A Kenilworth School student has won a major foreign languages spelling bee at Cambridge University.

Madison Runacre won the French competition at the recent event which is open to all year seven students studying French, German or Spanish in England.

Kenilworth School has been taking part since 2015, with students qualifying for the National Find at Cambridge University every year.

This year more than 17,000 students countrywide were entered for the competition, and Madison Runacre and Oliver Menon came first and second in the West Midlands Regional Final in order to qualify for the National Final.

The National final took place on 27 June, during which the finalists were tested on 300 words and were pitted against 33 other competitors, many of whom came from independent and grammar schools.

The objective is to be able to spell as many words as possible in French in one minute.

Madison's final challenge saw her spelling in front of an audience of around 200 people (image via KMAT)

Madison qualified for the top four and had to spell again in front of an audience of around 200 students, parents, and teachers, where she achieved the top score along with the students who won the German and Spanish competitions. 

Her achievement comes after Kenilworth School's Isabel Blunt last year came second. 

"This is a very prestigious award, and we are very proud of Madison's success - congratulations to her and thank you to the MFL department for all their hard work," said Darren Nicholas, Headteacher of Kenilworth School & Sixth Form

"I am absolutely delighted to congratulate Madison on this incredible achievement — winning the National Spelling Bee at Cambridge University is a testament to her determination, talent and the hours of hard work she has clearly put in.

"She should be so proud of this fantastic achievement."

Hayden Abbott, CEO of the Kenilworth Multi Academy Trust, added: "This is an exceptional performance, and Maddison should be truly proud of her achievement in this prestigious event.

"I would like to thank the Modern Language teachers for their hard work and support for students over the last 10 years in entering students for this annual competition."

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