At last: A win for smart kids.

Any former ‘brainy kid’ can tell you how it’s not always easy to be clever in school.

Bookworms and mathletes have always been lumped into the ‘too geeky for words’ pile — leaving popularity to be enjoyed by sporty, pretty types who wouldn’t touch a textbook with a ten-foot pole.

Related: How many words from The Great Australian Spelling Bee can you spell?

But The Great Australian Spelling Bee burst onto television screens last night, and it could be the to change all that. Because not only is the series a victory for Channel 10 (as evidenced by the series’ dominant ratings across the capital cities last night) but it’s a win for clever kids across the country.

Yep, Spelling Bee is all about celebrating the smarts. And that’s simply not something we see on television often enough.

Harpith and Joshua, two of last night’s 52 super spellers. (Image: Channel 10)

There’s no question the 

contestants on the show, who competed against 3000 other kids just to make it to last night’s group of 52 spellers, are the seriously brainy type. 

One of them, eight-year-old Harpith, spelled out his ‘favourite’ 29-letter word (‘floccinaucinihilipilification’) in an interview on The Project . Aw, bless.

Other contestants have lofty career ambitions including archeology and veterinary science, despite being just eight years old.

Yep, as the show’s co-host Grant Denyer told Mamamia, the pint-sized contestants really are “wizards and complete geniuses, the doctors and surgeons and astronauts and politicians of tomorrow”.

Related: The Chrissie Swan advice all parents need.

As co-host Chrissie Swan explains, those kids are ‘celebrated’ on the show in a way they might not be in the schoolyard.

“I love this show because it celebrates smart kids,” she said. “It makes heroes of these little people who aren’t always the super popular kids in school. And it shows children it’s cool to be clever.

“I am so proud to be part of a show that gives children intelligent role models.”

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Making the show even more inclusive, the super spellers are a fairly even boy-girl split, and hail from a range of backgrounds.

“I kind of expected that a lot of the mums backstage would be the academic version of soccer mums, but that wasn’t the case at all,” Denyer told Mamamia.

“The only common denominator was that… they all seemed to come from really loving homes, just wonderful supportive environments. They didn’t seem to need to come from parents that were academics.”

Spelling Bee is a victory for brainy kids. (Image: Channel 10)

The super spellers are also culturally diverse. It’s a refreshing change, especially when one reflects on the powerful words of Underbelly star Firass Dirani, who said in 2012:

“I like it because it gives kids who have obviously learnt so much at such a young age a platform in which to get good feedback and some accolades,” one Sydney-based mum told Mamamia. (Image: Channel 10)

The show’s not just valuable for kids, either. As Denyer told Mamamia the show also encourages parents from all walks of life to become more actively involved in their kids’ learning.

Related content: Why is Australian television so… ‘white’?

“[T]he one thing I learned about the show is, as long as you put just that little bit of time in and guide your child to develop a love of reading, great things can happen,” he said.

“You don’t have to be born with that academic gene. If you just put that little bit of love in, the sky’s the limit.”

Hosts Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan say they’re pleased to be part of a show that celebrates learning. (Image: Channel 10)

Bravo, Spelling Bee, for celebrating kids who love their schoolwork. Bravo for making it fun, not funny, to love learning.

Bravo for giving academic types a moment in the spotlight.

Because, as every former school geek knows: It’s about time clever kids were cast as cool.

Click through to see some of the positive Twitter reactions toThe Great Australian Spelling Bee:

Twitter reactions to the show