Hi, folks!
Why does the "ch" pronounced as K in words like school and ache, stomach, headache...?
If a pupil asks you this question, how do you explain it to make it understandable?

Question

Hi, folks! 
Why does the "ch" pronounced as K in words like school and ache, stomach, headache...? 
If a pupil asks you this question, how do you explain it to make it understandable?

Answer

English spelling is inconsistent and strange sometimes.

Part of the reason is that English was formed by borrowing many words from other languages.

So we have a mix of spelling rules that are sometimes unpredictable.

Good luck!

Answer

I beg to differ with the first answer to this question but the vast majority of words where the ch is pronounced as a k are from Greek, not Latin.  Unfortunately, the correct pronunciation is something that  a person just has to learn.  I have heard very educated people pronounce ch like the ch in change when it should be pronounced like a k.

Chemistry, chronicle, character, schism etc.  There are many similar words.

Answer

We pronounce the CH sound as a k , when the origin of the word is Latin.