Schools
Claymont Student Competing in National Spelling Bee
Gokul Venkatachalam said reading and basketball are among his favorite pastimes.
Fifth grader Gokul Venkatachalam of in Ballwin will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee starting Tuesday, when the 11-year-old's passion for reading will literally be put to the test.
Gokul said The Hunger Games is his favorite book, and he is a fan of the Harry Potter films. He also likes to swim, plays cello and participates in the Math Olympiad program.
And while fame and fortune don't always accompanying winning the prestigious academic contest, doing so just might bring Gokul one step closer to meeting his favorite athlete, the St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese.
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Round 1 of preliminaries of the bee begin on Tuesday, while the official contest starts Thursday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
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