Triumph over tricky words at NSW Spelling Bee

For the students involved in the NSW Premier's Spelling Bee, the walk back to your chair can feel a thousand yards when you forget the 'u' in somersault.

This year's tournament started with 130,000 school students and culminated today with just 80 students vying for spelling honours.

In the end, victory would go to eight-year-old Grace Du from Keiraville Public School in Wollongong, as she triumphed by spelling 'rhetorical'.

SLIDESHOW: The bizarre and uncommon words students learned for today's Spelling Bee

At a packed news conference, Grace gave the secret to her success.

"I thought about how it started, and how it ended, and I put it together," she said.

Runner-up Mica Krzyzanowski from Coogee Public School stumbled on 'impugn', forgetting the 'g'.

"Impugn, impugn got ya. I hadn't seen it it any books, I hadn't practised it with my mum," she said.

"I didn't mind because I came second," she said.

The winning Grace Du told waiting reporters that when she grows up, she would like to be an author. Or a vet.