A young Aucklander has taken out the national spelling bee title with the word, perestroika.
Nithya Narayanan competed against 17 other finalists the competition for Year 9 and Year 10 students in Wellington on Saturday.
The 14-year-old says the finals were nerve-racking, but her study paid off as she had specifically studied the winning word.
"I asked for the definition, but I didn't actually know what it was, I just knew how to spell it," she said.
The Lynfield College student is still thinking over what she will do with the $5000 prize money.
