Our new GCSE German and Spanish specifications have been accredited

We’re delighted to let you know that our new GCSE German (8662) and GCSE Spanish (8692) specifications have been accredited by Ofqual. The new GCSE German and Spanish specifications and sample assessment materials are available on our German and Spanish pages ready for first teaching in September 2024.

For Paper 1 (Listening), we’re now preparing the recordings to accompany the listening tests and we’ll be able to share them with you soon – we’ll let you know when they are available.

Our accredited specifications

Throughout this reform process we’ve been guided by the subject criteria and the feedback and decisions made by the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual.

We’ve developed our new GCSE Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) specifications for learners of all abilities, focusing on making our assessments clear and accessible with engaging and relevant content.

Our new specifications showcase the cultural diversity of languages by showing students the value of language learning as a life-long skill while making sure they can achieve the results they deserve.

We’ve spoken to many of you throughout this reform, taking your feedback on board and making changes as a result. Some of the decisions we’ve made have been challenging, but we’ve always focused on the best interests of learners and teachers throughout the development. 

You can be confident that we’re here to support you – with assessment expertise, resources and training, and with our subject knowledge as you start to teach.

Our support and resources

We’ve got a full support package of training and resources lined up to guide you through the changes, including our ’Introduction to the new specification’ launch events which took place this term. In these sessions, we provided a detailed overview of the new GCSE specification and detailed summary of the expert resources and support on offer. If you missed these events, you can register to watch a recording on demand.

Our dedicated page has all the information and support you need in the run up to first teaching in 2024 and first assessment in 2026.

From spring term 2024 we’ll be holding virtual and face-to-face training events for French, German and Spanish to help you prepare to teach the new specifications. These events will be led by one of our subject experts and will include a detailed look at all aspects of the new assessments. To register for these events, visit our professional development page.

Further information

To find out more about the new specifications and how we can support you, you can book a one-to-one call with your local account manager. Our account managers offer you free-of-charge personalised local support in school so that you can get expert curriculum guidance at a time that suits you.

You can also keep up to date by signing up for subject updates.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at mfl@aqa.org.uk or call 01423 534 381.