Spellings

Spellings play a fundamental part of the 11 Plus journey. As part of the English paper students will be given sentences or passages of text and asked to find spelling mistakes.

The sooner you start to get into good habits and regularly encourage your child to practise spelling at home, the wider their vocabulary and the quicker and more accurately spelling will become. Here are some tips on how to improve your child’s spellings.

Some spellings may be tricky to spot and a good way to check is to write the word out and ask yourself “does it look right?”

11 Plus - spellings

Other ways to practise spellings are:

✅ Encourage reading.
✅ Spell the word out loud.
✅ Keep a list of those difficult to spell words on display.
✅ Play games to practice i.e. hangman, scrabble, boggle & Bananagrams are great fun to play and they’re also brilliant for practising spelling and developing vocabulary.


Statutory Spellings

The Government prescribes over 100 words for children to learn during Key Stage 2. We believe knowing these are an absolute must if your child is studying for the 11 Plus Entrance Exam.  The lists include a mixture of words pupils frequently use in their writing and those which they often misspell. To find out what the words are for each year group click on each of links below:

Spellings ‘must know ‘ word list for Years 3 and 4

Spellings ‘must know’ word list for Years 5 and 6

A great way to see how many they know is reading them out (in sections) and see if they can spell them.  If they make mistakes, it just indicates that they may need a little practice. 

If you want to find out more about what is expected of children in Year 4, 5 and 6 for spelling, the national curriculum details everything you need to know.


Quest Resources

Build your child’s confidence with spelling and vocabulary as they prepare for the Quest 11 Plus. The following word lists provide a starting point for practising accurate spelling, exploring meanings and using new words in context. Little and often is the key. Encourage your child to discuss unfamiliar words and try them in their own sentences to develop understanding that goes beyond memorising a list.

Quest Recommended Reading List

Click here

Quest Recommended Vocabulary List

Click here
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Lizzie Richardson
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My daughter was tutored for the 11+ for a year and a half with Teach Wessex, and we couldn’t have been happier with the support she received. She thoroughly enjoyed her weekly sessions and made excellent, steady progress throughout her time with Katie and Phil. We also attended the mock tests, which were a fantastic experience and gave her valuable insight into what to expect in real exam conditions. The detailed feedback we received after each mock was incredibly helpful and gave us a clear understanding of her progress and areas to work on. We felt she was fully prepared and confident going into the 11+, thanks to the knowledge, expertise and encouragement she received. Many thanks to Katie and Phil for all their help and support over the past year and a half — we would highly recommend Teach Wessex to any family preparing for the 11+.
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Michael Richards
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My son really enjoyed working with his tutor - and we saw his confidence grow throughout. They were also happy to shape the sessions around him and pick the best areas to focus on.
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Jess Ferrand
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Teach Wessex have been fantastic in preparing my daughter (and myself) for the 11+ exams. Angela the tutor was great, really patient and thorough. Katie has been incredibly informative and supportive. The mock exams, in exam conditions were excellent and the results and feedback received were quick and excellent. Thank you 😊
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Anharad Reynolds
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Thank you for helping simplify Maths and English for my daughter. The tutoring has really helped her confidence. It was worth every penny and I'm so thankful for the support and encouragement my daughter received whilst being tutored.
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Yoga Studio Store
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Phil and Katie have taught our kids over the years - Grammar prep. 110% Recommended. They are a family business - who care. Phil and Katie are lovely people. Our Kids love them and respect them. Our Kids improved so much with Phil's teaching. Their confidence grew because they connected with Phil and his teaching. Lovely people. Very good at tuition and very good with kids. 110% Recommended to everyone.
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Louisa MF
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Our son was delighted to accept his first choice school and I have no doubt that Teach Wessex played an enormous part in his success. We will be returning when it’s time for our daughter to do the same. Thank you, Phil and Katie.
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a k
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Phil and Katie have been amazing and this is the place to let your child prepare for grammar school entrance exam-look for no other tuition as we cannot thank them enough for guiding and mentoring our son who passed two different grammar school entrance exams and get entry into grammar school (HGS and NHGS-Yorkshire). I cannot praise enough their professionalism blended with dedication and sincerity in helping our son. Thank you again and good luck to your future students!
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Carolina Che
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I would highly recommend Teach Wessex for 11+ tuition. Our teacher, Saphire, was very attentive, clear in her instructions and explaniots, and really cared about my daughter's learning. We are very happy after receiving excellent results after my daughter exam.
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Holly Harms
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I can highly recommend Phil (and Katie!) as 11+ grammar preparation tutors. Phil is an experienced, engaging, personable and effective tutor who taught and helped my son successfully pass the 11+ exam in September 2024. He is very knowledgeable, and his enthusiasm for teaching and learning is evident and contagious! Tutor sessions were held online via Zoom - this worked well and enabled flexibility in our busy schedule! We also attended the Mock Exam sessions at Broadstone which helped my son prepare and gain confidence for the actual exam day. Phil and Katie are a great team: professional, incredibly supportive, and very organised! I can’t recommend them highly enough!
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Kate Moores
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My son has attended the mock exams for his 11+ with Katie and Phil. After every mock the feedback was returned quickly and gave a full insight of the gaps in his knowledge to allow us to prepare him for the actual 11+. Seeing his scores increase after every assessment showed us how effective and invaluable this feedback was. I would highly recommend Teach Wessex and advocate undertaking all mocks offered.