GCSE Spanish: Exam Structure by Board
Your Teacher Information Pack for GCSE Spanish: how the exams are built for each board, the key dates for summer 2027, and links to specifications, past papers and grade boundaries.
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- Qualification
- GCSE (9 to 1)
- Years
- Year 10 and Year 11 (KS4)
- Boards covered
- AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Entries 2026 (England)
- 132,680 (no. 13 by entries)
- Last checked
- 2026-10-20
Entries: Ofqual provisional entries, summer 2026 (rounded).
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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Exam structure by board
Pick your board to see every paper with its length, marks and weighting, plus practicals, tiers and links.
AQA GCSE Spanish (8692)
Tiers: Foundation and higher (foundation grades 1-5, higher 4-9) · first taught 2024
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weight | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (Foundation): Listening | 35 min | 40 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 2 (Foundation): Speaking Non-exam assessment | 9 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 3 (Foundation): Reading | 45 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 4 (Foundation): Writing | 1 h 10 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 1 (Higher): Listening | 45 min | 50 | 25% | higher |
| Paper 2 (Higher): Speaking Non-exam assessment | 12 min | 50 | 25% | higher |
| Paper 3 (Higher): Reading | 1 h | 50 | 25% | higher |
| Paper 4 (Higher): Writing | 1 h 15 min | 50 | 25% | higher |
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Spanish (1SP1)
Tiers: Foundation and higher · first taught 2024
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weight | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (Foundation): Speaking in Spanish Non-exam assessment | 9 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 2 (Foundation): Listening and understanding in Spanish | 45 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 3 (Foundation): Reading and understanding in Spanish | 45 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 4 (Foundation): Writing in Spanish | 1 h 15 min | 50 | 25% | foundation |
| Paper 1 (Higher): Speaking in Spanish Non-exam assessment | 12 min | 50 | 25% | higher |
| Paper 2 (Higher): Listening and understanding in Spanish | 1 h | 50 | 25% | higher |
| Paper 3 (Higher): Reading and understanding in Spanish | 1 h | 50 | 25% | higher |
| Paper 4 (Higher): Writing in Spanish | 1 h 20 min | 50 | 25% | higher |
Full Pearson Edexcel pack · specification on the Pearson Edexcel website
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.
Official documents
- Grade boundaries: AQA
- Grade boundaries: Pearson Edexcel
- Grade boundaries: OCR
- Grade boundaries: WJEC Eduqas
- JCQ access arrangements
More packs
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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 many papers are there in GCSE Spanish?
AQA 8692: 6 exam papers; Pearson Edexcel 1SP1: 6 exam papers. Check the board's specification for options and routes.
Is GCSE Spanish tiered?
Yes. Students are entered for foundation or higher tier.