Ten students in grades 4 through 8 at The Langley School in McLean tested their geographic knowledge during the first round of the 23rd annual National Geographic Bee on Jan. 6. After the students tackled a series of challenging questions, Langley crowned its 2011 winner, sixth-grader Caroline Morin.

Ten students in grades 4 through 8 at The Langley School in McLean tested their geographic knowledge during the first round of the 23rd annual National Geographic Bee on Jan. 6. After the students tackled a series of challenging questions, Langley crowned its 2011 winner, sixth-grader Caroline Morin.

Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the annual Geography Bee is held in thousands of schools across the country and is the first step toward naming a national champion. As Langley’s winner, Morin will advance to the next level of competition, a written examination to determine state competitors. The top 100 scorers from each state on this written exam will then face each other in their statewide Geographic Bee, with state champions eventually competing for a $25,000 college scholarship in the national competition in Washington, D.C. in May.