A level Chinese: the papers, the IRP, the set works and what an A* takes (video)
A level Chinese (Pearson 9CN0) since 2026: each paper, the IRP, the eight set works, what examiners reward, A* boundaries with a calculator, and a plan.
Chapters
- 0:00Start
- 0:29The short answer
- 0:55What changed in 2026
- 1:20The three papers
- 2:03What an A* takes
- 2:42Speaking: the theme card
- 3:40Speaking: the research project
- 4:20The written papers
- 5:18HSK level and a study plan
- 6:14What to do next
Transcript
Start
In 2023, fewer than one in twenty UK candidates got an A star in A level Chinese. By 2025, it was more than four in ten. The regulator had stepped in over papers pitched at native speakers, and from 2026, the exam itself changed. From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: A level Chinese. The papers, the research project, the set works, and what an A star takes.
The short answer
The short answer: in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, A level Chinese means Pearson Edexcel's exam. Three papers: listening, reading and translation; essays and translation; and speaking, built around your own research project. Since 2026, Paper 1's questions are in English. And in June 2026, an A star took 329 of 400 marks.
What changed in 2026
In December 2025, Ofqual fined Pearson £505,000 over A level Chinese. So from June 2026, Paper 1's questions and answers are in English. Each set work gets two essay questions, and there are eight works, up from six. Speaking doesn't change. Older past papers still help: answer their listening and reading questions in English.
The three papers
Paper 1 is listening, reading and a translation into English: two hours, 80 marks, 40% of the A level. Paper 2 is a translation into Chinese, then two essays: two hours 40, 120 marks, 30%. Paper 3 is speaking: 21 to 23 minutes, plus five to prepare, for 72 marks and 30%. Speaking and the two essays carry 55% of your grade. And look at the research presentation: two minutes, for 5% of the A level. Each essay takes about an hour, for 12.5%. So a minute of speaking is worth several times a minute of essay writing.
What an A* takes
So what does an A star take? Pearson scales your papers to 400 marks. Paper 1 marks count double, essay-paper marks count once, and each speaking mark counts 1.667. An A star took 330 in 2024 and 2025, and 329 in 2026. That's about 82% for an A star, and 75% for an A. Because Paper 1 counts double, a few more right answers in listening and reading move you further than anything else. Put your mock marks in the calculator on the guide's page, and it does the scaling for you.
Speaking: the theme card
The speaking exam opens with a theme card: a statement and two questions. You get five minutes to prepare, with notes on one side of A4. Then the examiner asks the card's questions and broadens the talk. In 2025, examiners saw discussions that never left the card. Here's how we'd use the five minutes. Find the key word, and decide if you agree. Note two reasons with examples from a Chinese-speaking society, and one counterpoint. Write two questions for the examiner: asking their view earns marks. And note one link to the wider theme. Then open with a position: 我部分同意这个看法, I partly agree with this view. And mind your tones. An accent doesn't cost marks, but a slip that blocks the meaning does. The specification's example: 看书, read a book, said as 砍树, chop down trees.
Speaking: the research project
Then comes your independent research project, the I R P. You pick a question about Chinese-speaking society or culture, read at least two written sources in Chinese, and talk for 10 to 11 minutes. One rule costs the whole task: a project on one of your set works scores zero. The presentation comes first, and can't run past two minutes. Summarise at least two named sources, their authors' main points, and what you think. Cover only one, and the most you can score is 3 of 12. Every examiner report from 2023 to 2025 flagged presentations that named no source.
The written papers
Paper 1 gives no marks for the quality of your English, only for the right information. So give exactly the number of details asked, and keep the qualifiers: 'newly graduated students' isn't just 'students'. Both translations are marked in sections, a mark each. Add to a section, drop or change it, and it earns nothing. In the 2025 mark scheme, 'this tremendous change' was one section. 这个巨大的变化 earned the mark. Plain 大的 didn't. And a wrong character never scores, even when it sounds right. For the essays, you pick two of eight set works, but never two films. You write in Chinese, without the book. The commonest weakness, in all three essay reports we read? Retelling the story instead of analysing it. So we'd answer in the first sentence, make three points with evidence, and link each back to the question.
HSK level and a study plan
What HSK level is it? By our count, words up to HSK 5 cover about 95% of Pearson's sample Paper 1. But theme words like 贫富差距, the wealth gap, aren't on the HSK lists. So build two word banks: HSK 5, and the themes. Here's our six-month plan, from November. Fix your research question, and read your first two Chinese sources. In December, time a two-minute presentation every week. In January, two theme cards a week, recorded. Finish your RP3 form in February, and sit a mock speaking exam in March. In 2027, speaking tests run from the 15th of April, Paper 1 is on the 19th of May, and Paper 2 on the 27th. If you grew up speaking Chinese, plan more pen-and-paper time. If you learned at school, practise talking at length without a script.
What to do next
So, what next? Read Pearson's sample papers: they're the only official ones in the 2026 format. Choose your research question this term. Run one theme card a week, out loud. Check the calculator after every mock. And start your two word banks. You can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's teacher, in a short spoken lesson at your level. The guide's two A level workbooks, made by SayMei, are free with a SayMei account. The full guide, with every source, is on the page at saymei dot app.