if he can spell ‘pusillanimous’ because it was truly the hardest word I came across in the whole competition,” she said. The word means showing a lack of courage.
Homeschooled nine-year-old wins junior category
Anna Yu, a nine-year-old homeschooler from Mount Barker in South Australia, won the Green level for Years 3–4 with 27 out of 30 in one minute and 47 seconds.
After reaching the state finals last year, Anna said her previous experience had helped her feel more confident.
“I felt a little bit more confident this year because I’d done it before, so I knew how it worked,” she said.
One of her toughest words was “edict”, meaning an official order issued by someone in authority.
Anna, who began reading at the age of three, enjoys action-packed books by Stuart Gibbs and illustrated fact books from the 1000 Things You Should Know About series.
Her mother, Sarah Yu, said Anna had an excellent memory and often learnt how to spell words after seeing them just once.
“The curriculum we are using, My Homeschool, is very literature rich,” Ms Yu said.
“We don’t do spelling lessons as part of our curriculum. Basically, they learn by being familiarised with the words through reading.”
Anna is looking forward to meeting Mr Albanese in Canberra, but she also has another attraction on her list: Shawn the Prawn, a 345-million-year-old fossil embedded in the limestone floor of Parliament House’s Marble Foyer.
Record participation in national literacy competition
News Corp Australia community ambassador Penny Fowler said the record participation demonstrated the growing popularity of the free spelling competition.
“Seeing nearly 100,000 students get involved this year — up from 21,000 at our 2021 launch — is just incredible, because beyond literacy, the Bee builds lifelong resilience and confidence,” Mrs Fowler said.
The competition aims to encourage literacy, build students’ confidence and make spelling enjoyable through an online format.
The Kids News Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee will return in Term 3, 2027. Students can practise throughout the year through the Try the Bee platform.
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