England's Year 1 phonics screening check has run every June since 2012, apart from 2020 and 2021, when it was cancelled during the pandemic. That makes 13 published papers. Each has 40 words, 20 real and 20 alien, and each is published by the Standards and Testing Agency once the check is over.
Every paper is linked below, with the pass mark that year and the share of Year 1 children who met it. Each year's page lists all 40 words with the alien words marked, ready to print.
Every phonics screening check past paper
| Year | Pass mark | Met the standard | Last word | Official |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 | 82% | smoother | |
| 2025 | 32 | 80% | grateful | |
| 2024 | 32 | 80% | crackers | |
| 2023 | 32 | — | whirling | |
| 2022 | 32 | 75% | concrete | |
| 2019 | 32 | 82% | thankful | |
| 2018 | 32 | 82% | charming | |
| 2017 | 32 | — | reptiles | |
| 2016 | 32 | — | brighter | |
| 2015 | 32 | — | midnight | |
| 2014 | 32 | — | fighters | |
| 2013 | 32 | — | reaching | |
| 2012 | 32 | 58% | portrait |
Pass marks: Standards and Testing Agency, published each June. Share meeting the standard: Department for Education, Phonics screening check attainment, 2025/26. The release doesn't give separate figures for 2013 to 2017 or 2023; "—" means no figure is published there.
How the papers compare
Every paper follows the same plan. Section 1 is 12 alien words then 8 real words, mostly short with single sounds and common letter teams. Section 2 is 8 alien words then 12 real words, with vowel teams, split vowels, three-letter blends and, at the end, two-syllable words. So no paper is "the easy one": the structure is fixed and the difficulty comes in the same place every year.
What changes is which letter teams appear. Across the 13 papers, every one includes sh or ch in Section 1 and a three-letter blend (str, scr or spl) near the end of Section 2. If your child can read those reliably, they're most of the way there.
Practising without drilling
Past papers are best used to find gaps, not to rehearse answers. The check uses new words every year, and it's designed so a child who has learned the words by heart gets no advantage. Use one section at a time, note which sounds go wrong, and spend the rest of the week on those sounds. There's a fuller plan in the phonics screening check guide.
You can also print every word at once: all 260 alien words and all 260 real words.
Questions parents ask
Where can I find phonics screening check past papers?
The Standards and Testing Agency publishes each year's pupils' materials on GOV.UK after the check. This page links every one from 2012 to 2026, and each year's page lists the 40 words ready to print.
Why is there no 2020 or 2021 phonics check?
The check was cancelled in June 2020 and June 2021 because of the pandemic. Year 2 pupils took a past paper in the autumn of 2020 instead, but no new paper was published for those years.
Are the past papers free to use?
Yes. They are Crown copyright and published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which allows reuse, including printing at home.
Does practising past papers help?
It helps you find which sounds your child hasn't got yet. It doesn't help to memorise the words, because each year's check uses new ones.