GCSE French, German and Spanish (new specifications)

Published: Friday 13 Sep 2024

We’ve made a change to the number of Speaking assessment task cards for the new GCSE French (8652), German (8662) and Spanish (8692) specifications (first teaching September 2024, first exams summer 2026).

We’ve reduced the number of Speaking assessment task cards from 9 to 6 of each type (6 x role-plays, 6 x reading aloud tasks and 6 x photo cards for each tier).

The change has been approved by Ofqual and does not impact the format of the Speaking tasks in any way.

The accredited sample assessments available on our website for French, German and Spanish remain unchanged, as we want to make sure that you have as many examples of each task (9 of each) to help prepare your learners for the first exams in 2026.

The second set of sample papers, planned for release on our secure website Centre Services later this term, will follow the new format. The Speaking assessment materials for the 2026 exam series and beyond will also follow this new format, ie 6 role-plays, 6 reading aloud tasks and 6 photo cards per tier for each set of assessments.

If you have any questions about the new GCSE specifications, please contact us by email at mfl@aqa.org.uk or call 01423 534381.

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