A MULTILINGUAL school pupil who can spell 25 words a minute will compete at a national spelling bee final.

Year Seven pupils with a love of languages across the UK have been given 200 words to learn in either French, German or Spanish.

Ozzadeh Tajalli Hosseini, from Colchester County High School for Girls, is among 108 other finalists who will compete at Anglia Ruskin University’s Cambridge campus on Friday.

The winner of the Routes into Languages National Spelling Bee will be the pupil who can correctly translate and then spell the most words in 60 seconds.

Ozzadeh, who speaks French and Chinese, was introduced to the competition by Khatija Ollite, head of French at the Norman Way school.

It is the fourth year the school has taken part and Ozzadeh called it a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Ozzadeh said: “I feel happy with myself, however, my excitement for the day is what’s spurring me on.

“Winning isn’t the most important part for me, it’s more important to have fun and learn the words because if the desire for winning is too great, it might stop me enjoying the event, and I definitely don’t want that.”

After passing the class championships for both German and French, Ozzadeh settled on the latter as her stronger subject.

At the final she plans to do her absolute best and has practised religiously.

She added: “The words have been challenging to learn and extremely annoying if I forget one. but I consider this spelling bee to be a match.

“By getting through one word I’ve gained many points in the game.

“When I come across a particularly nasty one, I break it down, so it becomes as straightforward as the other words.

“The most difficult has been ‘Please’ – s’il vous plaît.”

The final will be attended by Cambridge politicians and the town’s mayor.

The winner’s school for each language will be awarded a free subscription to foreign languages software for the new academic year.

Mrs Ollite said: “Ozzadeh was noticed very early on for her speed and is one of the fastest spellers I’ve come across.

“It was quite heartbreaking for her to choose a preference, but she’s a very dedicated student and we’ve put time aside at lunchtime to practise and work on her clarity.”

“I wish her the best of luck as she faces the final hurdle.”