GCSE Chinese (Mandarin): the papers, the marks and how to get a 9 (video)
GCSE Chinese for Pearson Edexcel and AQA: each paper, how the speaking exam is marked, grade boundaries to 2026, examiners' advice and a plan to a 9.
Chapters
- 0:00Start
- 0:24The short answer
- 0:49Who you're graded against
- 1:28Marks for a 9
- 1:54The speaking test
- 2:58The conversation
- 3:44The written papers
- 4:43What HSK level is it?
- 5:09A 12-week plan
- 5:37Dates for 2027
- 5:59What to do next
Transcript
Start
In 2026, more than three in four UK students who sat Pearson Edexcel GCSE Chinese got a grade nine. Most candidates grew up speaking Chinese. So if you're learning it at school, you need a different yardstick. From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: GCSE Chinese. The papers, the marks, and how to get a grade nine.
The short answer
The short answer. GCSE Chinese is four papers of equal weight: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Pearson Edexcel and AQA both set it, at Foundation or Higher tier. In 2026, a grade nine on Higher took more than four in five of the marks, on both boards. And the speaking conversation alone is worth an eighth of the GCSE.
Who you're graded against
So is GCSE Chinese hard if you don't speak it at home? In June 2026, 77.9% of Edexcel's UK candidates got a grade nine, and 31.6% of AQA's. In French, it was under 10% on both boards. The grades reflect who sits the exam. Most candidates speak Chinese at home. So use a better yardstick. An evaluation of the government's Mandarin Excellence Programme found that more than a third of its pupils without Chinese heritage reached an eight or nine. A grade seven is a strong result, and a nine is possible.
Marks for a 9
How many marks do you need for a grade nine? In 2026, on the Higher tier, it took 229 of 280 at Edexcel, and 212 of 240 at AQA. That's about 82% and 88%. A grade seven took about 60%. And the line for a grade nine keeps rising. It's gone up every year since 2024, so aim a few marks above it.
The speaking test
Now, speaking. On both boards, half the speaking marks are in the last part, the conversation with your teacher. The rest is a role play and a task built on a photo. Examiners listen for four things: developed answers, opinions with a reason, three time frames, and clear tones. The role play gives you a scene, like a hotel, and five prompts, each worth up to two marks. A question mark means you ask a question. 请问，早饭几点开始？ An exclamation mark means an unseen question, so guess it in advance. In 2025, Edexcel's examiners found most Higher students dropped marks on the questions they had to ask. Then the photo task. Describe the photo first: who, where, and what they're doing. Then the questions move out to your own experiences and opinions. And AQA's examiners note that a guess needs a reason. 他们很高兴，因为他们都在笑。 They're happy, because they're all smiling.
The conversation
The conversation is where the boards differ most. At Edexcel, you pick a topic at least two weeks ahead, and talk for up to a minute before the questions. At AQA, you pick a whole theme, and a prepared speech doesn't work. AQA also takes a mark if you don't ask your teacher a question. So ask one early. A statement plus 你呢, what about you, is fine. Top marks go to answers that develop and connect. Here's one of ours. 我觉得学中文非常有用，因为很多人说中文。 I think learning Chinese is really useful, because so many people speak it. Then add a past story, a complex structure and a future plan. Learn the building blocks rather than a script.
The written papers
Writing tests characters by hand. At AQA in 2026, half the writing marks were enough for a grade seven, but a nine took 85%. Cover every bullet point: both boards' top bands need them all. Misread bullets show up in every year's reports, so underline each bullet's question word and time frame. And watch for characters that sound right but aren't. In translation, marks leak through small words. Laptop is 笔记本电脑, and many students wrote tablet. And although needs both halves in Chinese: 虽然 and 但是. Practise translation for five minutes a day. In listening and reading, you answer in English, and the first matching word can trap you. Edexcel's examiners saw students pick red as soon as they heard 红. Give one answer per mark. Tick exactly the number of boxes asked. And answer from the text or recording, not from what you know about mooncakes.
What HSK level is it?
What HSK level is GCSE Chinese? There's no official match, but by our count, it's about HSK 3. About three fifths of AQA's Higher list and two thirds of Edexcel's are on HSK 1 to 3. The rest are mostly topic words, like 宠物, pet, which is HSK 5. And the two boards' lists share only about half their entries, so learn your own board's list.
A 12-week plan
Here's our 12-week plan, at about 40 minutes a day. Weeks 1 to 3: write conversation answers for every theme, then say them without notes. Weeks 4 to 6: a role play and a photo task every day. Weeks 7 to 9: record a full mock each week. Weeks 10 to 12: unseen questions on your weak themes. Speak Chinese at home? Flip the balance toward accurate characters.
Dates for 2027
When is it? In 2027, speaking tests run from mid-April to late May. Listening and reading are on Tuesday 11 May, and writing on Thursday 20 May. Results come out on Thursday 19 August. Schools must enter you by 21 February. Sitting it privately? Find a centre that can run your speaking test.
What to do next
So, what next? Check your board and tier. Do one role play this week, with 12 minutes to prepare. Start a mistake list, and read your board's latest examiners' reports. SayMei's three GCSE workbooks are free with a SayMei account. They're practice tasks in the GCSE format, made by SayMei, which isn't affiliated with either board. You can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's teacher, in a short spoken lesson at your level. The full guide, with every source, is on the page at saymei dot app.