THE atmosphere was tense as the finalists in the purple team contended for the number one position. It was the last match of the day at the recently held Scotia Wealth-sponsored annual Trench Town Spelling Bee, where 85 youngsters of varying ages and levels tried to outspell each other.

Kameka Branford came out victorious after spelling her final word — ‘hypothesis’ — correctly. This, after Angellica Penny misspelt ‘predator’.

Scotia Wealth (Insurance, Investment and Private Client) has been involved in the spelling competition for the past five years.

“It’s more than just being part of a spelling bee,” said Simone Hull Lloyd, marketing manager Scotiabank.

“It’s a place for us to give back and really touch the lives of some of these children, and hopefully give them a glimpse into the other possibilities that exist,” she added.

The bank said its participation goes beyond assisting the students with spelling.

“Employee volunteers stand with the children for the day-long exercise, motivate them during competition, encourage them to excel, and guide them on how to conduct themselves. They also dry their tears when they are knocked out of the competition and sharing about how important it is to pick themselves up after failure,” the bank said in a release.

ScotiaWealth supports the efforts of the Trench Town Reading Centre, and in addition to the spelling bee, has provided the centre with a reading pavilion which allows the facility to accommodate up to 100 children for daily after-school reading and homework sessions.

“It has been a long and challenging road, but we provide a lot of positivity and hope for the community. A lot of kids do really well… grades increase, they gain confidence and are able to get jobs. It changes their perspective of where they set in the society,” said Roslyn Ellison, who opened the centre in 1993.