A total of 122 students from schools across La Union gathered at SM City La Union for the SM Super Spelling Bee, testing their spelling, vocabulary, comprehension and critical-thinking skills.

The competition gave young learners an opportunity to demonstrate their academic abilities while building confidence and encouraging healthy competition among participants.

The activity also underscored the importance of strengthening fundamental learning skills as children increasingly grow up surrounded by artificial intelligence tools, smartphones, tablets and other digital technologies.

Organizers said the spelling bee provides a space where students can exercise skills that remain essential to learning, including understanding words, processing information, recalling knowledge, thinking critically and communicating with confidence.

Beyond determining the students who could spell the most words correctly, the competition sought to encourage a continued appreciation for learning and language among young participants.

The preliminary winners will advance to the regional level, where they will compete with other young spellers from across the region and further test their spelling and language skills.