Edexcel GCSE Spanish Speaking — Higher Tier

The Pearson Edexcel GCSE Spanish Higher tier speaking exam (1SP1, first assessed 2026) has the same three tasks as Foundation, with longer expected responses and greater language complexity:

• Task 1 — Read aloud and 2 short unprepared questions: A longer, more complex text at Higher. Accurate pronunciation across a wide range of Spanish sounds is required.
• Task 2 — Role play in a transactional setting: At Higher, you produce two questions as part of the role play, and the scenario vocabulary is more demanding.
• Task 3 — Picture description, 2 short unprepared questions and follow-on conversation: At Higher, the unprepared questions use more complex tenses. The follow-on conversation is more exploratory, moving from description into extended opinions and wider themes. The conversation lasts approximately 5–5.5 minutes at Higher.

The exam lasts 10–12 minutes at Higher (50 marks, worth 25% of your GCSE). Preparation time is 15 minutes: 14 minutes supervised silent preparation plus 1 minute to practise the read aloud.

Read aloud and interaction carry 12 marks, Role play 10, Picture task 12 and conversation 16. Pronunciation is assessed in the reading; communication is assessed in the interaction. Select the thematic context in advance from choices generated according to Pearson's process. On the allocated stimulus, choose one of two pictures, describe it and answer two compulsory questions before the unprepared conversation on the same thematic context.

At Higher tier, practise using a varied range of relevant and accurate Spanish in the picture and conversation task. Develop opinions and respond to follow-up questions while keeping your answers clear and connected to the topic.

Pearson Edexcel uses task-specific marking. The read-aloud section assesses pronunciation, the short interaction and role-play assess communication, and the picture task applies its relevant communication and language criteria.

Higher targets grades 4–9. Using a varied range of relevant and accurate language can strengthen a response, but no single tense, expression or grammatical structure guarantees a particular grade.

For the Higher Read aloud, practise with texts that go beyond the most common vocabulary. The challenge at Higher is applying Spanish phonics rules accurately to less familiar words, not just familiar ones. Pay particular attention to words with qu and c/z, and to the rr sound in less familiar contexts.

ScoreMySpeech practice advice: for the picture and conversation task, practise giving opinions with relevant reasons, examples or time frames when they fit. Using a varied range of relevant and accurate language can strengthen a response, but no single tense, expression or grammatical structure guarantees a particular grade.