Sent to parents and carers of students in tutor group HL1 on 19/3/25

Home Language Speaking Exams Schedule

for GCSE in Polish, Portuguese, Russian & Urdu

 

I am writing to let you know that Home Languages students will take their Speaking Test as follows:

  • Wednesday 7 May (Polish, Russian and Urdu)
  • Friday 9 May (Portuguese)

Students will be given a precise time and location the week before their test.  Please note that tests cannot be rescheduled as the school pays for visiting examiners and invigilators on these specific days.

As the Speaking Test is worth 25% of the total GCSE marks, it is important to prepare carefully.  The test has three parts:

  • Role Play
  • Photo Description
  • Conversation on two topics

The ‘Conversation’ carries most marks and students should spend time over the Easter holidays to ensure they know what they would say to answer these questions. A copy of this document can be found here:

GENERAL CONVERSATION QUESTIONS POLISH

Example GCSE Questions

 

Students will have one formal practice for their Speaking Test before their real exam.  The dates are as follows:

  • Friday 25 April for Portuguese (15-minute slot between 12:30 and 15:00)
  • Wednesday 23 April provisionally for Polish (date and time to be confirmed)

 

For Russian and Urdu, I will arrange a practise slot either just before or just after the Easter holidays.

Students will be given a timetable for the other exam components (Listening, Reading and Writing), which will take place after their Speaking tests.

These are listed for you below:

  • Polish: Tue 3 June, afternoon (Listening & Reading); Fri 13 June, afternoon (Writing)
  • Portuguese: Tue 3 June, morning (Listening & Reading); Fri 13 June, afternoon (Writing)
  • Russian: Tue 3 June, morning (Listening & Reading); Thurs 12 June, afternoon (Writing)
  • Urdu: Mon 19 May, afternoon (Listening & Reading); Mon 2 June, morning (Writing)

If you would like to do some exam preparation with students, I would recommend accessing past papers on the websites below:

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our students well in the GCSE preparation. If you have any questions, please email me at school.

Regards

Miss G Cesarano

Team Leader for Languages

Email: gianna.cesarano@attrust.org.uk

 

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