AQA GCSE French (8652)
Exam structure at a glance for AQA GCSE French: every paper with its time, marks and weighting, plus tiers, practicals and the links you need.
- Board
- AQA
- Specification code
- 8652
- Tiers
- Foundation and higher (foundation grades 1-5, higher 4-9)
- First teaching
- 2024
- First exams
- 2026
- Exam papers
- 6
- Last checked
- 2026-10-20
The national curriculum has no KS4 programme of study for languages (KS2-3 only); schools must offer a language entitlement area at KS4.
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Papers and weightings
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weight | Tier | What it is (our summary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (Foundation): Listening | 35 min | 40 | 25% | foundation | Listening comprehension and a dictation; about 35 minutes including 5 minutes' reading time at the start. |
| Paper 2 (Foundation): Speaking Non-exam assessment | 9 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Role-play, reading aloud with a short conversation, and a photo card discussion; 7-9 minutes plus 15 minutes' supervised preparation. |
| Paper 3 (Foundation): Reading | 45 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Reading comprehension, working out word meanings, and translation from French into English. |
| Paper 4 (Foundation): Writing | 1 h 10 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Writing in response to stimuli including a photo, and translation from English into French. |
| Paper 1 (Higher): Listening | 45 min | 50 | 25% | higher | Listening comprehension and a dictation; about 45 minutes including 5 minutes' reading time at the start. |
| Paper 2 (Higher): Speaking Non-exam assessment | 12 min | 50 | 25% | higher | Role-play, reading aloud with a short conversation, and a photo card discussion; 10-12 minutes plus 15 minutes' supervised preparation. |
| Paper 3 (Higher): Reading | 1 h | 50 | 25% | higher | Reading comprehension, working out word meanings, and translation from French into English. |
| Paper 4 (Higher): Writing | 1 h 15 min | 50 | 25% | higher | Writing in response to stimuli including open-ended tasks, and translation from English into French. |
Times are exam lengths; weightings are shares of the whole GCSE. Summaries are in our own words.
Good to know
- Tiers: All four papers must be taken at the same tier in the same series.
- Non-exam assessment: Speaking test (25%) is a non-exam assessment conducted by the teacher and marked by AQA. Speaking 'minutes' = upper end of the test length (7-9 or 10-12 minutes) excluding preparation.
- Version: Revised GCSE (DfE subject content 2022): first teaching September 2024, first exams May/June 2026. Replaces 8658 (last exams 2025).
- Routes: 2 possible combinations of papers; each adds up to 100%.
Not yet confirmed by us: 'Replaces 8658 (last exams 2025)': the AQA 8658 page points to 8652 for first teaching 2024; the last 8658 series was not read directly.. Check the specification.
Key dates
Summer 2027 exam series
- Entries deadline: Sun, 21 February 2027
- First exam: Mon, 10 May 2027
- Last GCSE exam: Fri, 18 June 2027
- Contingency day: Wed, 23 June 2027
- GCSE results day: Thu, 19 August 2027 (from a provisional board timetable)
Sources: JCQ key dates June 2027 (final (JCQ key dates)); JCQ key dates and timetables; JCQ timetable commentary. Check each board's final timetable for paper dates. Last checked 2026-10-20.
Specification, past papers and grade boundaries
- AQA: Specification at a glance (board website)
- AQA: Past papers and mark schemes (board website)
- AQA: Grade boundaries (board website)
Facts checked against: aqa.org.uk, aqa.org.uk.
More packs
Exam facts (paper names, times, marks, weightings, tiers, codes) are taken from each exam board's own specification pages and summarised in our own words; no specification text, papers or mark schemes are reproduced. Exam details checked against the board's specification on 2026-10-20. Always check the current specification on the board's website.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Ofqual and DfE pages on GOV.UK). Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education, Ofqual, JCQ, AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or WJEC Eduqas.
Questions teachers ask
How long are the AQA GCSE French exams?
Paper 1 (Foundation) (foundation): 35 min; Paper 3 (Foundation) (foundation): 45 min; Paper 4 (Foundation) (foundation): 1 h 10 min; Paper 1 (Higher) (higher): 45 min; Paper 3 (Higher) (higher): 1 h; Paper 4 (Higher) (higher): 1 h 15 min.