Another season of CIMA Spellmaster gets underway

Spellmaster the popular TV series, endorsed by the Ministry of Education, which provided fun, education, entertainment and made CIMA a household brand, is to be telecast once again. This time more than 7500 students entered the competition from all over the island; these students had to sit a dictation test wherein 50 words were given to them. Once all papers were corrected, 3000 contestants qualified for the Quarter Finals of the competition, which are currently under way.

The spelling competition introduced to support the Government’s initiative of English as a life skill and to promote and develop English language skills of students island-wide in a fun and competitive manner, took viewers by storm, captivating not only the hearts and minds of the young but that of the elderly too.

The competition is held at National level in collaboration with the Department of Education and conducted in all 25 districts. This time around students were allowed to enter through school or individually with an endorsement of the school principal. Those eligible to participate in the competition had to be between the ages of 14 and 18 years.

The competitions for the Northern Province and Easter n Province have already been conducted. 259 students from the North and 434 from the East had qualified for the quarter finals, three competitions were conducted at St. Pat r i c k ’ s College, Jaffna to select 43 spellers whilst four competitions were conducted in Dambulla to choose 67 spellers who would move into the semi finals, where 500 top spellers from the country would be competing for the title of the Spellmaster.

Prizes in excess Rs. 1 million are on offer, with winners at the district competitions also billed to carry away cash awards.

This Sunday at 6 pm watch Sirasa TV as students from the Sabaragammuwa and Uva Provinces battle it out for the title of Spellmaster.