WASHINGTON, D.C.—George Abraham Thampy, a 12-year-old home school student, is this year’s Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee Champion. The final competition was held today in Washington, D.C.

Right behind Thampy were home schoolers Sean Conley in second place and Alison Miller in third.

“This is outstanding confirmation of the academic excellence of home schooling. I can't wait until home schoolers are winning Oscars and the presidency,” said Michael Farris, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

Thampy’s winning word in the fifteenth round was “demarche,” a step or maneuver. Miller, 14, sponsored by the Albany, New York Times Union, continued until the twelfth round, in which she misspelled “venire.” Conley, 12, sponsored by the San Francisco Examiner, was finally stumped in the fourteenth round by “apotropaic.”

Thampy, sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, missed becoming the national spelling champion in 1998, when he tied for fourth. In 1999, Thampy came closer to the championship when he tied for third. First prize this year is $10,000, an encyclopedia set and a $1,000 savings bond.

Thampy and other home schoolers have performed well in national academic competitions. Last week in Washington, D.C., Thampy won second place —a $15,000 scholarship—in the National Geography Bee sponsored by National Geographic. Jonathan Janus, a home schooler from South Carolina, won third place in the Geography Bee.

Although home schoolers comprise perhaps two percent of the school age population, at the outset of this year’s spelling bee, 27 out of 248 contestants were home schoolers, or 11 percent. This was an increase from almost 10 percent in 1999.

In 1999, David Beihl, a 13-year-old home school student from, South Carolina, was the National Geography Bee champion.

Rebecca Sealfon, from Brooklyn, New York, the 1997 champion, was the first home schooler to win the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.

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