2025 brings the 21st year of operation for the Vicspell Spelling Bee and like a new bride it carries something old and something new.
The major sponsor is the Scanlon family who have sponsored in the past and have generously stepped up in 2025 to give the competition a secure basis to resume.
Oxford University Press (Australia) has again committed to supply quality dictionaries for the state winners and runners-up.
Of course, the competition continues to survive on the generosity of host schools and the teacher-representatives at the competing schools.
In 2025 Vicspell will no longer have the services of Norman McLennan who tragically passed away last November. He had been a stalwart of the competition since 2006 and each year saw his value to the competition increase remarkably.
In his honour, the year six state final champions trophy will be named in his memory.
On November 24, at the Docklands headquarters of Oxford University Press, the official launch of the 2025 competition occurred.
Since its inception in 2005, there have been over 70 age level champions in Vicspell. Some of the local East Gippsland champions, in that time, have been:
2006: Jarred Pinnock (Orbost SC)
2007: Maddy Davis (Lucknow PS), Ebony Clark (Clifton Ck PS)
2011: Sami Graham (Lakes Entrance PS)
2015: Georgia Cassey (Nagle CC), Andrew Pendergast (Nagle CC)
2016: Sophie Alexander (Lucknow PS), Emma Holmes (Bairnsdale West PS)
2017: Lara Crotty (Bairnsdale SC)
2023: Phoenix Veitch (Bairnsdale PS), Sarah Melrose (Bairnsdale SC)
2024: Remi Perera (Lakes Entrance PS), Indi Rijs (St Brendan’s PS, Lakes Entrance)
