We investigated the effect of emphasising the realistic modelling complexity in text or in the accompanying picture on the solution of P-items, in relation to pupils' grade. 290 pupils from the 5th and 6th grade of various elementary schools in Flanders (Belgium) made a paper-and-pencil task with 7 word problems that are problematic from a realistic modelling perspective (so-called P-items). Pupils were divided in four conditions, involving the four combinations of the two above-mentioned task variables. Their reactions to the P-items were coded as realistic or non-realistic. We found a relatively small but significant effect of emphasising the realistic modelling complexity in the text of the P-items on the number of realistic reactions, whereas no effect was observed for the accentuation of that complexity in the picture nor for the interaction of the two manipulated task variables. Theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed.