GCSE (9-1) French, German and Spanish 2024 - Frequently Asked Questions - General FAQs

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Provides general administrative and assessment FAQs for the GCSE (9-1) French, German and Spanish 2024 qualifications. Covers consistency across language assessments, tier decisions and eligibility, rules for resitting papers, and scheduling changes separating Reading and Listening. Explains implications of non-examined assessment for speaking, the meaning of SSC, provisions for visually impaired students, mark-scheme support and exemplar materials, and guidance on mock grade boundaries and examWizard availability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

General FAQs

Paper 1 Speaking: Administration

Paper 1 Speaking: Live Assessment

Paper 2 Listening: Administration

Paper 2: Listening: Live Assessment

Paper 3: Reading

Paper 4: Writing

GCSE (9-1) French, German and Spanish 2024 Frequently Asked Questions Contents Contents ......................................................................................................2 General FAQs..............................................................................................3 Paper 1 Speaking: Administration.............................................................6 Paper 1 Speaking: Live Assessment.......................................................14 Preparation Time ...............................................................................14 Read aloud ......................................................................................... 14 Role play ............................................................................................ 15 Picture description and conversation task......................................15 Paper 2 Listening: Administration...........................................................18 Paper 2: Listening: Live Assessment......................................................19 Paper 3: Reading ......................................................................................21 Paper 4 Writing .........................................................................................23 General FAQs 1. How are we ensuring that there will be consistency across the assessments for all 3 languages? French, German and Spanish have been developed according to the same set of principles and guidelines. Vocabulary won't be exactly the same due to it being based on frequency and of course there will be cultural differences, but the requirements of the test will be exactly the same. The specification is the same for all languages. 2. Can we make tier decisions on the day of the examination? No. It is not possible to make tier decisions on the day of the examination. Tier decisions will need to be made at the time of entry and Ofqual does not allow the choice of different tiers for different papers. 3. Can students re-sit individual papers? All four papers are compulsory and the written examinations must be sat in one terminal session. Students wishing to re-sit the speaking component must re-sit the whole qualification. However, students wishing to re-sit only Papers 2 , 3 and 4 (i.e. not the speaking component) may carry over the marks from the previous examination series for Paper 1 Speaking, provided this was assessed by formal exam. 4. Will the Reading and Listening papers be concurrent as is currently the case? No. We have taken the decision to separate these exams based on feedback from both teachers and students alike. Please read this article about Listening and Reading Exam Scheduling , for further information. 5. With this change to GCSE, are there plans to change the A level content? At time of writing (August 2024) , we have not heard anything about any possible changes to A level. We, as an awarding body, will keep you updated on any information that comes out from the DfE as well as support you in the transition from GCSE to A level. 6. What does “non-examined assessment” mean regarding the speaking assessment? The speaking assessment is not carried out in the typical manner with all students sat together in a room at the same time to take the exam and is outside the usual ‘exam window’. However, it is still externally assessed. For further administrative guidance, please refer to the administrative guidance document , which will be found under the ‘Forms and administration’ section of the language webpage. 7. What does SSC stand for? SSC stands for ‘sound-symbol correspondence’ and knowledge and understanding of these will be assessed in both the read aloud task and the dictation part of the listening paper. This focusses on the relationship between the sound and writing systems of a language, evidenced by accurate pronunciation of written language in the read aloud task or accurate writte

FAQs

How is consistency ensured across the assessments for the three languages?

French, German and Spanish are developed using the same principles and guidelines. While vocabulary may differ due to frequency and cultural factors, the test requirements and the specification are the same.

Can tier decisions be made on the day of the examination?

No. Tier decisions must be made at the time of entry, and Ofqual does not allow different tiers for different papers.

What does “non-examined assessment” mean for speaking?

Speaking is not delivered in the typical format of all students taking the exam together in a room at the same time to take the exam, and it falls outside the usual exam window. It is still externally assessed.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk