11+ Year 5 Tricky Spellings
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The main Year 5 tricky spellings are the 100 words in the Years 5 and 6 statutory word list in the National Curriculum, plus the spelling rules and commonly confused words that go with them. There is no separate Year 5 only list. The best way to learn them is little and often: about 10 to 15 minutes a day, look, say, cover, write, check, memory tricks for the tricky parts, and regular re-testing. Ten words a week covers the whole list in 10 weeks. Spelling matters for the 11+, because the official ISEB test checks spelling patterns, common exception words, prefixes and suffixes.
Words like necessary, accommodate and rhythm can make even clever children pause. This guide explains the Year 5 tricky spellings: the official word list, the spelling rules, the commonly confused words, easy memory tricks and a calm 10 week plan.
What are Year 5 tricky spellings?
Some English words do not spell the way they sound. Think of yacht, queue or rhythm. In England, the National Curriculum gives a list of 100 such words for Years 5 and 6, and these words are called statutory spellings, which simply means they are required.
The official wording says these lists are a mixture of words children often use in their writing and words they often misspell. Here are three useful facts.
It is one list for two years. The Years 5 and 6 list is shared, so there is no separate Year 5 only list.
Schools have flexibility. Schools only have to teach the programme of study by the end of the key stage, so they may teach words earlier or later.
Rules matter as well as words. The curriculum also teaches rules for endings, silent letters and words that are often confused, and these help children spell many more words than the 100 on the list.
Year 5 is the main 11+ preparation year, and many 11+ tests take place early in Year 6. That is why we recommend learning as much of the list as you can in Year 5. Our approach to 11 plus preparation Year 5 builds spelling, vocabulary and reading together, in short, friendly steps.
Do tricky spellings matter for the 11+?
The 11+ does not test the word list as a fixed list, so your child will not be given the exact 100 words in an exam. But spelling still matters a lot, for three reasons.
Reason | What the official sources say |
Spelling is tested | The official ISEB framework says its English test checks knowledge of spelling patterns and common exception words. Many other 11+ English papers also include spelling, punctuation and grammar questions |
Word parts are tested | The ISEB framework also checks word meaning, word families, prefixes and suffixes. These are the same ideas that help children learn tricky words |
It supports reading and writing | The National Curriculum says children should use knowledge of word structure and word history to spell longer words and understand new ones |
Sources: ISEB Common Pre-Tests Framework 2026 to 2027, English test, Grammar content; National Curriculum in England, English Appendix 1.
A child who spells well also reads well, understands new words more easily and writes more clearly. That helps with comprehension, grammar and vocabulary questions across the whole 11+ English paper.
The official Year 5 and 6 statutory spelling list
Here is the full official list, in the same order as the National Curriculum. A bracket shows a form of the word, for example immediately and sincerely.
Words | Official list |
1 to 20 | accommodate, accompany, according, achieve, aggressive, amateur, ancient, apparent, appreciate, attached, available, average, awkward, bargain, bruise, category, cemetery, committee, communicate, community |
21 to 40 | competition, conscience, conscious, controversy, convenience, correspond, criticise, curiosity, definite, desperate, determined, develop, dictionary, disastrous, embarrass, environment, equip, especially, exaggerate, excellent |
41 to 60 | existence, explanation, familiar, foreign, forty, frequently, government, guarantee, harass, hindrance, identity, immediate(ly), individual, interfere, interrupt, language, leisure, lightning, marvellous, mischievous |
61 to 80 | muscle, necessary, neighbour, nuisance, occupy, occur, opportunity, parliament, persuade, physical, prejudice, privilege, profession, programme, pronunciation, queue, recognise, recommend, relevant, restaurant |
81 to 100 | rhyme, rhythm, sacrifice, secretary, shoulder, signature, sincere(ly), soldier, stomach, sufficient, suggest, symbol, system, temperature, thorough, twelfth, variety, vegetable, vehicle, yacht |
Source: National Curriculum in England, English Appendix 1: Spelling, Word list for Years 5 and 6 (100 entries).
Print the list, stick it on the fridge, and tick words off as your child learns them.
11 Plus Tuition
Help your child build strong 11+ spelling skills in Year 5
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The trickiest Year 5 spellings and memory tricks
Some words are trickier than others. Here are memory tricks for the ones children find hardest. The National Curriculum itself points out links such as conscience and conscious with science, and familiar with family.
Word | Memory trick |
conscience, conscious | Both are related to science: con plus science. The word science hides inside them. |
familiar | It is related to family, so the first sound is spelt with an a: famil-iar. |
desperate | Say it in a silly voice as des-per-ate, with the e in the middle. It comes from a Latin word meaning hope. |
criticise | critic plus ise. |
equip | The p doubles for equipped but not for equipment: equip, equipped, equipment. |
necessary | One c and two s's: one collar and two sleeves. |
accommodate | Two c's and two m's: there is room for both. |
embarrass | Two r's and two s's: Really Red And So Sweaty. |
committee | Double m, double t and double e. |
recommend | One c and two m's: re-com-mend. |
occur | Two c's and one r. Add another r for occurred. |
harass, aggressive | Harass has one r and two s's. Aggressive has two g's and two s's. |
rhythm, rhyme | Both start with rh. Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move. |
parliament | Say par-li-a-ment slowly. The i comes before the a. |
government, environment | Say the n: govern-ment and environ-ment. |
queue | Q plus ueue. After the q, just vowels, and it sounds like "cue". |
yacht | The ch is silent. Say it in a silly voice: y-a-ch-t. |
muscle | The c is silent. Think of muscular, where you can hear it. |
soldier | Say sol-di-er. It hides the word old. |
vegetable, temperature | Say every beat: veg-e-ta-ble and tem-per-a-ture. |
restaurant | Say rest-au-rant in beats. |
disastrous, hindrance | The e from disaster and hinder drops out: disastrous and hindrance. |
twelfth | Say the f: twel-fth. |
thorough | It rhymes with borough. Learn the ough part as a group. |
guarantee | The u is silent, like in guard. |
mischievous | Just three beats: mis-chie-vous. There is no extra i. |
neighbour | The eigh says "ay", and our ends the word, like favour. |
privilege | Say priv-i-lege. There is no d. |
interrupt | inter plus rupt, with a double r. |
sufficient | suf-fi-cient. Double f, and ci says sh. |
immediate | im-me-di-ate, with a double m. |
lightning | Lightning has an extra n for the flash. Lighting is for switching on a light. |
bruise | Say "brooz" but spell it b-r-u-i-s-e. Write the u and i in colour. |
Year 5 spelling rules that make tricky words easier
The National Curriculum for Years 5 and 6 teaches spelling rules as well as words. Knowing the rules helps children spell the statutory list and many other words too. The rules and guidance are non-statutory, so they are there to help, but they are very useful.
Rule | Examples and guidance |
Endings that sound like shus: cious or tious | If the root word ends in ce, the sound is usually spelt c: vice, vicious; grace, gracious; space, spacious. Other examples: precious, delicious, ambitious, cautious. Exception: anxious |
Endings that sound like shul: cial or tial | Cial is common after a vowel letter and tial after a consonant letter: official, special, artificial, partial, essential. Exceptions: initial, financial, commercial, provincial |
Endings ant, ance, ancy, ent, ence, ency | Use ant and ance if there is a related word with an a sound, such as observant (observation). Use ent and ence after a soft c, soft g or qu, such as innocent and frequent. Many words just have to be learnt |
Endings able and ible | Able is far more common: adorable, considerable, comfortable, reliable. Keep the e after c or g: noticeable, changeable. Ible examples: possible, horrible, terrible, visible, sensible |
Adding endings to words ending in fer | Double the r if the stress stays on fer: referring, referred, preferred. Do not double it if the stress moves: reference, preference |
Using a hyphen | A hyphen can join a prefix to a root word, especially when both meet at a vowel: co-ordinate, re-enter, co-operate, co-own |
i before e, except after c | This works when the sound is ee: deceive, receive, perceive, ceiling. Exceptions: protein, caffeine, seize |
The ough pattern | It makes many different sounds: ought, bought, thought; rough, tough, enough; cough; though, although; through; thorough; plough |
Silent letters | Some letters are silent now, but used to be sounded long ago: doubt, island, lamb, solemn, thistle, knight |
Commonly confused words for Year 5 and the 11+
Some words sound the same, or almost the same, but mean different things. The National Curriculum lists many of them for Years 5 and 6, and they often appear in 11+ spelling and proofreading questions. Here are some of the most useful ones.
Words | Difference |
advice / advise | Advice is the noun and advise is the verb. Nouns end in ce and verbs end in se |
practice / practise | Practice is the noun and practise is the verb |
licence / license | Licence is the noun and license is the verb |
affect / effect | Affect is usually a verb and effect is usually a noun |
principal / principle | Principal means most important, or the head of a college. Principle means a basic truth or belief |
stationary / stationery | Stationary means not moving. Stationery means paper, envelopes and pens |
past / passed | Past is a time before now, or means going by. Passed is the past tense of pass |
led / lead | Led is the past tense of lead. Lead is the present tense, or the heavy metal |
who's / whose | Who's means who is or who has. Whose means belonging to someone |
compliment / complement | A compliment is a nice remark. To complement means to make something complete or better |
desert / dessert | A desert is a dry place. A dessert is a sweet course, so it has a double s, like seconds |
guessed / guest | Guessed is the past tense of guess. A guest is a visitor |
aloud / allowed | Aloud means out loud. Allowed means permitted |
cereal / serial | Cereal is made from grain. Serial means one after another, like a series |
Source: National Curriculum in England, English Appendix 1: Spelling, Years 5 and 6, homophones and other words that are often confused. A good trick: nouns end in ce and verbs end in se.
How to learn Year 5 tricky spellings: 10 simple methods
You do not need long lessons. These ten ideas fit into daily life.
1. Little and often
Ten to fifteen minutes a day works better than a long session once a week. Words stick when your child meets them again and again.
2. Say words in beats
Clap each beat. Veg-e-ta-ble, tem-per-a-ture and en-vi-ron-ment are much easier to spell one beat at a time.
3. Use a silly voice
Say tricky words the way they are spelt: Wed-nes-day style. Try sol-di-er, par-li-a-ment and gov-ern-ment.
4. Find the word inside the word
Look for smaller words: old in soldier, rest in restaurant and govern in government.
5. Link words in a family
The National Curriculum links conscience and conscious to science, familiar to family, and criticise to critic. Word families make long words easier.
6. Learn the rules
Rules for endings such as cious and tious, cial and tial, able and ible save time. Learn one rule a week with its example words.
7. Use rainbow writing
Write the word in pencil, then trace over it in colours, using one bright colour for the tricky part.
8. Write dictated sentences
The National Curriculum asks children to use what they know about spelling in their writing. Read out a sentence and ask your child to write it, then check each word.
9. Test again after a few days
Test on Monday, again on Friday, and again after two weeks. Words that stay correct over time are truly learnt.
10. Make it a game
Try hangman, spelling bingo, Scrabble tiles, a spelling bee or a timed word hunt. Games make practice fun.
Look, say, cover, write, check: A step-by-step method
This classic method works for almost every word. Follow the steps for each new word, three or four times, then move on.
1. Look
Look at the word carefully. Find the tricky part, such as the double letter, the silent letter or the odd vowel pair.
2. Say
Say the word in beats, for example veg-e-ta-ble or par-li-a-ment. Then say it in a silly voice, spelling sounds out loud.
3. Cover
Cover the word so you cannot see it.
4. Write
Write the word from memory, slowly and neatly.
5. Check
Uncover and check every letter. If there is a mistake, circle the tricky part and try again.
6. Use it
Write the word in a sentence. Better still, ask someone to read out a sentence for you to write from memory.
A 10 week Year 5 tricky spelling plan
Here is a simple plan that covers the full list in 10 weeks, with 10 words a week in the official order. If that feels too fast, learn 5 words a week over 20 weeks instead.
Week | Words to learn |
Week 1 | accommodate, accompany, according, achieve, aggressive, amateur, ancient, apparent, appreciate, attached |
Week 2 | available, average, awkward, bargain, bruise, category, cemetery, committee, communicate, community |
Week 3 | competition, conscience, conscious, controversy, convenience, correspond, criticise, curiosity, definite, desperate |
Week 4 | determined, develop, dictionary, disastrous, embarrass, environment, equip, especially, exaggerate, excellent |
Week 5 | existence, explanation, familiar, foreign, forty, frequently, government, guarantee, harass, hindrance |
Week 6 | identity, immediate(ly), individual, interfere, interrupt, language, leisure, lightning, marvellous, mischievous |
Week 7 | muscle, necessary, neighbour, nuisance, occupy, occur, opportunity, parliament, persuade, physical |
Week 8 | prejudice, privilege, profession, programme, pronunciation, queue, recognise, recommend, relevant, restaurant |
Week 9 | rhyme, rhythm, sacrifice, secretary, shoulder, signature, sincere(ly), soldier, stomach, sufficient |
Week 10 | suggest, symbol, system, temperature, thorough, twelfth, variety, vegetable, vehicle, yacht |
Here is a simple weekly routine.
Day | What to do (about 10 to 15 minutes) |
Monday | Look at the 10 new words. Spot the tricky part of each one and talk about a memory trick |
Tuesday | Look, say, cover, write, check for the first five words |
Wednesday | Look, say, cover, write, check for the next five words |
Thursday | Write all 10 words in sentences |
Friday | A friendly mini test, with words read out as a dictated sentence |
Weekend | Play a spelling game and revisit any tricky words |
From tricky spellings to 11+ English practice
Once your child knows the words, use them to build wider 11+ English skills.
Activity | What it builds |
Choose the correct spelling | Looks like a typical 11+ spelling question and builds careful checking |
Spot and fix the mistake in a sentence | Proofreading, which helps in writing and in spelling and punctuation questions |
Use each word in a sentence | Vocabulary and meaning, which supports comprehension |
Find word families, prefixes and suffixes | Word knowledge that the ISEB framework lists for vocabulary questions |
Dictated sentences | Memory, handwriting and accuracy, all in one |
How Pass 11 Plus Grammar helps with Year 5 spelling and 11+ English
Spelling is one of the quiet skills that make a big difference in the 11+. Our Year 5 11 plus tuition teaches spelling rules, word families and memory tricks, and links them to vocabulary, grammar and comprehension.
We start with a gentle check to see which words and rules need work.
We teach in short, friendly steps, with games and lots of praise.
We practise dictation and proofreading, which helps in school and in 11+ English.
We keep you updated with simple ideas for home.
If you live in Birmingham or the West Midlands, our 11 plus tutors in Birmingham can help your child build strong English foundations in a calm and steady way.
Final thoughts
The Year 5 tricky spellings become friendly once your child has a good method. Learn a few words a week, use look, say, cover, write, check, add memory tricks, and test again after a few days. Learn the rules for endings, watch out for confusing pairs, and add games and dictated sentences, and the ticks will grow.
There is no need to panic, and no need to go it alone. Calm, steady steps now make the 11+ much easier. At Pass 11 Plus Grammar, we are always here to help when you are ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Year 5 tricky spellings?
Year 5 tricky spellings are the words children find hardest to spell in upper primary school. The main source is the 100 word list for Years 5 and 6 in the National Curriculum, English Appendix 1: Spelling. It includes words such as necessary, accommodate, embarrass, rhythm, parliament and conscience, along with spelling rules and commonly confused words such as affect and effect.
Are tricky spellings tested in the 11+?
The 11+ does not test the word list as a fixed list, but spelling matters. The official ISEB framework says its English test checks knowledge of spelling patterns and common exception words, along with prefixes, suffixes and word families. Many other 11+ English papers also include spelling, punctuation and grammar questions.
Which Year 5 spellings are the hardest?
Words with double letters, silent letters or unusual patterns are usually the hardest, for example necessary, accommodate, embarrass, rhythm, parliament, yacht and queue. Children also mix up words that sound the same, such as affect and effect, or practice and practise. Our guide gives a memory trick for each tricky word.
How can Pass 11 Plus Grammar help with Year 5 tricky spellings?
Our tutors teach spelling rules, word families and memory tricks, practise dictation and proofreading, and link spelling to vocabulary and comprehension. Our Year 5 11 plus tuition builds these skills in friendly lessons that fit your child and your target test.
Mr Singh
Founder, Pass 11 Plus Grammar
Mr Singh is the founder of Pass 11 Plus Grammar, with over 30 years of teaching experience. Having overcome academic setbacks himself, he is passionate about ensuring no child struggles alone. His approach focuses on personalised support, strong foundations, and building confidence. He has helped students achieve outstanding results in 11+ and GCSE examinations
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