Year 6 Spelling Words: The KS2 Statutory List

If your child is in Year 6, you may have heard about the statutory spelling words and wondered exactly what they are. The good news is that the Year 6 spelling words come from a clear, official list, and they are very learnable once you know the patterns hiding inside them. This friendly guide explains what the list is, why some words feel tricky, and simple ways to practise at home without any pressure.

What the Year 5 and 6 statutory spelling list is

The Year 5 and 6 statutory spelling words are a set of 100 words in the England National Curriculum that children are expected to be able to spell by the end of Year 6. You will sometimes see them called the statutory spelling list (KS2) or the Year 5 and 6 spelling word list, and they all mean the same thing.

The list is taught across both Year 5 and Year 6, so your child meets the words gradually rather than facing all 100 at once. The words were chosen partly because they are useful and partly because they are commonly misspelt, even by adults. They sit in Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum, alongside spelling rules and patterns for the whole of KS2.

Why these words are tricky: silent letters and unusual patterns

Most of these words are challenging for the same handful of reasons. English has borrowed words from many languages over hundreds of years, so spellings do not always match the sounds we say. Once children can name why a word is hard, it becomes easier to remember. Common reasons a word feels tricky:

• Silent letters that you cannot hear, such as the h in rhythm, the c in muscle, or the g in foreign.
• Double letters in unexpected places, such as accommodate (two c's and two m's) or necessary (one c, two s's).
• Unusual vowel patterns, such as the ie in mischievous or the ei in leisure.
• Endings that sound the same but are spelt differently, such as the -ious in conscious or the -able versus -ible choice.

For example: "We had to accommodate the whole class, which was necessary but not easy." Saying the tricky part slowly, almost spelling it as it looks, often helps it stick.

Groups of words that follow similar patterns

Teaching words in groups rather than as a random list is one of the kindest things you can do. When children see a pattern repeating, each new word feels less like starting from scratch. Here are a few helpful groups drawn from the Year 5 and 6 list.

Grouping also works well with the wider KS2 spelling rules. If your child is comfortable with how word beginnings and endings change a root word, our guide to prefixes and suffixes at KS2 is a natural companion to the statutory list.

Simple strategies to learn the hardest Year 6 spelling words at home

You do not need worksheets or long sessions. A few gentle, well chosen strategies do far more than hours of copying out:

• Look, say, cover, write, check. Look at the word, say it aloud, cover it, write it from memory, then uncover and check. Repeat any that slip.
• Spot the tricky part. In secretary, point out that there is a secret hiding at the start: secret-ary. Naming the hard bit makes it memorable.
• Say it as it is spelt. Pronounce government as "govern-ment" just while learning it, so the easily missed n in the middle becomes obvious.
• Break long words into chunks. Accommodate becomes ac-com-mo-date, far less daunting than one long string of letters.

Keep the tone light and celebrate effort, not only correct answers. For more ideas tailored to the test, our article on spelling strategies for SATs goes further.

Little and often: building spellings into daily practice

The single biggest difference comes from little and often rather than one long cram. Five focused minutes a day, several times a week, beats a single half hour, because spellings settle into memory through gentle repetition over time.

A simple weekly rhythm might be: choose three or four words on Monday, practise them across the week with quick look, say, cover, write, check rounds, then revisit a few older words on Friday so they do not fade. Spotting a list word on a cereal box or in a favourite book helps too. Short, calm and regular is the aim, never rushed or worrying.

How spelling is assessed in the KS2 spelling paper

In the Year 6 SATs, spelling is checked in a dedicated paper within the Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling assessment. A teacher or administrator reads aloud 20 sentences, each with one word missing, and pupils write the missing word into a gap on their answer sheet.

The words tested are drawn from the spelling content of the National Curriculum, which includes the Year 5 and 6 word list along with the spelling rules taught across KS2. The focus is simply on spelling each dictated word correctly. Test arrangements and dates can change from year to year, so always confirm the current details on GOV.UK rather than relying on older information.

Practice ideas and where to find the official list on GOV.UK

A few low pressure ways to practise the words at home:

• Turn look, say, cover, write, check into a quick daily game with a small set of words.
• Sort a handful of words into pattern groups together, such as "silent letters" or "double letters".
• Have your child teach you a word and explain its tricky part, which is a brilliant way to embed it.
• Keep a personal list of the words your child finds hardest, and return to those most often.

Many of these words also pair with homophones, words that sound alike but are spelt differently, which are easy to muddle. If that is an area to firm up, see our guide to common homophones in Year 6.

To see the words for yourself, the full Year 5 and 6 word list is published in Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum English programmes of study on GOV.UK. Search for the KS1 and KS2 English curriculum, and always check GOV.UK for the most up to date version, as official documents are occasionally revised. Parents looking for more support across SPaG may also find our guidance for parents a helpful starting point.

How SATS LION helps

SATS LION turns Year 6 spelling practice into a game, so the statutory words feel more like play than revision. Words are grouped by pattern and gently revisited over time, which fits the little and often approach that helps spellings stick. If you would like to see how it works, take a look at the features.