Years 5/6 Statutory Spelling Word List — grouped by pattern
Year group: 5/6
Source: DfE, English Appendix 1: Spelling, National Curriculum for England (2013) — Years 5–6 Word List
Curriculum requirement: Statutory — all schools must teach these words by the end of Year 6
Purpose: The full DfE Years 5 & 6 statutory spelling word list — all 100 words with example sentences, free to use, print, and practise.
Group 1: Words containing the com-/con- family (Latin cum = with, together)
Understanding the prefix unlocks the whole group.
| Word | Meaning | Root breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| accommodate | to provide a place; to fit in | ac- + com- + mod (measure) + -ate |
| accompany | to go with | ac- + com- + pan (bread — share bread with) |
| according | in agreement with | ac- + cord (heart — from the same heart) |
| committee | a group with shared responsibility | com- + mittere (send) — three doubled letters |
| communicate | to share information | com- + munis (shared) |
| community | a group of people sharing a place or interest | com- + munis |
| competition | a contest | com- + petere (seek) |
Teach together: communicate, community, and committee all share the com- prefix. Knowing Latin com- = "together" links the meanings.
Group 2: Words with -tion and -sion (the /ʃən/ sound)
| Word | Pattern |
|---|---|
| explanation | explain + -ation (drop i → explana-) |
| competition | compete + -ition |
| profession | profess + -ion |
| pronunciation | pronounce → pronunci- + -ation (note: not pronounciation) |
| exaggeration | exaggerate + -ion |
| interruption | interrupt + -ion |
| occupation | occupy + -ation |
| opportunity | opportune + -ity |
Most common mistake: pronunciation — children write pronounciation by analogy with pronounce. The root shifts: pronounce → pronunciate → pronunciation.
Group 3: Words with double letters from prefixes
Many double letters in this list come from a prefix ending in the same letter as the base word starts.
| Word | Prefix + base | Double from |
|---|---|---|
| accommodate | ac- + com- + mod- | two pairs: cc and mm |
| accompany | ac- + company | cc from ac- |
| aggressive | ag- + gress (step) | gg from ag- |
| apparent | ap- + parent (visible) | pp from ap- |
| appreciate | ap- + preci (price) | pp from ap- |
| attached | at- + tach | tt from at- |
| committee | com- + mit | mm, tt, ee |
| correspond | cor- + respond | rr from cor- |
| embarrass | em- + barr | rr, ss |
| exaggerate | ex- + agger (heap) | gg |
| interrupt | inter- + rupt | rr from inter- |
| occur | oc- + cur | cc from oc- |
| sufficient | suf- + fici | ff from suf- |
Teach the prefix rule: when a prefix ends in the same letter that the base word starts with, double the letter. ac- + com- = accom-; ag- + gress = aggress.
Group 4: Words ending in -ence, -ance
| Word | Pattern |
|---|---|
| existence | exist + -ence |
| convenience | conveni- + -ence |
| conscience | con- + sci (know) + -ence |
| relevance | relev- + -ance (-ation link: relevation) |
| hindrance | hinder + -ance (drop e) |
| nuisance | Old French nuisance |
| substance | sub- + stance |
Group 5: Words from Greek
Greek-origin words often have unusual letter combinations.
| Word | Greek root | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| physical | physis (nature) | relating to the body or matter |
| rhythm | rhythmos (measured motion) | a regular beat pattern |
| rhyme | Greek rhythmos via French | words with matching sounds |
| symbol | symbolon (token) | a sign or representation |
| system | systema (organised whole) | a set of connected parts |
| stomach | stomakhos (throat) | the digestive organ |
| category | katēgoria (statement) | a group or class |
Group 6: Words commonly misspelled — the hardest ones
| Word | Why it's hard | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| necessary | one c, two s | "one Collar, two Socks" |
| separate | sep-a-rate | "there's a rat in separate" |
| definite | -ite not -ate | related to finite; de- + finite |
| desperate | -ate not -ite | from Latin desperatus; "I hope it's not too -ate" |
| privilege | -ege not -edge | Latin privilegium; no d |
| prejudice | pre- + judice | judge + pre- (before judging) |
| secretary | four syllables | sec-re-ta-ry; "keeps SEC-RETs" |
| parliament | -ia- in middle | parli- + -ament; think parley (to discuss) |
| mischievous | three syllables, not four | mis-CHIE-vous (not mis-CHIEV-i-ous) |
| conscience | -sc- = /ʃ/ | con- + science — the sc makes /ʃ/ here |
| pronunciation | not pronounciation | pronounce shifts to pronunci- |
| immediately | five syllables | im-me-di-ate-ly |
| lightning | not lightening | lighten-ing = making lighter; lightning = electrical storm |
| language | -guage | from French langage |
| leisure | ei = /ɛ/ here | exception to the ei/ie rule; British /ˈlɛʒ.ə/ |
Group 7: Words with -ous suffixes
| Word | Root | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mischievous | mischief + -ous (drop f, add v) | causing minor harm |
| marvellous | marvel + -ous (British: double l) | causing wonder |
| disastrous | disaster + -ous (drop e) | causing disaster |
| advantageous | advantage + -ous (keep e) | providing an advantage |
| gorgeous | gorge + -ous (keep e — protects soft g) | beautiful |
| courageous | courage + -ous (keep e) | brave |
| obvious | ob- + via (way) + -ous | easy to see |
| serious | serius (Latin) + -ous | important; grave |
Group 8: Words from Latin word families (morpheme hooks)
Teaching word families unlocks multiple statutory words at once.
| Latin root | Meaning | Statutory words |
|---|---|---|
| cred (believe) | trust, belief | incredible |
| cert (sure) | definite | — (from Y3/4: certain) |
| fort (strong) | strength | — |
| port (carry) | transport | — |
| vis/vid (see) | visual | individual, evident |
| lingu (tongue/language) | speech | language |
| dict (say) | speak | dictionary |
| scrib/script (write) | written | conscience (sci- variant) |
| temp (time) | timing | temperature |
| sol (alone/sun) | single | soldier (from solidus) |
The full statutory list (alphabetical)
accommodate, accompany, according, achieve, aggressive, amateur, ancient, apparent, appreciate, attached, available, average, awkward, bargain, bruise, category, cemetery, committee, communicate, community, competition, conscience, conscious, controversy, convenience, correspond, criticise, curiosity, definite, desperate, determined, develop, dictionary, disastrous, embarrass, environment, equip (equipped, equipment), especially, exaggerate, excellent, existence, explanation, familiar, foreign, forty, frequently, government, guarantee, harass, hindrance, identity, immediate (immediately), individual, interfere, interrupt, language, leisure, lightning, marvellous, mischievous, muscle, necessary, neighbour, nuisance, occupy, occur, official, parliament, persuade, physical, prejudice, privilege, profession, programme, pronunciation, queue, recognise, recommend, relevant, restaurant, rhyme, rhythm, sacrifice, secretary, shoulder, signature, sincere (sincerely), soldier, stomach, sufficient, suggest, symbol, system, temperature, thorough, twelfth, variety, vegetable, vehicle, yacht
(100 words — verified against DfE English Appendix 1: Spelling, 2013)
Source: DfE English Appendix 1: Spelling (2013). Word groupings and etymology are pedagogical aids, not statutory content. All words verified against the published statutory list.