Exeter schoolboy reaches Bananagrams Challenge live final

Eleven-year-old Taylor Murphy of Whipton Barton Junior School in Exeter has beaten almost 25,000 other UK primary school children to win a place in the live Grand Final of The BANANAGRAMS Challenge.

After triumphing over his classmates in the first stage of the free-to-enter national tournament earlier this year, Taylor’s impressive word skills in the online rounds secured him one of just 12 coveted places at the Final, which will see the UK’s Top Banana crowned on 30 April 2016.

Taylor and his fellow finalists will spend the day at the Magic Circle, the world-famous magician’s club in London. They’ll compete against each other in rounds of BANANAGRAMS before the overall winner – dubbed the Top Banana – is presented with a specially-designed trophy and £1,000 for their school by Rena Nathanson, inventor of the anagram game, who’ll also take part in a live Q&A session with the children.

The Final will be hosted by Deej Johnson, author of the Collins Little Book of BANANAGRAMS, who’ll also present all finalists with an exclusive BANANAGRAMS goody bag.

Taylor’s teacher, Mr Morris, who oversaw the Challenge in Whipton Barton Junior School said, “The BANANAGRAMS Challenge has been hugely popular in our school since we started it. The children are keen to try their best and the profile of spelling has been raised. It has been nice to see Taylor win, as he puts 100% into competing, practising and helping others to achieve and compete. Making the final is a just reward for the dedication and hard work he has shown.”

Taylor added, “I am proud to be in the final and am looking forward to the opportunity to try and win!”

“I’m delighted that the Challenge has proved so popular and I’m really excited about meeting Taylor and the other finalists on 30 April!” comments Rena Nathanson, Bananagrams’ CEO.

“The BANANAGRAMS Challenge is the result of years of hard work and is something my father and I talked about when we first invented the game back in 2006. Part of the reason BANANAGRAMS was born was out of a desire to help kids play with words, which ultimately enhances their appreciation of language and their grasp of spelling and literacy. But more than that, the game is about having fun – and there’s going to be a lot of that at the Grand Final!”

Almost 25,000 children in 750 primary schools throughout the UK were given the opportunity to “Go Wild With Words” in the first official UK BANANAGRAMS tournament for schools. As part of its mission to get children playing with words, BANANAGRAMS launched the Challenge to help boost vocabulary and spelling skills in classrooms and after-school clubs across the country. The BANANAGRAMS Challenge materials and games were designed specifically to incorporate the new Key Stage 2 spelling lists and to add value to classroom learning.

Visit www.bananagramschallenge.co.uk for further information about The BANANAGRAMS Challenge.

Schools interested in taking part in the 2017 Challenge can also now register via the website.