Westside Elementary School fourth-grader Joseph Sessoms has won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee and a chance at a $25, 000 college scholarship.

The school-level Bee, at which the students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 25th annual National Geographic Bee.

“The Geography Club and Bee at WSES offers our students an opportunity to not only test their geography knowledge, but to expand their global understanding,” said club sponsor and WSES Gifted Resource Teacher Cheryl Fortner.

This year’s Bee kicked off in November, with thousands of schools around the United States and five in U.S. territories participating.

The school winners, including Joseph, will now take a written test, and up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state Bee on April 5.

The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions and teacher-escorts to participate in the Bee national championship rounds hosted by Jeopardy’s Alex Trebek in May.

“I like learning different things about other countries,” Joseph said. “I’m very excited about the next round and I hope to make it to the state competition.”