There is no formal SPaG test in Year 3, but this is where the curriculum steps up: paragraphs, more conjunctions, direct speech and the present perfect tense all arrive this year. Here is everything Year 3 covers, building on Years 1 and 2.
- Year 3 covers 28 of the 43 SPaG topics, with 7 new this year.
- New this year: inverted commas for speech, pronouns, complex sentences and clauses, subordinating conjunctions and the perfect tense.
- There is no formal SPaG test in Year 3, but teachers assess it in class work.
- Revise one topic at a time rather than reading through everything.
Every SPaG topic Year 3 covers
Grouped by strand. Tap any topic to open it on the interactive map, with a definition, examples and a practice question.
Vocabulary & Spelling
Verb Forms & Tenses
Practise every topic above, free
The interactive SPaG map has all of Year 3's topics in one place, one practice question each, marked instantly.
Year 3 SPaG FAQ
What SPaG topics does Year 3 cover?+
28 of the 43 total SPaG topics, spread across 6 of the seven strands. 7 of them are typically introduced for the first time in Year 3, building on what earlier years covered.
Is SPaG tested in Year 3?+
Not with a formal government test. Only Year 6 sits the compulsory, nationally reported SPaG SATs (Year 2 has a non-statutory version).
Teachers do assess SPaG throughout Year 3 as part of normal class work, and if your child is preparing for the 11+, some of these topics can come up in papers from Year 5 onwards.
How should we revise for SPaG at home?+
One topic at a time, not a general read-through. Pick a topic from the map below, read the plain-English definition together, look at the examples, then try the practice question.
A few minutes on one topic beats a long session skimming everything.
Sources
- National curriculum in England: English programmes of study — Department for Education, GOV.UK, see English appendix 2: vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. Year 3's topics on this page are staged against this statutory, year-by-year programme of study.
- Key stage 2: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) — Standards and Testing Agency, GOV.UK, confirms the compulsory, nationally reported GPS test is only at the end of Year 6.
The Pip team builds Pip, the 11+ and KS2 practice app for children in years three to six. We write these guides from real exam formats and past papers.
