A TALENTED Halesowen schoolgirl is top of the class after winning through to the finals of a national foreign language spelling contest.

Windsor High School and Sixth Form Centre pupil Emma George, aged 12, won the regional heat to earn a place in Friday’s final of the Routes into Languages National Spelling Bee.

She saw off competition from more than 74,000 schoolchildren across the country to reach the regional final and now the final at Anglia Ruskin University’s Cambridge campus.

Emma has had 200 words to memorise in her chosen language, Spanish, and will have to correctly translate and spells the most number of words in 60 seconds to win.

A total of 108 students have qualified for the final with regional winners in the three different languages – French, German and Spanish.