Year 1 Spelling Words
128 words for Year 1 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand — the ff, ll, ss and ck rule, blends, digraphs, split digraphs and the statutory common exception words.
In England and Wales, Year 1 is ages 5–6 — the first year of Key Stage 1.
In Australia and New Zealand, Year 1 is ages 6–7 — about a school year ahead of UK Year 1.
One list, two year systems. The core sections below are pitched at the younger UK cohort. The extension words at the end are the ones Australian and New Zealand Year 1 classes usually reach first, and they are the natural next step for confident UK spellers.
What Spelling Skills Does Year 1 Cover?
Year 1 is the year phonics turns into spelling. Children stop writing whatever letters they hear and start applying rules — the first real spelling rules they will ever meet. By the end of the year, most children can:
Double Letters: ff, ll, ss, zz and ck (20 Words)
The first spelling rule most children are taught: after a short vowel at the end of a one-syllable word, f, l, s and z double, and the k sound is written ck. It explains off, well, miss, buzz and back in one go.
Consonant Blends (20 Words)
In a blend, both letters keep their own sound — you can still hear the s and the t in stop. Children who stretch the word slowly hear both, which is why saying it aloud before writing works so well here.
Practice tip: the letter that goes missing in a blend is nearly always the middle one — sop for stop. Ask your child to say the word in slow motion and count the sounds before writing.
Digraphs: sh, ch, th and ng (24 Words)
A digraph is two letters making one sound, and it is the opposite of a blend — you cannot hear the s and the h separately in ship. Teaching the two ideas side by side is what stops children writing sip for ship.
Common Exception Words (30 Words)
Statutory Year 1 words from the English National Curriculum. They do not follow the phonics rules taught so far, so they are learned by sight — and because they are the most frequent words in English, each one earns its keep many times over.
Split Digraphs (18 Words)
The e on the end reaches back over one consonant and makes the vowel say its own name: hop becomes hope. Showing the pair together — the short word, then the same word with an e — makes the rule visible in a second.
Extension Words (16 Words)
The trickier half of the statutory Year 1 list — the words Australian and New Zealand Year 1 classes usually reach first, and the ones UK children carry into Year 2.
Practise These Words in British or Australian English
SpellCrush lets you set your child's spelling variant to British or Australian English, so the app marks their classroom spellings as correct. Every word is read aloud, and kids earn XP for practising daily.
Start Free Practice →Not Sure If Your Child Is at Year 1 Level?
Take our free five-minute spelling assessment — no sign-up required. It finds your child's actual spelling level and suggests where to start.
Take the Free Assessment →Frequently Asked Questions
What spelling words should a Year 1 child know?
By the end of Year 1, children are expected to spell words using the sounds they have been taught, apply the ff, ll, ss, zz and ck rule, spell words with sh, ch, th and ng, and write the 45 statutory common exception words. Around 120 words taught explicitly is a realistic year.
Is Year 1 in Australia the same as Year 1 in the UK?
No. In England and Wales, Year 1 is ages 5 to 6. In Australia and New Zealand, Year 1 is ages 6 to 7 - about a school year ahead. This page covers both: the core sections suit the younger UK cohort, and the extension words are the ones Australian Year 1 classes usually reach first.
What are the Year 1 common exception words?
They are the 45 high-frequency words in the English National Curriculum that do not follow the phonics patterns taught in Year 1 - the, said, was, you, they, one, once, friend, school and so on. Children learn them by sight, and they make up a large share of any sentence they will read or write.
Are these words spelled the British and Australian way?
Yes. Every word uses British spelling, which Australia and New Zealand share at primary level. Most Year 1 words are identical across all English variants, but building the habit early is what stops -our and -ise endings becoming a problem later.
My child can read these but cannot spell them. Is that normal?
Entirely normal, and it stays true for years. Reading is recognition; spelling is recall from nothing, which is a much harder task. The gap closes with writing practice rather than more reading - even one sentence a day using this week's words.
Spelling Practice Your Child Will Actually Do
SpellCrush turns the Year 1 list into a game — XP, achievements and rewards, with a progress dashboard for parents. Free for 7 days, cancel anytime.
Try SpellCrush Free →Looking for the US Equivalent?
In the US, this is roughly kindergarten for the UK cohort and 1st grade for the Australian one. The American lists are not translations of this one — they use American spellings and a different sequence — so treat them as a companion, not a substitute.