Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) French (1FR1)
Exam structure at a glance for Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) French: every paper with its time, marks and weighting, plus tiers, practicals and the links you need.
- Board
- Pearson Edexcel
- Specification code
- 1FR1
- Tiers
- Foundation and higher
- 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): Speaking in French Non-exam assessment | 9 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Internally conducted, externally assessed: read aloud with short interaction (12), role play (10), picture task (12) with conversation (16); 7-9 minutes plus 15 minutes' preparation. |
| Paper 2 (Foundation): Listening and understanding in French | 45 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Listening questions in English (40 marks) and a dictation (10 marks); 45 minutes including 5 minutes' reading time. |
| Paper 3 (Foundation): Reading and understanding in French | 45 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Reading questions in English (40 marks) and translation from French into English (10 marks). |
| Paper 4 (Foundation): Writing in French | 1 h 15 min | 50 | 25% | foundation | Picture task (8), two open responses (14 and 18) and translation into French (10). |
| Paper 1 (Higher): Speaking in French Non-exam assessment | 12 min | 50 | 25% | higher | Same three tasks as Foundation; 10-12 minutes plus 15 minutes' preparation. |
| Paper 2 (Higher): Listening and understanding in French | 1 h | 50 | 25% | higher | Listening questions in English (40 marks) and a dictation (10 marks); 60 minutes including 5 minutes' reading time. |
| Paper 3 (Higher): Reading and understanding in French | 1 h | 50 | 25% | higher | Reading questions in English (40 marks) and translation from French into English (10 marks). |
| Paper 4 (Higher): Writing in French | 1 h 20 min | 50 | 25% | higher | Two open responses (18 and 22) and translation into French (10); word counts recommended. |
Times are exam lengths; weightings are shares of the whole GCSE. Summaries are in our own words.
Good to know
- Non-exam assessment: Speaking (25%) is conducted by the school and assessed by Pearson. 'minutes' = upper end of the test time, excluding 15 minutes' preparation.
- Version: Revised GCSE (DfE subject content 2022): first teaching 2024, first assessment 2026 (Pearson qualification page).
- Routes: 2 possible combinations of papers; each adds up to 100%.
Not yet confirmed by us: Tier rule (whether all papers must be at the same tier) not read from the spec; check the entries section.. 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
- Pearson Edexcel: Specification at a glance (board website)
- Pearson Edexcel: Specification (PDF, board website)
- Pearson Edexcel: Past papers and mark schemes (board website)
- Pearson Edexcel: Grade boundaries (board website)
Facts checked against: qualifications.pearson.com, qualifications.pearson.com.
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 Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) French exams?
Paper 2 (Foundation) (foundation): 45 min; Paper 3 (Foundation) (foundation): 45 min; Paper 4 (Foundation) (foundation): 1 h 15 min; Paper 2 (Higher) (higher): 1 h; Paper 3 (Higher) (higher): 1 h; Paper 4 (Higher) (higher): 1 h 20 min.