Spelling group's name change

Spelling group's name change

New Zealand members of the Spelling Society are to stop using the title "Spell 4 Literacy".

At their request a committee meeting of the society in London this month agreed to this move.

"We changed to 'Spell 4 Literacy' five years ago to highlight the connection between English spelling and literacy learning," said Allan Campbell, the society's New Zealand co-ordinator. "That connection is now becoming obvious, and in light of recent increased debate in Britain on the costs and problems our spelling causes, it seems timely for us to be seen as part of the worldwide group, particularly in its centenary year". 

Two British university professors, one of them the society's president, have claimed that variant spellings should not be penalized in students' exams, and a primary school in Gloucestershire has decided to stop giving spelling homework because pupils did not carry over the learning to their school work next day. The society's centenary celebrations have also been in the news. "We want to be associated with that," Campbell said.

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