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Our tutors will work around your schedule to organise a session whenever you would like. Only pay for tutoring you have completed.
Two kinds of GCSE tutor
Choose between top-performing recent graduates or qualified teachers. Either way, our matching process finds you a tutor based on subject, exam board, target grade and availability.
Academic Tutors
from $50 USD/hr
Top performing graduates who achieved top grades in the subject they teach.
- We accept only the top 5% of tutor applicants.
- Each tutor is chosen for their academic results, teaching ability, and connection with students.
Relatable role model: work with a tutor who is similar in age and can be a peer
Affordability: academic tutors are more cost-effective than professional tutors
First-hand experience: they sat these papers recently and know what worked
Professional Tutors
from $75 USD/hr
Current or past qualified teachers and examiners with 5+ years professional teaching experience.
- We only select highly experienced, qualified GSCE teachers.
- Every teacher is assessed on their teaching expertise, subject knowledge, and ability to engage students.
Quality assurance: trained and accredited teaching qualifications
Guaranteed track record: years of experience helping students succeed
Subject expertise: deep understanding of content and exam board requirements
Due to our international operations we quote our prices in USD. Pound amounts are an indicative conversion and you will be invoiced in USD.
Academic Tutors
from £37 GBP/hr
Top performing graduates who achieved top grades in the subject they teach.
Relatable role model: work with a tutor who is similar in age and can be a peer
Affordability: academic tutors are more cost-effective than professional tutors
First-hand experience: they sat these papers recently and know what worked
Professional Tutors
from £56 GBP/hr
Current or past qualified teachers and examiners with 5+ years professional teaching experience.
Quality assurance: trained and accredited teaching qualifications
Guaranteed track record: years of experience helping students succeed
Subject expertise: deep understanding of content and exam board requirements
Meet our GCSE French tutors
Our team is a combination of GCSE graduates who sat these exams recently and qualified teachers with years of classroom and examining experience.
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Maria Beatrice teaches maths, biology and french and prepares students for admission in prestigious universities and faculties (such as medicine, economics, engineering and architecture).
She is a med student currently in her sixth year of studies, she has attended Bocconi university for one year before realizing that medicine was the right path for her.
Before university she completed high school diplomas (American, French and Italian), she graduated with honors and 4 AP exams (in which she got the scores 5,5,5,4) in Los Angeles and then got a double diploma in Milan.
Maria Beatrice has a deep interest in scientific subjects and in emergency medicine; she, indeed, volunteers as an ambulance rescuer.
Maria Beatrice has a long experience with tutoring, she started tutoring while still in high school because she loved sharing her knowledge with her peers.
She has been teaching A-level students for 5 years and has helped go through SAT and University admission tests preparation for more than 4 years.
She loves discovering new and different methods personally adjusted for each individual students, she also treasures being challenged every day and her main goal is to make students feel understood since she went through the same experiences and knows how pressured they can feel.
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Roger achieved 11 A*s at GCSE in the UK and is currently pursuing a degree in Economics at Columbia University and Sciences Po Paris. He tutors GCSE and iGCSE students, with a particular focus on Economics and related subjects. He is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French, and is comfortable working with students for whom English is not their first language. Roger is a rigorous and dedicated tutor who aims to make lessons engaging while building students’ confidence and interest in the subject.
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Deborah is a highly experienced French teacher and native speaker from Paris, with over 20 years of teaching experience in British and international schools. She specialises in preparing students for A-Level, GCSE and IGCSE French examinations, combining expert subject knowledge with a thorough understanding of examination requirements.
She served as the sole class teacher for students from Chelsea Football Club who completed their A-Level French course online with her. She took full responsibility for delivering the curriculum, planning and teaching all lessons, assessing their progress, and preparing them thoroughly for their final A-Level examinations.
Deborah has also successfully tutored numerous GCSE and IGCSE students online from international schools around the world. She adapts her lessons to different examination boards, educational backgrounds and individual learning needs, ensuring that every student receives focused and personalised support.
As a Pearson Edexcel GCSE / IGCSE French Examiner, Deborah offers valuable insight into assessment criteria, examination techniques and the common challenges students face. Her lessons systematically develop speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar and translation skills, with particular attention given to examination strategy and confident communication.
Deborah’s approach is structured, engaging and results-driven. She creates personalised learning plans that address each student’s strengths and areas for improvement, helping them build confidence, make measurable progress and achieve or surpass their target grades.
With extensive experience as Head of Language Acquisition at a leading international school in London, Deborah also brings considerable expertise in curriculum design, lesson planning and academic leadership. She is approachable, supportive and highly organised, making her an excellent choice for students seeking expert preparation for GCSE, IGCSE or A-Level French.
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Andra P graduated from Bocconi University with a BSc in International Economics and Management and is now beginning her Master’s in Management at London Business School. She achieved 9 A*s in her IGCSEs and has several years of tutoring experience, particularly in Mathematics, Economics and Geography.
Andra is familiar with the GCSE, IGCSE and A-Level curricula and focuses her tutoring on building strong subject knowledge alongside the exam skills students need to perform at their best. Her lessons place particular emphasis on breaking down difficult concepts, working through exam-style and past-paper questions, and developing effective problem-solving and revision strategies.
She adapts her teaching to each student’s level, syllabus and individual goals, with the aim of making lessons both rigorous and approachable. Andra believes that strong results come from a combination of clear understanding, consistent practice and confidence, and she works to ensure that students feel supported and increasingly independent in their learning.
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Achraf (Ash) is a Mathematics, Physics and French tutor with over 4 years of teaching experience across GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and Further Mathematics. He has worked with students following major UK exam boards including Edexcel, AQA and OCR, supporting learners ranging from those strengthening core foundations to high-achieving students targeting Grades 8–9 and top A-Level results.
Ash graduated from the University of Bristol with a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering (MEng), giving him a strong academic background in advanced mathematics, mechanics, statistics, modelling and problem-solving. His professional experience also includes work as a Reusable Rocket Engineer and Mathematics AI Trainer, where he developed and reviewed complex mathematical and engineering problems.
His tutoring is structured, exam-focused and highly adaptive. He helps students understand difficult concepts clearly, develop stronger problem-solving habits and improve their exam technique through targeted practice, past-paper questions and step-by-step feedback. He also supports students preparing for Further Mathematics and university admissions-style problem solving, including ESAT-type questions.
Ash has taught students from a wide range of ability levels and focuses on building both confidence and mathematical independence so that students can perform consistently under exam conditions.
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Karim T is an accomplished English Language and Literature educator, English as a Second Language (ESL) specialist, and communication professional with a distinguished academic record and extensive experience in international secondary education. His professional expertise is particularly focused on IGCSE, O-Level, and A-Level English Language and English as a Second Language, with a strong commitment to developing students’ linguistic accuracy, communication skills, academic writing, critical thinking, and confidence in using English effectively.
Karim earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Translation with a Minor in Communication from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), graduating Summa Cum Laude as the Valedictorian of his graduating class with a GPA of 3.72 (Excellent with Honors).
His academic excellence was established at an early stage. He graduated from Nefertari British International School under the IGCSE system with an outstanding 9 A*s, a result officially recognized by Egypt’s Central Coordination Office as equivalent to 100%, and graduated as the Valedictorian of his high school class. This achievement made Karim a two-time Valedictorian, having graduated first in both high school and university.
Professionally, Karim has developed substantial experience teaching English Language, English as a Second Language, and English Language & Literature within international secondary-school settings. His teaching experience encompasses students preparing for IGCSE and O-Level examinations, as well as advanced A-Level English Language study. He has worked extensively on developing students’ reading comprehension, writing proficiency, vocabulary, grammar, spoken communication, analytical skills, and ability to communicate effectively for both academic and real-world purposes.
Karim’s approach to IGCSE and O-Level English emphasizes building a secure foundation in language while developing the examination skills required for success. He supports students in mastering comprehension, directed writing, descriptive and narrative writing, summary skills, vocabulary, grammar, sentence construction, and effective written expression. Particular emphasis is placed on helping students understand how language choices influence meaning, tone, purpose, audience, and overall effectiveness.
At A-Level, Karim adopts a more sophisticated and analytical approach to English Language, guiding students toward advanced language analysis, discursive and argumentative writing, linguistic terminology, textual interpretation, and the ability to construct precise, coherent, and well-supported academic responses. He encourages students to move beyond simply identifying language features and instead develop the ability to explain how and why language choices create particular effects and meanings.
His experience also includes teaching within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, where he taught English Language & Literature and Theory of Knowledge. This background has further strengthened his ability to cultivate higher-order thinking, academic writing, independent inquiry, and sophisticated communication skills. He has successfully guided graduating Diploma Programme cohorts through demanding academic requirements while maintaining a broader focus on intellectual development and university readiness.
As an English as a Second Language educator, Karim places particular importance on helping learners become confident, accurate, and independent users of English. His instruction combines explicit language development with meaningful communication, enabling students to strengthen their grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while developing the confidence to use English in academic, professional, and everyday contexts.
Committed to continuous professional development, Karim has completed official International Baccalaureate Category 2 professional development workshops in Theory of Knowledge and English B, complementing his broader expertise in international English-language education.
Beyond teaching, Karim’s multidisciplinary background includes research and development, public speaking, strategic communication, and educational innovation. His academic training in translation and communication has given him a particularly strong understanding of language, audience, register, purpose, and effective communication—skills that directly inform his approach to English Language and ESL instruction.
Karim is driven by the belief that effective English education extends beyond examination preparation. His goal is to equip students with the language proficiency, analytical ability, academic confidence, and communication skills necessary to succeed in IGCSE, O-Level, and A-Level examinations while preparing them for higher education and an increasingly interconnected global environment.
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Virginia was born and educated in Spain and later qualified as a teacher in the UK. She also holds a Master’s degree in Translation.
She has been teaching IB Spanish and French since 2010 and has over 10 years of experience teaching IGCSE Spanish, as well as extensive experience teaching A Level Spanish. Throughout her career, she has worked in international schools in the UK, the UAE, Germany, China, and Thailand, teaching students from a wide range of nationalities, backgrounds, and abilities.
Virginia is an IB examiner and a certified examiner for other official exam boards, which means she has an in-depth understanding of what examiners are looking for and how students can maximise their marks. She particularly enjoys helping students master exam technique and strategies, develop their language skills, build confidence, and achieve results they can be proud of.
The tutors you see here are just a selection from our team of hundreds of tutors, please contact our Learning Advisors to discuss tutoring options
Why GCSE French needs the right tutor
What makes GCSE French hard
GCSE French tests four separate skills, and each one goes wrong in its own way. You have to follow recorded speech at near normal speed, read texts containing some unfamiliar words, write accurately under time pressure and speak to a teacher without a dictionary. French also makes accuracy harder than it looks: genders, adjective agreements, past participle agreements and silent endings mean that a sentence can sound right and still be written wrong.
Other things that make it hard:
- Dictation on the new AQA and Edexcel listening papers, where silent letters and linked sounds must be spelt correctly from sound alone
- Translation in both directions, where one wrong tense or agreement costs marks in an otherwise good answer
- Unprepared conversation in the speaking test, which rewards developed, spontaneous answers rather than learned scripts
- Moving between the perfect, imperfect and future tenses, including the irregular verbs that examiners rely on
- Listening and reading questions that hinge on a negative, an opinion or a change of mind partway through
How tutoring changes the outcome
Our French tutors work from your board's own past papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports, and run timed mock speaking tests in your board's format. Sessions target where French marks are actually lost:
- genders, agreements and verb endings in writing and in translation into French
- listening and dictation answers spoiled by misheard negatives, numbers or time frames
- speaking answers that are too short, or too rehearsed to survive unprepared follow-up questions
- writing tasks that miss a bullet point or never move beyond the present tense
What you'll learn in GCSE French tutoring
Core skills developed
The new UK GCSEs from AQA and Edexcel share three assessment objectives with the same weightings: understanding and responding to spoken language (35%), understanding and responding to written language (45%), and accurate use of the grammar and vocabulary prescribed in the specification (20%). Both boards publish the exact vocabulary and grammar each tier can test. WJEC in Wales uses a similar three-way split of 38%, 41.5% and 20.5%. Cambridge, Edexcel International and OxfordAQA instead weight listening, reading, speaking and writing at 25% each. We work through past-paper questions skill by skill, so you can see whether listening, accuracy or speaking is costing you marks rather than just seeing a lower total.
- Listening for gist, detail and opinion in recordings at near normal speed
- Reading French texts closely and translating them into natural English
- Writing accurately across past, present and future time frames
- Speaking spontaneously in role plays, photo or picture tasks and conversation
- Controlling core grammar: genders, agreements, pronouns and irregular verbs
How are students assessed
Every board assesses listening, reading, speaking and writing. On AQA, Edexcel, Edexcel International, Cambridge and OxfordAQA there is no coursework, and all papers are sat in one series at the end of the course. The speaking test is conducted and recorded by your teacher, usually shortly before the written exams. AQA, Edexcel, Edexcel International and OxfordAQA mark the recordings themselves, while Cambridge has the teacher mark the test and moderates a sample. WJEC in Wales is the exception: 45% of its GCSE is non-exam assessment, made up of an oracy test and a one-hour reading and writing task, both marked by external examiners.
- Listening and reading comprehension: past-paper recordings and texts drilled for detail, opinions and time frames, including dictation where your board sets it
- Translation and writing: answers checked line by line for verb forms, agreements and coverage of every bullet point, in both directions between French and English
- Speaking: timed mock tests in your board's format, with unseen role plays, photo or picture cards and unprepared conversation questions
What GCSE French topics do we cover?
OxfordAQA GCSE French
Four papers, each worth 25%, sat at the end of the course in May/June or November, with no tiers. Paper 1: Listening (50 minutes including 5 minutes' reading time, 40 marks). Paper 2: Speaking (10 minutes plus 10 minutes' preparation, 40 marks) is a photo card and a general conversation, conducted by the teacher and marked by OxfordAQA. Paper 3: Reading (1 hour 15 minutes, 60 marks) ends with a translation into English of at least 50 words. Paper 4: Writing (1 hour 15 minutes, 60 marks) includes a translation into French and an open-ended task of about 150 words.
Theme one: Identity and culture
- Topic 1: Me, my family, friends and people I know
- Topic 2: Technology in everyday life
- Topic 3: Free-time activities
Theme two: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
- Topic 1: Home, town, neighbourhood and region
- Topic 2: Social issues
- Topic 3: Global issues
- Topic 4: Travel and tourism
Theme three: Current and future study and employment
- Topic 1: My studies
- Topic 2: Life at school/college
- Topic 3: Education post-16
- Topic 4: Jobs, career choices and ambitions
OxfordAQA's themes follow AQA's previous UK GCSE French (8658), but the qualification is untiered, so every student sits the same papers and can reach grade 9. Listening and Reading each include a section with questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally, and the speaking test has no role play. Sessions on this board practise answering questions set in French and prepare the general conversation, which carries 25 of the 40 speaking marks.
WJEC GCSE French
Eduqas, WJEC's brand in England, discontinued its GCSE French after the final assessment in summer 2025, so this board now applies to schools in Wales only. WJEC's Made-for-Wales GCSE French is first awarded in summer 2027. It has four units and no tiers. Unit 1: Oracy (non-exam assessment, 7–10 minutes plus 10 minutes' preparation, 60 marks, 30%) and Unit 2: Reading and Writing (a 1-hour non-exam assessment, 45 marks, 15%) are completed in the final year, the oracy test in a five-week period in April and May and the Unit 2 task in a window between March and May. Unit 3: Listening (45 minutes, 45 marks, 20%) and Unit 4: Reading and Writing (1 hour 30 minutes, 70 marks, 35%) are sat in the summer. It is graded A*–G.
Broad themes
- language for leisure and wellbeing
- language for travel
- language for study and work
The oracy test has three tasks: a read aloud and role play, a presentation and discussion, and a conversation. Preparation for the presentation can begin two weeks before the first timetabled assessment. Unit 4 includes a translation from French into Welsh or English, because the qualification is offered in both languages. Sessions on this board prepare the presentation and its follow-up discussion and practise the Unit 2 task under timed conditions.
IAL GCSE French
Three papers, all sat in the June series at the end of the course. Paper 1: Listening (30 minutes plus 5 minutes' reading time, 40 marks, 25%) has seven recorded tasks, each heard twice. Paper 2: Reading and Writing (1 hour 45 minutes, 80 marks, 50%) has a reading section and a writing section made up of a 60–75 word task, a 130–150 word task chosen from three, and a grammar task. Paper 3: Speaking (8–10 minutes, 40 marks, 25%) is conducted by a teacher and marked by Pearson. There are no tiers.
A. Home and abroad
- 1 Life in the town and rural life
- 2 Holidays, tourist information and directions
- 3 Services (e.g. bank, post office)
- 4 Customs
- 5 Everyday life, traditions and communities
B. Education and employment
- 1 School life and routine
- 2 School rules and pressures
- 3 School trips, events and exchanges
- 4 Work, careers and volunteering
- 5 Future plans
C. Personal life and relationships
- 1 House and home
- 2 Daily routines and helping at home
- 3 Role models
- 4 Relationships with family and friends
- 5 Childhood
D. The world around us
- 1 Environmental issues
- 2 Weather and climate
- 3 Travel and transport
- 4 The media
- 5 Information and communication technology
E. Social activities, fitness and health
- 1 Special occasions
- 2 Hobbies, interests, sports and exercise
- 3 Shopping and money matters
- 4 Accidents, injuries, common ailments and health issues
- 5 Food and drink
The speaking test is unusual: students choose and bring their own picture for Task A, then hold two conversations on topics picked at random by Pearson, and three different topics must be covered across the three tasks. Sub-topics A3, C3, C5, D2 and E4 are not tested in speaking. The writing section also includes a grammar task in which words in brackets must be changed into the correct form. Sessions on this board help students choose a picture that meets Pearson's requirements and practise conversations across every speaking topic.
EDEXCEL GCSE French
Four papers, each worth 25%, all taken at the same tier. Paper 1: Speaking in French (7–9 minutes Foundation, 10–12 minutes Higher, plus 15 minutes' preparation; 50 marks) has a read aloud task, a role play and a picture task with conversation. Paper 2: Listening and understanding in French (45 minutes Foundation, 60 minutes Higher, including 5 minutes' reading time; 50 marks) ends with a 10-mark dictation. Paper 3: Reading and understanding in French (45 minutes Foundation, 60 minutes Higher; 50 marks) ends with a translation into English. Paper 4: Writing in French (1 hour 15 minutes Foundation, 1 hour 20 minutes Higher; 50 marks) includes a translation into French. Speaking takes place in a five-week period in April and May and the written papers in May/June. This specification was first examined in 2026.
Thematic contexts
- My personal world
- Lifestyle and wellbeing
- My neighbourhood
- Media and technology
- Studying and my future
- Travel and tourism
Edexcel gives students some control over the speaking test: two of the six thematic contexts are randomly generated by Pearson, the student picks one in advance for the picture task, and the conversation starts in that context. The writing paper sets open-response questions in both formal and informal contexts, so choosing the right register matters, and Higher students write two extended answers worth 18 and 22 marks. Sessions on this board prepare every thematic context for the picture task and practise formal and informal writing to the recommended word counts.
AQA GCSE French
Four papers, each worth 25%, sat at the end of the course at either Foundation or Higher tier. Paper 1: Listening (35 minutes Foundation, 45 minutes Higher; 40 or 50 marks) ends with a dictation of short sentences. Paper 2: Speaking (7–9 minutes Foundation, 10–12 minutes Higher, plus 15 minutes' supervised preparation; 50 marks) has a role-play, a reading aloud task with a short conversation, and a photo card discussion. Paper 3: Reading (45 minutes Foundation, 1 hour Higher; 50 marks) ends with a translation into English. Paper 4: Writing (1 hour 10 minutes Foundation, 1 hour 15 minutes Higher; 50 marks) includes a translation into French. This specification was first examined in 2026 and replaced AQA's previous GCSE French (8658).
Theme 1: People and lifestyle
- Topic 1: Identity and relationships with others
- Topic 2: Healthy living and lifestyle
- Topic 3: Education and work
Theme 2: Popular culture
- Topic 1: Free-time activities
- Topic 2: Customs, festivals and celebrations
- Topic 3: Celebrity culture
Theme 3: Communication and the world around us
- Topic 1: Travel and tourism, including places of interest
- Topic 2: Media and technology
- Topic 3: The environment and where people live
AQA's specification is built on a prescribed vocabulary list of 1,200 words for Foundation and a further 500 for Higher, and the Listening and Reading texts are written mainly from that list. The dictation and the reading aloud task test the links between sounds and spelling directly, so pronunciation and spelling are assessed as skills in their own right. The photo card discussion is the largest speaking task, worth 25 of the 50 marks, and most of it is unprepared conversation. Sessions on this board work through the vocabulary list systematically and practise dictation, reading aloud and unprepared conversation alongside past-paper questions.
CIE GCSE French
Four papers, all compulsory and each worth 25%, with no tiers. Paper 1 Listening (about 50 minutes, 40 marks) uses multiple-choice and matching questions. Paper 2 Reading (1 hour, 45 marks) adds questions needing short written answers in French. Paper 3 Speaking (about 10 minutes plus 10 minutes' preparation, 40 marks) is one role play and two topic conversations. Paper 4 Writing (1 hour, 45 marks) is a form-filling task, a directed writing task of about 80–90 words and an email/letter or article/blog of about 130–140 words. Exams run in June and November, with a March series in India for 0520; 7156 sits the same papers and is graded 9–1. Cambridge has published a revised syllabus for first examination in 2028, in which every paper is worth 40 marks and the Reading paper becomes entirely multiple-choice.
Topic areas
- A Everyday activities
- B Personal and social life
- C The world around us
- D The world of work
- E The international world
Cambridge is the only one of these boards where your own teacher marks the speaking test, with Cambridge moderating a sample. The role play and both topic conversations are allocated from a randomisation grid, so every topic area needs preparing, and until 2028 no notes can be made during the preparation time. In the writing paper, Question 3 carries 28 of the 45 marks. Sessions on this board practise role plays and topic conversations across all five areas and give the extended writing task the most time.
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GCSE French tutoring for both tiers
Whichever tier you are entered for, we match you with a tutor who knows those papers and the grades they lead to. Not sure which tier is right? Your tutor will help you decide before entries close.
Foundation (or core) tier tutoring
Foundation papers use a smaller vocabulary and simpler tasks, and the highest grade available is a 5.
- Learn the core vocabulary, around 1,200 words at Foundation
- Speaking practice with a tutor, including the read-aloud and role-play tasks
- Accurate short writing, so simple sentences earn full marks
Higher (or extended) tier tutoring
Higher papers use a wider vocabulary and more demanding tasks, and open grades up to a 9, but a result below a 3 is ungraded.
- Extend to the full Higher vocabulary, around 1,700 words
- Translation both ways, using the tenses and structures examiners reward
- Confident, spontaneous answers in the speaking exam
We teach both tiers for AQA and Edexcel, as well as the untiered Cambridge IGCSE, Edexcel International GCSE, OxfordAQA and WJEC courses.
FAQs
We have answers to your most frequently asked questions. Anything not answered here, please reach out to our team.
Yes. Our GCSE French tutors teach both tiers on AQA and Pearson Edexcel. You sit all four skills at the same tier, so lessons cover listening, speaking, reading and writing at the level of your entry. On Foundation, that means the core vocabulary of around 1,200 words and accurate short answers. On Higher, it means the full vocabulary of around 1,700 words, translation both ways and spontaneous speaking. If your child is between tiers, their tutor will help you choose before entries close.
On AQA and Pearson Edexcel, Foundation covers grades 1–5 and Higher covers 4–9, and you sit all four skills at the same tier, so you cannot take Higher listening and Foundation writing. A Higher student who narrowly misses grade 4 can be given a grade 3, but below that the result is U. In June 2026, grade 4 needed 108 out of 200 on AQA Higher but 134 on AQA Foundation, because Foundation papers are easier and the boundaries are set higher. Anyone who needs a 6 or 7 for A-Level French must take Higher, and students who are confident in speaking and writing with some range of tenses usually do better on it. Students still building basic vocabulary are safer on Foundation. The IGCSEs and OxfordAQA are untiered, so everyone sits the same papers. Sources: AQA and Pearson.
GCSE French means the UK specifications from AQA and Pearson Edexcel, while IGCSE French means Cambridge IGCSE French 0520 (7156 on the 9–1 scale) or Edexcel International GCSE 4FR1. All of them test listening, speaking, reading and writing, but the UK GCSEs are tiered, follow a set vocabulary list and include dictation and read-aloud tasks, while the IGCSEs are untiered and Edexcel International combines reading and writing in one paper worth 50%. Universities and sixth forms accept both. The UK GCSE is sat in May and June only, while Cambridge IGCSE and Edexcel International GCSE also run a full November series, which suits students outside the UK and anyone who needs a resit. Read more about online IGCSE tutoring.
Each sixth form and college sets its own entry requirements, so check the prospectus of the one you're applying to. As a guide, most ask for a grade 6 or 7 in GCSE French for A-Level French, taken at Higher tier, and many selective schools ask for a 7. If you take Cambridge IGCSE on the A*–G scale, a grade A is broadly equivalent to a 7 and a C to a 4, the points that were aligned when the 9–1 scale was introduced (GOV.UK grading factsheets), so a requirement of grade 6 usually means a strong B. See A-Level French.
GCSE French tutoring with an academic tutor costs from $50 USD (£38) per hour, and packages save 5–15%, which suits weekly lessons that build vocabulary and speaking confidence steadily, with extra mock speaking exams before the test window. Pay as you go is invoiced after each lesson, with no lock-in contracts. Professional tutors (qualified teachers and examiners) cost from $75 USD (£56) per hour. See pricing.
Late cancellations and no-shows are charged at half the lesson fee. That applies if you cancel less than one hour before the start time, or don't turn up. You can still change a session time whenever you need to, as long as you give your tutor notice.
Our academic tutors are high-achieving graduates and undergraduates who scored in the top band in French themselves, and our professional tutors are qualified teachers or examiners with 5+ years' experience. We accept only the top 5% of applicants. You are matched to a tutor who knows your board, so they can run a mock speaking exam in French to your board's format and mark your writing and translations the way an examiner would. Read more about our GCSE tutors and how we select tutors.
Lessons are one-to-one and online, with a tutor matched to GCSE French, your exam board and your target grade. Each session works on your weakest areas using past paper questions from your own board, whether that is AQA, Pearson Edexcel, Edexcel International GCSE or Cambridge IGCSE 0520. For French that usually means vocabulary learned steadily from your board's list, translation drills on verb forms and agreements, and regular mock speaking exams with unprepared questions. See how it works or start with the student application.
It is demanding because you are tested on four separate skills, and each one has its own traps. Listening questions use the full vocabulary list at natural speed, and the new UK specifications add a dictation. In writing and translation, marks depend on accurate verb forms, agreements and tenses, and in the speaking exam you have to answer unprepared questions. Vocabulary is the foundation of all four, so students who learn it steadily from Year 9 have a real advantage. Our online GCSE tutoring focuses on exactly those areas.
In summer 2026, 9.0% of GCSE French entries in England achieved a grade 9 and 30.2% achieved a 7 or above (JCQ), from 120,020 entries. Internationally the figures are higher: 28.6% of Edexcel International GCSE French candidates achieved a 9 (provisional figures from Pearson), and 23.2% of Cambridge IGCSE French candidates achieved an A* (Cambridge). A 9 needs accurate grammar under pressure, a wide vocabulary, translation without errors and a speaking exam that sounds spontaneous rather than memorised.
Grade boundaries are set after each exam series and change every year, so older figures are only a guide. In June 2026, AQA's Higher tier grade 9 boundary for French was 179 out of 200 (90%), with grade 4 at 108 (54%), and Foundation grade 4 needed 134 (67%). Pearson Edexcel's Higher grade 9 was 175 out of 200 (88%), with grade 4 at 107, and Foundation grade 4 needed 141. Edexcel International GCSE 4FR1 set grade 9 at 128 or 130 out of 160 (80–81%), depending on the papers taken, and Cambridge IGCSE 0520's A* threshold was 167 or 168 out of 200 (84%). Sources: AQA, Pearson, Pearson International and Cambridge.
There is no coursework on AQA, Pearson Edexcel, Edexcel International GCSE, Cambridge IGCSE or OxfordAQA, but every board has a speaking exam worth about a quarter of the grade. It is conducted and recorded by your teacher, usually in April or May, and on the UK GCSEs it includes a role play, a read-aloud task, a photo card and a conversation. AQA, Pearson and OxfordAQA mark the recordings themselves, while Cambridge has the teacher mark the test and moderates a sample. The exception is WJEC in Wales, where 45% of the GCSE is non-exam assessment. See the Edexcel International specification.
GCSE French is assessed by exams in listening, speaking, reading and writing, each worth 25%, all sat at the end of the course at either Foundation or Higher tier on AQA and Pearson Edexcel. The new UK specifications, first examined in 2026, test a set vocabulary list, include a dictation in the listening paper and a read-aloud task in the speaking exam, and ask for translation in both directions. Edexcel International GCSE 4FR1 is untiered, with listening (25%), a combined reading and writing paper (50%) and speaking (25%), and Cambridge IGCSE 0520 sets four papers worth 25% each. See the AQA specification.
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Resources for GCSE students
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