Autumn 2021 assessments: Languages

Why are autumn assessments taking place in 2021?

The autumn series is primarily intended for candidates who wish to 'resit' a qualification if disappointed with the teacher-assessed grade issued in summer 2021.

Who is eligible to sit GCSEs and A levels in the autumn 2021 exam series?

The following guidance comes from the Ofqual consultation decisions: Arrangements for GCSE, AS and A level exams in autumn 2021 (13 May, 2021) document and refers to the eligibility criteria for candidate entry:

Any student who receives a teacher-assessed grade (TAG) in summer 2021, or who an exam board reasonably believes would have entered for the exams in summer 2021 had they taken place, can take the corresponding exams in autumn 2021.

Entries for International GCSEs and International A level offered will not be restricted in this way.

Which qualifications will be offered?

GCSE and A level:

GCSE and A level qualifications in all languages will be offered but any qualifications without candidate entries by the standard entry deadline will be withdrawn.

The following International GCSEs and International A levels will also be offered:

International GCSE:

• Arabic (First language)
• Bangla
• Chinese
• English as a second language
• Swahili

International AS and International A level

• Arabic

Entries for the above-listed International GCSEs this autumn will be open to all candidates including those wish to take the examination for the first time and not just to those  wishing to 'resit'. Similarly the International AS and International A level in Arabic will be open to all candidates registered at international centres.

A full list of the international qualifications available this autumn has been posted on the Pearson Edexcel Language teacher community.

Will speaking be assessed in autumn 2021?

A level:

Non-examination assessment (NEA) will, like last autumn, not feature in the autumn 2021 series so there will be no speaking tests for A level language candidates.

GCSE:

The Ofqual outcomes document does, however, state:

...students entering exams in autumn 2021for subjects that have a separate endorsement for... spoken language skills, should be able to carry forward any endorsement they already have...         

...This is built into our regulatory arrangements for the autumn 2021 series, making provision for any student who does not have such an endorsement, or who wishes to improve any endorsement they do have, to be able to be assessed in the autumn if their centre is willing to do so.  

Consequently, centres entering candidates for a GCSE language for the autumn series will be expected to submit a pass/merit/distinction/not classified level for their speaking endorsement. (This may be carried over from the previous series if wished*).  If this is not undertaken, the student will still be issued with a GCSE qualification, but the speaking endorsement will automatically be signposted as 'not classified' on their certificate.

International GCSE

Candidates entered for International GCSE in Chinese in the summer series will be expected to submit a pass/merit/distinction/not classified level for the speaking endorsement. (This may be carried over from the previous series if wished*). If this is not undertaken, the student will still be issued with an International GCSE qualification but the speaking endorsement will automatically be signposted as 'not classified' on their certificate.

Please note that the speaking endorsement is either not offered or is considered as an ‘option’ for the other International GCSEs available in autumn 2021.

*Guidance on 'resit' rules and transfer of endorsement levels is available separately.

Will adjustments be made to the papers?

GCSE

On 14 May 2021, Ofqual announced the outcomes of its consultation on the format of GCSE, AS and A level assessments for autumn 2021 and confirmed that the adjustments that were due to be applied in summer 2021 examinations will also apply to the autumn 2021 exam series for GCSE.  This includes potential for the removal or glossing of words in listening and reading papers that did not appear in the vocabulary list as well as an additional choice of question in the Foundation writing paper. For GCSEs in French, German and Spanish, the papers will also incorporate the Pearson Edexcel-specific changes originally intended for summer 2021 examinations.

Pearson Edexcel-specific changes (PDF | 1.1 MB)

International GCSE

For International GCSE, any adjustments that were due to be applied in the summer 2021 examinations and which also featured in the unseen assessment materials will be applied in autumn 2021. For Chinese, this included some removal of words that are not listed in the vocabulary list or glossing in the listening and reading papers.

A level 

In line with regulatory guidance, no adjustments have been made to the assessments for the autumn 2021 series. Students sitting A level examinations in the autumn 2021 series will still be able to achieve ‘full status’ qualifications but the assessment weightings for each language skill will be adjusted to compensate for the temporary removal of a speaking element. For A levels in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish, the weightings of papers 1 and 2 will increase from 40% and 30% to approximately 57% and 43% of the total qualification marks. 

Key dates

Please see the table below for the list of entry dates for the autumn (October/November) 2021 series:

Access the exam timetables for information on paper-specific dates and timings.