<h2>Spanish</h2><p>Exam Board: Edexcel</p><p>The Spanish GCSE course has been designed to help students of all abilities progress and develop a passion for languages, through culturally engaging content. The course will enable you to manipulate and use the target language effectively, independently and creatively. You will be given opportunities to develop awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where Spanish is spoken while developing language-learning strategies and skills both for immediate use and to prepare for further language study in school, higher education or employment.</p>

<p>Five main themes will be studied during the course:</p>

<p><strong>Identity and culture</strong></p>

<p>The topics covered in this theme are &ldquo;friends and family&rdquo;, &ldquo;daily life&rdquo; and &ldquo;cultural life&rdquo;. Your will be required to learn key-vocabulary that will enable to understand, speak and write about family relationships, social and leisure activities, customs, festivals and celebrations (ie: Christmas in Spain, the day of the dead in Mexico, etc&hellip;)</p>

<p><strong>Local area, holiday and travel</strong></p>

<p>This theme covers topics such as &ldquo;town, region and country&rdquo; and &ldquo;holidays and tourist transactions&rdquo;. You will learn key-words related to the weather, places to see, things to do, holiday destinations and experiences.</p>

<p><strong>School</strong></p>

<p>With this theme you will learn key-vocabulary that will enable you to understand, speak and write about your school day, your teachers, your school rules, school trips and events.</p>

<p><strong>Future aspirations, study and work</strong></p>

<p>This theme covers topics such as &ldquo;the world of employment&rdquo; and &ldquo;future aspirations&rdquo;. You will be expected to learn key-words related to professions, volunteering and other career plans.</p>

<p><strong>International and global dimension</strong></p>

<p>This theme covers topics related to international events and global issues. You will be taught key-vocabulary related to sports events (ie: the Olympics or the football world cup), campaigns and good causes (ie: the fair trade) and environmental problems and solutions.</p><h3>Assessment</h3><p>The Spanish GCSE qualification consists in four externally examined papers available at Foundation tier or Higher tier. You will be entered for a single tier across all papers, each one worth 25% of the total qualification.</p>

<p><strong>Speaking paper</strong></p>

<p>You will be assessed on your ability to communicate and interact in Spanish for different purposes and in different settings.</p>

<p>Foundation:&nbsp;7&ndash;9 minutes plus 12 minutes preparation time (70 marks)</p>

<p>Higher: 10&ndash;12 minutes plus 12 minutes preparation time (70 marks)</p>

<p><strong>Listening paper</strong></p>

<p>You will be assessed on your understanding of standard spoken Spanish.</p>

<p>Foundation: 35 minutes plus 5 minutes reading time (50 marks)</p>

<p>Higher: 45 minutes plus 5 minutes reading time (50 marks)</p>

<p><strong>Reading paper</strong></p>

<p>You will be assessed on your understanding of written Spanish across a range of different types of texts. The paper will include a translation into English.</p>

<p>Foundation: 45 minutes (50 marks)</p>

<p>Higher: 1 hour (50 marks)</p>

<p><strong>Writing paper</strong></p>

<p>You will be assessed on your ability to communicate effectively through writing in Spanish for different purposes and audiences.</p>

<p>Foundation: 1 hour 10 minutes (60 marks) &ndash; 3 tasks and one translation into Spanish.</p>

<p>Higher: 1 hour 20 minutes (60 marks) &ndash; 2 tasks and one translation into Spanish.</p>