The complete UK National Curriculum statutory spelling list, every word from Year 1 through Year 6 covered systematically. From THE and SAID in Reception through BECAUSE and BEAUTIFUL in Year 3 to ACCOMMODATE and CONSCIENCE in Year 6 — the full DfE list, organised by year group, with teaching notes for every word group.

The UK Word Lists series is aligned to the DfE statutory requirements for spelling at each Key Stage. Where the spelling patterns allow, words are taught in family clusters (the OLD family, the silent-letter family, the -OUGH family) — where they don’t, words are learned directly with memory hooks and friendly repetition. Each puzzle covers a set of fifteen or so words, with patterns flagged and three named activities for classroom and home use.

Year 1 Common Exception Words

The first fifteen tricky words children meet in Year 1 — THE, OF, SAID, WERE, WAS, YOU — words that simply have to be learned by sight because phonics will only take a child so far with them. The DfE places them at the heart of the Year 1 statutory requirements, and they appear constantly in every book a Year 1 child reads.

Year 2 Common Exception Words

The Year 2 statutory list, organised by family where the patterns allow. The -IND and -ILD families (FIND, KIND, MIND, CHILD, WILD), the OLD family (OLD, COLD, GOLD, HOLD, TOLD), the OOR family (DOOR, FLOOR, POOR), the silent letters of WHO and WHOLE, and the compound everyday words EVERYTHING, ANYBODY, SOMEWHERE.

Years 3-4 Statutory Words

The lower KS2 list — about a hundred words ranging from ACCIDENT and BUILD to PROBABLY and STRAIGHT. The shift from Year 2 is real: where the earlier lists were about high-frequency tricky words, this list is about words children meet as their reading widens, with double letters, silent letters and roots borrowed from Latin and Greek.

Years 5-6 Statutory Words

The upper KS2 list — the most demanding primary spellings. ACCOMMODATE, COMMITTEE, CONSCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT, EXAGGERATE, MISCHIEVOUS, NECESSARY, PARLIAMENT, PRONUNCIATION, RHYTHM, SACRIFICE, THOROUGH, YACHT and the rest. Long words with doubled consonants, silent letters, and spellings inherited from French, Greek and Latin.

All puzzles are free to download as printable PDFs with answer keys. The UK Word Lists series works alongside the Core Phonics series, which explains the spelling patterns underneath these statutory words. For US sight-word equivalents, see the Dolch Sight Words series.