GCSE French
GCSE French is almost entirely a literacy qualification: learners listen to and read French, answer in English or Welsh, translate into English or Welsh, write in French about a studied work and to a stimulus, and speak for 7 to 10 minutes, with 20.5% of marks for grammar, vocabulary and sound-spelling accuracy and no dictionary in any unit. Numeracy is light and incidental: numbers 1 to 100, simple fractions, the 12 and 24 hour clock, dates, and graphs among the reading texts. The biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is secure, dictionary-free recall of core vocabulary and grammar, used every week in short translations and independent writing and speaking.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Oracy: Non-examination assessment, speaking test 7 to 10 minutes plus 10 minutes preparation, 60 marks, 30%
- Unit 2: Reading and Writing: Non-examination assessment 1 hour, 45 marks, 15%
- Unit 3: Listening: Written examination 45 minutes including 5 minutes reading time, 45 marks, 20%
- Unit 4: Reading and Writing: Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 70 marks, 35%
Skills that use Conceptual understanding
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Numbers, fractions and graphs in French texts
Learners are expected to know the numbers 1 to 100 in French, plus listed number words such as 'moitié' (half), 'tiers' (third) and 'un sur quatre' (one out of four). Unit 4 reading texts can include a graph, which learners must interpret and answer on in Cymraeg or English.
Numeracy: The number system, Relationships within the number system, Interpreting data, Conceptual understanding
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils play French number bingo to 100, then read a class bar chart of favourite hobbies labelled in French and say each total aloud.
- Year 8
- Pupils read a French infographic on how teenagers spend their free time, answer English questions on the figures, and turn phrases such as 'la moitié' and 'un sur quatre' into percentages.
- Year 9
- Pupils read a French newspaper graph on screen time by age, write two English sentences describing the trend, and one French sentence giving their own opinion of it.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 4 Reading and Writing, Areas of content, page 19
“factual texts such as an e-mail, poster, web page, letter, newspaper article, flyer, graph, advert”
Progression step 3
I can read and write numbers to 1 million and numbers to 3 decimal places.
I can use equivalence of fractions, decimals and percentages to compare proportions.
I can extract and interpret information from an increasing range of diagrams, timetables and graphs (including pie charts).
Progression step 4
I can read and write numbers of any size.
I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.
Progression step 5
I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.
I can represent a concept in different ways, flowing between different representations including verbal, concrete, visual, digital and abstract.
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Telling the time, dates and timetables
Learners must know the 12 hour and 24 hour clock in French, and the days of the week, seasons and months. These appear in announcements, role plays at stations and venues, and reading texts such as notices and flyers.
Numeracy: Measurement, Conceptual understanding, Strategic competence
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils say and write the date in French at the start of each lesson and match spoken French clock times to analogue clock faces.
- Year 8
- Pupils read a French cinema listing in 24 hour times and work out which film they could reach after school, giving the answer in a French sentence.
- Year 9
- Pupils listen to French station announcements, note departure times and platforms, and calculate the wait between two connecting trains.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Appendix B, Everyday language, Telling the time, page 37
“Learners should know both the 12 hour and 24 hour clock.”
Progression step 3
I can read and use analogue and digital clocks.
I can use and interpret calendars, timetables and schedules to plan events and activities, and make calculations as part of the planning journey.
Progression step 4
I can use timetables and time zones to calculate travel time.
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
Progression step 5
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
Good to know
- Dictionaries are banned in every unit: "Learners are not permitted to use a dictionary in any part of the assessment." (Summary of assessment, page 5).
- Unit 1 oracy allows only the learner's own notes: "or any other reference materials excluding the learner's own notes." (Section 3.2, Unit 1, page 21). Presentation preparation is time-limited: "The preparation period for the presentation may begin two weeks prior to the first timetabled assessment." (page 22).
- Unit 2 reading and writing NEA allows no reference materials at all: "Learners are not permitted to use dictionaries in any part of the assessment, or any other reference materials." (Section 3.2, Unit 2, page 22).
- Accuracy of language is assessed directly through AO3, "Demonstrate knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and sound-spelling correspondence.", weighted 8% in Unit 1, 5% in Unit 2 and 7.5% in Unit 4, 20.5% overall (Section 3.1, page 21). There is no separate SPaG mark for English or Welsh answers.
- Productive vocabulary is tied to the Appendix B lists: "Equal but no additional credit will be given for learners who use vocabulary outside the specified list in productive tasks." (Section 2, page 10).
- Unit 3 and Unit 4 questions are answered in English or Welsh, so learners' English or Welsh must be clear enough to show understanding: "respond to a range of questions in Cymraeg/English." (Unit 3, page 17).
- Unit 3 includes reading time before listening: "Written examination: 45 minutes (including 5 minutes' reading time)" (Unit 3, page 16).
- Number knowledge is limited to a stated range: learners "are expected to know the numbers" 1 to 100 (Appendix B, Numbers, page 40). The spec sets no calculation, mentions no calculator, and states no word limits for the writing tasks or whether responses are handwritten or typed.
Links with other qualifications
WJEC's Appendix C ticks literacy listening for Units 1 and 3, reading and writing for Units 2 and 4, and speaking for Unit 1 (page 94), and ticks only the number system strand of numeracy, for all four units (page 95).
Source: WJEC GCSE French specification, Teaching from 2025, For award from 2027, Version 3, June 2026.