A Bridgeport student has been crowned the Connecticut Spelling Bee champion.

Janelle Newell, 12, of the Multicultural Magnet School, will now compete in the National Spelling Bee.

The seventh-grader also won a $1,000 scholarship from the University of Saint Joseph.

Newell beat out 41 other students from grades four through eight.

The National Spelling Bee will be held in Maryland at the end of May.