Looking for english lessons?
Private candidates · June 2027

GCSE & IGCSE Spanish for home-educated students

If your child learns at home, the hard part of GCSE Spanish is not the grammar: it is finding a centre that will enter them and run the speaking exam, in time. Here are the official 2027 dates, how private entry works for AQA and Cambridge, what each paper asks for, and a free practice paper in the GCSE Higher format that you can do on this page.

Try the practice paper See the 2027 dates
Official calendar

GCSE Spanish 2027: the dates that matter

England, June 2027 series. The common dates come from the JCQ (the body of the exam boards) and the paper dates from AQA, the board most centres use for GCSE Spanish.

DateWhat happens
20 Nov 2026Entry information for the June 2027 series becomes available to centres: a good moment to ask them about places, fees and their own deadlines.
21 Feb 2027JCQ deadline for GCSE entries. It is the deadline for centres, not for families: most centres want private candidates to apply weeks earlier.
10 May 2027First exam on the common timetable.
24 May 2027Speaking test deadline AQA for Foundation and Higher. The centre does the test before this date and may set an earlier one.
9 Jun 2027 (am)Listening (Foundation 35 min, Higher 45 min) and Reading (Foundation 45 min, Higher 1 h) AQA
16 Jun 2027 (pm)Writing (Foundation 1 h 10 min, Higher 1 h 15 min) AQA
18 Jun 2027Last GCSE exam on the common timetable.
23 Jun 2027Contingency day, used only if exams are disrupted nationally or locally.
19 Aug 2027GCSE results day. Private candidates collect them from the centre where they sat the exams.

Sources, checked on 3 November 2026: JCQ key dates, June 2027 and AQA GCSE Spanish 8692 key dates. Wales (WJEC) and Northern Ireland (CCEA) publish their own dates. Cambridge IGCSE runs its own June and November series.

Two routes

AQA GCSE (8692) or Cambridge IGCSE (0530)?

Both are open to private candidates. In practice the choice is often made by the centre: pick the exam that a centre near you will accept your child for, speaking test included.

AQA GCSE Spanish 8692Cambridge IGCSE Spanish 0530
Private candidatesYes, through an AQA-approved school or college in the UK that agrees to take them. Not available outside the UK.Yes, through a Cambridge exam centre.
SeriesJuneJune and November
Tiers and gradesFoundation or Higher, the same tier for all four papers. Grades 9 to 1.One tier for everyone, grades A* to G.
PapersListening, Speaking, Reading, Writing: 25% each.Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing: 25% each.
SpeakingDone by a teacher at the centre, marked by AQA. 15 min supervised preparation, then 7–9 min (Foundation) or 10–12 min (Higher): role play, reading aloud with questions, photo card and conversation.About 10 min, done and marked at the centre, moderated by Cambridge: a role play with 5 questions and two topic conversations of about 4 min. No notes allowed during preparation.
What is differentA dictation in the listening paper, a translation into English in reading and a translation into Spanish in writing.Listening and reading are mainly multiple choice and matching. Writing: a form, a directed text and an email, letter, article or blog.

Sources, checked on 3 November 2026: AQA 8692 scheme of assessment, AQA private candidates and the Cambridge IGCSE Spanish 0530 syllabus 2025–2027.

The bottleneck

The speaking exam is what decides where you can sit

Listening, reading and writing are ordinary exams in a hall. The speaking test is not: a teacher at the centre has to run it with your child, record it and send it to the board. AQA says that a centre must only accept a private candidate if it is willing to do this, and that not every school or college can take private candidates. So the order that works is this:

  1. Choose the board after you find the centre, not before. Ask each centre which Spanish specification it runs for private candidates (AQA 8692, Cambridge 0530 or another).
  2. Ask about the speaking test by name. «Will you conduct the GCSE Spanish speaking test for a private candidate, and in which weeks?» A centre that takes private candidates for maths may not do it for languages.
  3. Ask for the fee and the centre's own deadline from 20 November 2026, when entry information reaches centres. Fees are set by each centre, and their deadline comes before the JCQ one of 21 February.
  4. Agree the tier early. With AQA the same tier, Foundation or Higher, applies to all four papers, speaking included. It cannot be mixed.
  5. Practise the format, not only the language. Fifteen minutes of preparation and then a role play, a text to read aloud and a photo card in one sitting: it is the part home-educated students have done least, because nobody has examined them before.
Inside the papers

What AQA Higher actually asks for

From AQA's own sample papers for the current specification. Read them on the AQA website: AQA 8692 assessment resources. This is what they have in common.

Listening

Higher · about 45 min · 50 marks

Section A: short recordings with questions in English. Expect to choose letters, decide whether an opinion is positive, negative or both, place something in the past, present or future, and fill gaps with one English word.

Section B: a dictation of 5 short sentences, at least 30 words at Higher. Each one is heard three times: whole, in short chunks, whole again. Spelling and accents count.

Reading

Higher · 1 h · 50 marks

Section A: articles, emails, posts and headlines with questions in English. The same question types as listening, plus «What does this word mean?» on a word that was not taught, to be guessed from context.

Section B: a translation into English of at least 50 words at Higher.

Writing

Higher · 1 h 15 min · 50 marks

A translation into Spanish of 5 sentences (10 marks). In the sample, each sentence tests a different structure: preterite, near future, a present with «but», the imperfect for a habit and «acabar de».

Then one task of about 90 words with 3 bullet points (15 marks) and one of about 150 words with 2 bullet points (25 marks), each with a choice of two. The bullets move between past, present and future: every one needs an answer to get the top marks.

Speaking

Higher · 10–12 min + 15 min preparation · 50 marks

Role play (10 marks): 5 prompts, one of which asks the student to ask a question.

Reading aloud (15 marks): a text of at least 50 words, 5 marks for pronunciation, then 4 compulsory questions on the topic.

Photo card (25 marks): describe two photos, then an unprepared conversation on the same theme.

Free practice paper

A practice paper in the GCSE Higher format

Written by Rise Language Lab for this page: new texts and questions with the same structure as the AQA Higher papers, not copied from them. Do it on screen, check your answers and read why each one is right. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

1. Reading

8 marks

You read this post on a Spanish school's website. Answer the questions.

Mi instituto organizó el mes pasado un reto: pasar una semana entera sin móvil. Al principio pensé que iba a ser imposible, porque normalmente lo miro antes de desayunar. Los dos primeros días me sentí un poco perdida y no sabía a qué hora quedaban mis amigos. Sin embargo, a partir del miércoles empecé a leer por la noche y dormí mucho mejor. Mi hermano, en cambio, no aguantó ni dos días. El año que viene el instituto quiere repetir el reto durante dos semanas. Yo voy a participar otra vez, aunque echaré de menos los mensajes de mi abuela, que vive en Chile. (Lucía, 16)
1. The challenge was organised by…
2. Before the challenge, Lucía usually looked at her phone…
3. In the first two days she…
4. Her brother…
5. Read the last sentence again. What does «echaré de menos» mean?

Write P for something in the past, N for something happening now, F for something in the future.

6. Sleeping better
7. A two-week challenge
8. Her grandmother living in Chile

1 B: «Mi instituto organizó…». 2 A: «lo miro antes de desayunar»; «por la noche» is when she started reading, a classic trap. 3 C: «no sabía a qué hora quedaban mis amigos»; sleeping better came from Wednesday. 4 B: «no aguantó ni dos días» = he didn't even last two days. 5 A: «echar de menos» = to miss someone or something; «echaré» is the future.

6 P: «dormí», preterite. 7 F: «el año que viene… quiere repetir». 8 N: «vive», present. In these questions the verb ending gives the answer, not the topic.

2. Dictation

10 marks · 41 words

Press play: each sentence is read three times, as in the exam (whole, in chunks, whole again). Write exactly what you hear, with accents. The voice is your browser's Spanish voice, so it may sound slightly robotic.

1. Mi hermana mayor trabaja en un hospital.
2. Ayer fuimos a la playa con mis primos.
3. Quiero viajar a México el año que viene.
4. Hay demasiada basura en las calles de mi ciudad.
5. Si tuviera más tiempo, aprendería a tocar la guitarra.

Where marks go: the silent h in «hay» and «hermana» (never «ay»), v and b that sound the same («viajar», «basura»), the ll of «calles», and the accents on «México», «año» and «más». In green, words you got right; in yellow, a word that is right except for an accent; in red, a word that is wrong or missing.

3. Translation into Spanish

10 marks

Translate these sentences into Spanish. Each one hides a different structure: find it before you write.

  1. Last summer we stayed in a hotel near the beach.
  2. My parents are going to buy a new car next month.
  3. When I was little, I always watched cartoons on Saturdays.
  4. I have never eaten paella, but I would like to try it.
  5. My friend has just sent me a photo of her dog.

1. El verano pasado nos quedamos en un hotel cerca de la playa. Preterite of a reflexive verb: «nos quedamos», not «estuvimos quedando».

2. Mis padres van a comprar un coche nuevo el mes que viene. Near future, «ir a» + infinitive; the adjective goes after the noun.

3. Cuando era pequeño (pequeña), siempre veía dibujos animados los sábados. Imperfect for a past habit, twice: «era» and «veía». «On Saturdays» is «los sábados», with no preposition.

4. Nunca he comido paella, pero me gustaría probarla. Perfect tense, conditional, and the object pronoun attached to the infinitive: «probarla».

5. Mi amiga acaba de enviarme una foto de su perro. «To have just» is «acabar de» + infinitive, in the present. «Her dog» is «su perro».

Each sentence is marked for conveying the meaning and for accurate language. A small spelling slip may still get the communication mark; a wrong tense usually does not.

4. Translation into English

10 marks · 53 words

Translate this passage into English.

El sábado pasado mi familia y yo fuimos al mercado del pueblo. Mi madre compró fruta y verdura, y mi padre habló durante una hora con un vecino. Yo prefiero las tiendas grandes porque hay más ropa, pero tengo que admitir que en el mercado los productos son más frescos y más baratos.

Last Saturday my family and I went to the village market. My mum bought fruit and vegetables, and my dad talked to a neighbour for an hour. I prefer big shops because there are more clothes, but I have to admit that at the market the products are fresher and cheaper.

Watch out for: «fuimos» (went, not «were»), «durante una hora» (for an hour), «hay más ropa» (there are more clothes: «ropa» is singular in Spanish and plural in English), and «más frescos y más baratos» (fresher and cheaper, not «more fresh»). Natural English scores better than a word-for-word copy.

5. Writing

15 + 25 marks
About 90 words. You are writing an article about school and free time. Mention:
  • what you like about your school
  • what you did last weekend
  • a hobby you would like to try in the future.
0 words
About 150 words. You are writing a blog post about the environment. Mention:
  • why it is important to look after the area where you live
  • something you did recently to help the environment.
0 words

Cover every bullet. The top band needs something on each one, and the bullets are built to make you use three time frames: present (what you like), past (last weekend, something you did recently) and future or conditional (a hobby you would like to try).

Give opinions with reasons («me gusta… porque…», «lo mejor es que…») and link ideas with «sin embargo», «además», «aunque».

At 150 words, show range: a conditional («me gustaría», «si pudiera…»), an object pronoun, «para» + infinitive, a comparison. Being «about» the word count is fine; writing far more only adds errors.

A teacher has to mark this part: send it to us and we will correct it in your first lesson.

6. Speaking

practise out loud
Role play. You are talking to your Spanish friend about holidays. Answer in Spanish.
  • Say where you went on your last holiday.
  • Give one opinion about the food there.
  • Say who you usually go on holiday with.
  • Say what you would like to visit in Spain.
  • Ask your friend a question about their holidays.
Reading aloud. Read this text aloud, then answer the four questions.
En mi barrio hay un parque enorme donde los jóvenes juegan al fútbol por las tardes. Los fines de semana organizan un mercado de segunda mano y mucha gente vende ropa, libros y juguetes. A mí me encanta porque es barato y ayuda al medio ambiente. Además, siempre encuentro algo interesante para regalar a mis amigos.
  • ¿Qué hay para los jóvenes en tu barrio?
  • ¿Compras ropa de segunda mano? ¿Por qué (no)?
  • ¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana pasado?
  • ¿Cómo te gustaría que fuera tu barrio en el futuro?

Role play: «El verano pasado fui a Escocia con mi familia.» · «La comida era deliciosa, sobre todo el pescado.» · «Normalmente voy de vacaciones con mis padres y mi hermano.» · «Me gustaría visitar la Alhambra, en Granada.» · «¿Adónde vas a ir de vacaciones este año?»

Role play tips: one complete sentence per prompt, with a verb, is enough. The question is the prompt students forget: prepare it first during the 15 minutes.

Reading aloud: the 5 marks are for pronunciation. The usual slips are the h («hay» sounds like «ai»), the j and the g before e or i («jóvenes», «gente»), the single tap of r against the rolled rr, and the stress on words with an accent («fútbol», «además»). The last question asks for a conditional or a future: «Me gustaría que hubiera más…» is Higher; «Quiero más…» still answers it.

Photo card: describe who is in each photo, where they are and what they are doing, then give an opinion. In lessons we use real photos and run the unprepared conversation at exam length.

Honestly

What we can do, and what we can't

Rise Language Lab is an online Spanish school run by a native ELE teacher from Spain. We prepare students; we are not an exam centre.

We can

  • Teach your child one-to-one online, following the GCSE or IGCSE themes and the tier they are entered for.
  • Run mock speaking tests in the exam format: 15 minutes of preparation, role play, reading aloud and photo card.
  • Practise dictation and translation both ways, and mark written answers.
  • Lessons are €30 an hour with a class pack, with no registration fee.

We can't

  • Enter your child for the exam, or find a centre for you.
  • Conduct or mark the official speaking test: only the centre can do that.
  • Hand out past papers: they belong to the exam boards, and AQA and Cambridge publish theirs on their own websites.

For younger children or a full home-education Spanish course, see Spanish for homeschooling. Not sure of the level? Try the free Spanish level test.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can a home-educated student take GCSE Spanish?
Yes, as a private candidate. With AQA you enter through an AQA-approved school or college in the UK that agrees to accept you; AQA does not offer exams to private candidates outside the UK. Cambridge IGCSE Spanish (0530) can also be taken by private candidates, through a Cambridge exam centre.
When is the entry deadline for the June 2027 GCSE exams?
The JCQ deadline for GCSE entries for the June 2027 series is 21 February 2027. That is the deadline for exam centres: most centres ask private candidates to apply well before it, so contact them in the autumn.
Who runs the speaking exam for a private candidate?
The exam centre. For AQA GCSE Spanish the speaking test is conducted by a teacher at the centre and marked by AQA, and a centre should only accept a private candidate if it is willing to do this. For Cambridge IGCSE the centre conducts and marks the speaking test and Cambridge moderates it. Ask every centre specifically whether it will run the Spanish speaking test before you rely on it.
Should we choose AQA GCSE or Cambridge IGCSE Spanish?
It usually depends on which exam a centre near you will accept you for, especially for the speaking test. AQA GCSE has two tiers, a dictation in the listening paper and translations both ways. Cambridge IGCSE has one tier graded A* to G, a June and a November series, and a speaking test with a role play and two topic conversations.
Can Rise Language Lab run the official speaking test?
No. Rise Language Lab is not an exam centre: it cannot enter students, run the official speaking test or supply live papers. What we do is prepare the student: one-to-one online lessons with a native Spanish teacher, mock speaking tests in the exam format, dictation and translation practice, and marked writing.

Getting ready for June 2027?

Tell us the board, the tier and when the speaking test is, and we will plan the lessons backwards from that date.

Contact us Ask on WhatsApp