Spelling rule
British spellings
11+ papers use British spelling. Many words are spelt differently in American English, which children often see online, in games and on screen, so it's worth knowing the patterns.
How it works
- 1
-re, not -er
- centre
- theatre
- metre
- fibre
- 2
-our, not -or
- favourite
- neighbour
- colour
- behaviour
- honour
- 3
-ise
Some words can only be -ise (surprise, exercise, advise); for the rest, -ise is the usual British choice.
- criticise
- recognise
- organise
- apologise
- surprise
- exercise
- 4
Double l before an ending
- travelled
- marvellous
- cancelled
- jewellery
- 5
programme
A TV programme or a programme of events. A computer program is spelt program, even in Britain.
- programme
- 6
-ce for the noun, -se for the verb
- practice (noun) / practise (verb)
- licence / license
- advice / advise
Watch out
- In your own writing, stick to -ise: it's never wrong in British English.
Words to practise
Years 3 and 4 statutory words
- centre
- favourite
- exercise
- surprise
Years 5 and 6 statutory words
- neighbour
- programme
- criticise
- recognise
- marvellous
Practise a few minutes a day
The daily spelling workout brings back the words your child finds tricky, and shows you which rules they need to revisit.