Sixth grader Casey McAndrews defeated defending champion Barra Peak to claim victory in the 2010 Tisbury School Geography Bee. The deciding question was: “After the United States and France, which island country generates the most power from nuclear energy?”

The correct answer is Japan.

Casey met eighth grader Barra in the championship round of the bee, which is sponsored by the National Geographic Society and Google. Similar competitions have been held in thousands of U.S. schools for the past 22 years.

Casey now advances to the next level of competition, a written examination to determine state competitors. All school winners are eligible for the national championship and its first prizes, a $25,000 college scholarship. The national contest will take place in Washington, D.C. in May. In 2009, Barra’s exceptional score on the written exam earned her a place in the Massachusetts competition at Clark University in Worcester.

Other Tisbury School students who competed in the finals were fifth graders Patrick Best and Jimmy Perez, sixth grader Edwin Gould-Hatt, seventh graders Kyle Dostal and Willow Wunsch, and eighth grader Tony Canha. Seventh grader Grant Santos had earned a place in the school finals, but was away during the event.

Social studies teachers Chris Abbot and Reuben Fitzgerald conducted classroom competitions, and assistant principal John Custer judged the school championship.