Statutory spelling lists for Years 3 to 6
The national curriculum sets two word lists for spelling in Key Stage 2. Here is what they are, when they are taught and how to practise them at home.
The two lists
Year 3 and 4 spelling list
100 entries, 109 spellings. Taught in Years 3 and 4, ages 7 to 9. With a spelling test and the words grouped by pattern.
Year 5 and 6 spelling list
100 entries, 104 spellings. Taught in Years 5 and 6, ages 9 to 11. With a spelling test and the words grouped by pattern.
What the statutory lists are
The national curriculum for England has two word lists for spelling in Key Stage 2, in English Appendix 1: one for Years 3 and 4 and one for Years 5 and 6. They are statutory, which means schools following the national curriculum must teach them.
The curriculum describes the words as a mixture of words children often use in their writing and words they often misspell. It says the 100 words in each list “can easily be taught within the four years of key stage 2 alongside other words that teachers consider appropriate”.
Each list sits next to a set of spelling rules for the same years, such as adding -ly or choosing between -tion and -sion. Many listed words show one of those rules. Others, like February and yacht, simply have to be learnt.
When they are taught and checked
Schools decide the order and the pace. Most teach a few words a week, often with a weekly spelling test, and go back over the harder words later.
There is no national spelling test in Years 3, 4 or 5. At the end of Year 6, teachers assess writing: the expected standard includes spelling most words on the Year 5 and 6 list correctly, and the Year 6 grammar, punctuation and spelling test includes a spelling paper.
Practising at home
- Little and often works best: ten minutes, three or four times a week, on five or six words.
- Group words by pattern, so one rule helps with several words at once.
- Use look, say, cover, write, check, and always do the checking step together.
- Mix in words from earlier weeks, so the spellings are still there a month later.
- Find a reason for each tricky word: a smaller word inside, a rule, or a memory tip.
Words parents look up most
Questions parents ask
What are the statutory spelling lists?
Two lists of words in English Appendix 1 of the national curriculum for England: one for Years 3 and 4 and one for Years 5 and 6. Each has 100 entries. The curriculum describes them as a mixture of words children often use in their writing and words they often misspell.
Do schools have to teach these exact words?
Yes, the lists are statutory for schools that follow the national curriculum. Schools decide the order and the pace, and they usually teach other words alongside them that follow the same spelling rules.
What about Years 1 and 2?
Years 1 and 2 learn common exception words instead, such as said, because and people. The statutory word lists start in Year 3.
How many words should we practise each week?
Five or six is plenty. There are about 38 school weeks a year, so six words a week covers a list of 100 entries comfortably across two years, with time to go back over the tricky ones.
Spelling is one part of the picture
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