Washington ? The youngest contestant in the National Geographic Bee, 10-year-old Calvin McCarter of Jenison, Mich., emerged the winner.

McCarter , standing just 4 feet 6 inches in a room full of bigger youngsters, many of them teen-agers, claimed victory Wednesday by correctly identifying China as the location of the Lop Nur nuclear test site.

It’ll be a few years before he can use the main prize a $25,000 college scholarship. He also won a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine.

McCarter is taught at home by his mother, Charlotte.

His father, Parnell McCarter, an accountant, said that the family decided on home schooling in order to have their children receive a Christian education “in an atmosphere where there is a love of learning.”

Young McCarter said he prefers being home schooled because he gets more personal attention. In public school, he said, “you can’t make children listen.”

McCarter beat Matthew Russell of Bradford, Pa. for the title.

Russell, 14, who attends Fretz Middle School in Bradford won a $15,000 scholarship. The third-place $10,000 scholarship went to Erik Miller, a 14-year-old homeschooler from Kent, Wash.

Benjamin Detrixhe, 11, a fifth-grader at Clyde Elementary School, Clyde, Kan., was among the 10 finalists.

Alex Trebek was host of the competition.