AN Altrincham student pipped 75,000 peers to the post to win a national German spelling bee.

Lavanya Rajendran, a Year 7 from Altrincham Grammar School For Girls, emerged the victor in the German category of the Routes into Languages Spelling Bee at Anglia Ruskin University.

More than 75,000 youngsters from 580 schools across the country took part in this year’s competition. Lavanya first won through class, school and regional heats before reaching the national final of the German category.

The competition involves Year 7 pupils competing to correctly translate and then spell the most number of words in French, Spanish or German in just 60 seconds.

The competition was the brainchild of Cambridge teacher Jane Driver and has been extended across England and Wales by Routes into Languages, a HEFCE-funded programme which features a consortium of universities working with schools and colleges to encourage pupils to study languages.