Gifton Wright, the Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee Champion, yesterday advanced to today's semi-final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The semi-final is expected to commence today at 10 a.m.

Wright, who is speller number 89, earned his place in the semi-final after correctly spelling the word 'neptunium' which is defined as a "radioactive transuranic metallic element produced when uranium atoms absorb bombarding neutrons."

In round three,Wright correctly spelt the word 'ombrophobe' which describes a plant that grows in arid regions and cannot tolerate prolonged rains.

Only 50 of the 278 spellers advanced to the semi-final.

According to guidelines outlined on the Scripps National Spelling Bee Facebook page, spellers need at least 23 points to advance to the semi-final.

Round one was a 25-word test whereby spellers earned one point for each word spelt correctly.

There were 253 spellers who spelt correctly in the oral round two, and 240 spellers who spelled correctly in the oral round three.

Each correct spelling resulted in a three-point bonus being added to their round one scores.