Spanish

Paper 1 - Listening

What's assessed 

Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language.

How it's assessed

• Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier)                                       

• 40 marks (Foundation Tier) 

• 50 marks (Higher Tier) 

• 25% of GCSE

(Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played)

Questions: Foundation Tier and Higher Tier          

• Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English

• Section B – questions in Spanish, to be answered in Spanish

Paper 2 - Speaking

What's assessed 

Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes

How it's assessed

• Non-exam assessment

• 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time  

• 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time 

• 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)

• 25% of GCSE 

Questions: Foundation Tier and Higher Tier          

• The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different stimulus materials for the Role-play. The timings are different too:

• Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier) 

• Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier)

• General conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier)

Paper 3 - Reading

What's assessed 

Understanding and responding to different types of written language.

How it's assessed

• Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier)                                       

• 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) 

• 25% of GCSE

Questions: Foundation Tier and Higher Tier          

• Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English

• Section B – questions in Spanish, to be answered in Spanish

• Section C – translation from Spanish into English (a minimum of 35 words at Foundation Tier and 50 words at Higher Tier). 

Paper 4 - Writing

What's assessed 

Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes

How it's assessed

• Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier)

• 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier  

• 25% of GCSE 

Questions: Foundation Tier          

• Question 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks

• Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks

• Question 3 – translation from English into Spanish (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks

• Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks 

Questions: Higher Tier          

• Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks

• Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks    

• Question 3 – translation from English into Spanish (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks