Bel Air 7th grader to compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee finals

A seventh-grade student from Mirman School in Bel Air will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals Thursday evening.

Oliver Halkett is attempting to become the first speller from Los Angeles County to win the national spelling bee. The 13-year-old secured his spot in the finals after correctly spelling five words and providing the right answers to vocabulary questions during the quarterfinals and semifinals on Wednesday.

Halkett will be among eight other students competing in the finals at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at 5 p.m. PST. The winner of the bee will take home a $50,000 cash prize, commemorative medal and official championship trophy of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, according to the program's website.

Halkett is no stranger to spelling bees, he previously competed in the 2024 national spelling bee, where he tied for 60th place.

When he is not preparing for the spelling bee, Halkett likes playing the piano, learning Mandarin and Latin, reading and playing soccer, the Scripps website said. When he grows up, he hopes to become a governmental official, ideally the Secretary of State.

The program said the competition started off with 243 young spellers who qualified after advancing through local and regional bees. Halkett qualified for the national bee by winning the LA County Regional Spelling Bee in April, after correctly spelling diazepam, a drug sold under the brand name Valium, to end the 16-round competition.

Six students from California have won the national bee, with the most recent being Rishik Gandhasri of San Francisco, one of eight co-champions in 2019.