Thousands of children will pit their wits against each other today in the first heats of The Times Spelling Bee contest.

The older generation is showing them how it should be done: the top scorer on our spelling bee website is a 60-year-old retired secretary from Melton Mowbray.

Pam Pollin has racked up more than 1.2 million points on the website, which uses a variety of games and tests to assess spelling ability. She has held a lifelong passion for spelling — and a competitive streak put her in pole position. Mrs Pollin, a crossword fiend and poet, said: “I was always hopeless at maths. When I passed my 11-plus exam, my headmaster told me that I’d have failed on my maths score but my English score was so good that it brought up my average.

“I do think spelling competitions are fun and good for children. English is an idiosyncratic language and you have to learn the anomalies at a young age, there is no other way. Loads of reading helps.”

Children aged 11 and 12 from 784 secondary schools will compete in heats across Britain, including in Dundee, Belfast, Cardiff and Exeter. They have been busy learning the trickiest and most tongue-twisting words in preparation. Each school is fielding three candidates and one reserve for the events, which take place in Odeon cinemas. The grand finale will be held in June.

The spelling bee website, set up by The Times to encourage people of all ages to practise and celebrate their ability, has been viewed more than a million times since its launch last October. Users can accumulate points through playing a variety of games that test spelling ability. The points awarded depend on the game and its level of difficulty. Archaeology, buoyancy, antediluvian, smorgasbord and inchoate are among the stinkers that have caught people out.

Seven of the highest ten scores came from female contestants, and the top three are all women aged 60 or older. Ben Elliman, 18, from West Sussex, came ninth. On average women spelt 86 per cent of words correctly while men were not far behind on 83.5 per cent. But the breakdown by age indicated that practice does indeed make perfect: those aged over 50 spelt, on average, 90 per cent of words correctly. For those aged under 18 it was 54 per cent.

Mrs Pollin said that the hardest words the website had asked her to spell were manoeuvrable, ecstasy and ratatouille.

She became competitive when looking at other website users’ scores, particularly when neck-and-neck with another contestant, ‘Dragonette’, at one stage.

She said that the policy formerly adopted by some schools of ignoring incorrect spellings was mistaken, adding “how can you get them right if you don’t know they’re wrong?” She said that she enjoyed the spelling bee website because users could succeed on all levels. “It has made me completely familiar with words I would have hesitated over before.”

Times recommends

• ‘Obama effect’ pushes British pupils to US
• Over-subscribed colleges face budget shortfall
• End in sight for school tables based on test results