NSW Premier's Spelling Bee
The Premier's Spelling Bee is an engaging way for NSW public primary school students to expand their vocabularies and improve their spelling. Designed for Stage 2 and 3, Stage 1 students are welcome to participate.
The program includes activities that encourage students to become more confident users of language through broadening their vocabulary, and promotes improved literacy skills in conjunction with the NSW English K to 10 syllabus.
The Bee will launch in Term 1 Week 6 in 2026.
2026 key dates
| Stage | Dates | Term/Week |
|---|---|---|
| Enrolment opens | Monday 2 March | Term 1 Week 6 |
| Enrolment closes | Friday 5 June | Term 2 Week 7 |
| Regional names deadline | Wednesday 17 June | Term 2 Week 9 |
| Regional finals (online) | Monday 10 to Friday 21 August | Term 3 Weeks 4 and 5 |
| State finals Q Theatre Penrith | Friday 6 November | Term 4 Week 4 |
2026 enrolments
Enrolment opens on Monday 2 March 2026.
Teachers will be provided with the wordlists password upon school enrolment.
There are no entry fees for the bee.
2026 wordlists
The program, wordlists and password are only available through participating public primary schools.
The 2026 wordlists will be available on enrolment, via the confirmation email you will receive. Please read all copyright conditions carefully, so you may distribute the lists according to licence agreements.
The annotated list is arranged by category and supplies pronunciation, word group, meaning and example sentences. There two vocabulary wordlist; alphabetical and by category, which matches the annotated lists. The lists may be useful in classroom practice as well as a resource for keen spellers.
Copyright notice
The NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee 2026 junior and senior wordlists are for your personal use only. No part of this word list covered by copyright may be reproduced, copied, shared or made available on the internet, via email, on an intranet, or by any other means without written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © Macquarie Dictionary Publishers 2026 | macquariedictionary.com.au
2025 certificates and poster
Certificates
- 2025 PSB junior and senior winner and runner-up certificates (PDF 4.85 MB)
- 2025 PSB junior and senior regional finalists certificates (PDF 4.83 MB)
Poster
The 2025 artwork is 'Bee on a Flower', by Evie Martin, Narrabeen Lakes Public School, and is her Year 3 student entry to 2024 Operation Art.
Resources
The spelling bee resource page contains a wide variety of resources available for use in the preparation of students for the Premier's Spelling Bee.
There are also a range of school resources available below to support the organisation of a spelling bee.
About the Bee
The Bee is open to students in NSW Public, Community and Central Schools in two categories.
- Junior Spelling Bee – Years 3 and 4 (Stage 1 are welcome)
- Senior Spelling Bee – Years 5 and 6
Please note – one Junior and one Senior student represent their school at regional finals. 2026 regional finals will be held using video connections. The senior and junior winning spellers from each regional will then go on to State finals.
Enquiries
The 2025 NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee is proudly supported by ABC Radio Sydney, ACCO Brands Australia, Word List Partner, Macquarie Dictionary and Venue Partner Penrith Performing & Visual Arts.
All Arts Unit programs are inclusive. If support is required to participate in the NSW Premier's Spelling Bee, please email [email protected] so that we can assist.
