More
Exam Specification
Qualification: GCSE Spanish (9–1)
Level: 1 & 2
Exam Board: AQA
What you learn about:
AQA GCSE Spanish offers students a modern, culturally rich language experience, developing skills in real-life communication across speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course focuses on key themes—People and Lifestyle, Popular Culture, and Communication and the World Around Us—that foster linguistic confidence and cultural awareness.
During the course, students will study:
Content is structured around three engaging themes, integrated across all four language skills:
-
Theme 1: People and Lifestyle – Identity, relationships, healthy living, education, and work.
-
Theme 2: Popular Culture – Free-time, customs, festivals, and celebrity culture.
-
Theme 3: Communication and the World Around Us – Travel, tourism, media & technology, the environment, and living spaces.
Assessment:
This qualification is linear, with all assessments completed at the end of the course. Students must choose either the Foundation (grades 1–5) or Higher (grades 4–9) tier and complete all four papers at that level.
| Component | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Listening | Understanding spoken extracts and dictation. Foundation: 35 mins, 40 marks; Higher: 45 mins, 50 marks. | 25% |
| Paper 2: Speaking (NEA) | Role-play, reading aloud, photo-card discussion, and conversation. Foundation: ~7–9 mins; Higher: ~10–12 mins. | 25% |
| Paper 3: Reading | Comprehension and translation tasks. Foundation: 45 mins, Higher: 1 hr; both 50 marks. | 25% |
| Paper 4: Writing | Writing tasks and translation. Foundation: ~1 hr 10 mins; Higher: ~1 hr 15 mins; both 50 marks | 25% |
Other Information:
-
Students learn approximately 1,200 vocabulary items at Foundation and an additional 500 at Higher, including irregular and multi-word phrases for richer expression.
-
All responses are marked according to detailed Assessment Objectives, rewarding language use beyond the prescribed content when appropriate.
-
AQA offers extensive professional development, sample resources, and Data Insights tools to support teaching and track student progress.
-
The specification launches for first teaching in September 2024, with first exams in Summer 2026.
See more here.