The four lists
- Year 1: 45 words, from the, a, do, to to our.
- Year 2: 64 words, from door, floor, poor, because to Christmas.
- Years 3 and 4: 104 words, from accident, actual, address, answer to women.
- Years 5 and 6: 100 words, from accommodate, accompany, according, achieve to yacht.
Why these words need extra practice
Most words can be sounded out once children know their phonics. Common exception words can’t, or not completely: the “ai” in “said” isn’t the “ai” in “rain”. Children learn them by seeing and writing them often, which is what each practice page does in five small steps.
Where the lists come from
The words are from English Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum in England (Department for Education). Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Where the list gives a word with its endings, such as accident(ally), the first form is used.
Curriculum links in England
- ReceptionThe Word Reading goal includes reading simple sentences and books that contain some common exception words.
- Year 1Pupils read common exception words, noting where spelling and sound don’t match, and begin to spell them.
- Year 2Children keep learning to spell common exception words, from a longer list that includes because, people and water.
- Years 3–6The two lists of 100 words for Years 3–4 and Years 5–6 are statutory: words pupils use often and often misspell.
The Year 1 and Year 2 words in Appendix 1 are examples. The appendix adds that schools may use others according to their programme, so the tricky words in your phonics programme may differ a little. The Year 3–4 and 5–6 lists are different: they are statutory, and the DfE writing framework asks teachers to check that pupils are on track to spell every word on them.
Some entries pair related words, such as eight/eighth and woman/women, so the lists here show both forms. For the hardest words the writing framework suggests a mnemonic.
Summarised in our own words from English Appendix 1: Spelling of the National Curriculum in England, the EYFS statutory framework and the DfE writing framework.
