CLEVER kids at a Renfrewshire primary have been praised after it became the only school in Scotland to triumph in a global literacy competition.

Bishopton Primary was one of 2,607 schools across 68 countries that signed up for interactive digital contest Word Mania 2022.

Hosted by online learning platform Literacy Planet (LI), the game sees children build as many words as they can in three minutes from a set of 15 randomly-generated letters.

By doing so, youngsters develop skills in the likes of spelling, vocabulary and word recognition.

Quick-thinking primary five pupils at the Bishopton school came out on top in their year group.

The school was one of only eight in the UK, and the only one in Scotland, to be crowned a winner.

As a reward, Bishopton Primary has won a yearly subscription of LI, worth £1,800, and a £270 voucher to spend on resources to support literacy.

Headteacher Wendy McNaught said: “Congratulations to our primary five pupils.

“They worked so hard on this to gain and retain first place throughout the finals week. We are very proud of their achievements.

“Many of our classes placed high on the daily and weekly leaderboards.”
Between them, children around the world who took part in the competition managed to build more than 100 million words.

The longest word created was otorhinolaryngologists, which is the term given to ear, nose and throat surgeons who diagnose, evaluate and manage diseases of the head and neck.

Tom Richardson, CEO of LI, said: “We have been blown away by the skill of students all around the world.

“Word Mania is first of all about having fun but it is also about supporting teachers in driving interest, passion and understanding of words and language from their students.

“We’re so proud of Word Mania as an initiative that combines interactive gaming, a competitive environment and teamwork to engage students in their classrooms to improve literacy.

“Congratulations to all the schools that participated.”

A full list of winners from across the globe, including Bishopton, can be found at www.literacyplanet.com/blog/2022-word-mania-champs-crowned.