GCSE Spanish revision

AQA GCSE Spanish
Revision guide & verbs

AQA's GCSE Spanish (8692) is the most popular Spanish GCSE in England. It is examined entirely at the end of the course in four papers covering listening, speaking, reading and writing, each worth 25% of the final grade. All assessment content comes from three themes and one published vocabulary list.

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What's on the AQA GCSE Spanish exam

All four skills are assessed at the end of the course, in Foundation tier (grades 1-5) or Higher tier (grades 4-9). Every paper is worth 25% of the final grade, so balanced preparation across listening, speaking, reading and writing is essential.

PaperFoundation tierHigher tierWeight
Listening35 minutes, 40 marks45 minutes, 50 marks25%
Speaking7-9 minutes, 50 marks (+15 min prep)10-12 minutes, 50 marks (+15 min prep)25%
Reading45 minutes, 50 marks1 hour, 50 marks25%
Writing1 hr 10 min, 50 marks1 hr 15 min, 50 marks25%

Themes and topics

Assessment content is drawn from these 3 broad theme(s). Questions sample the same vocabulary and grammar across all of them, so learning high-frequency words once pays off everywhere.

People and lifestylePopular cultureCommunication and the world around us

The vocabulary list

Students must know 1,200 lexical items at Foundation tier and 1,700 at Higher tier (the Foundation list plus a further 500). At least 85% of the list is drawn from the 2,000 most frequent words in the language (Davies and Davies, Routledge frequency dictionary) — which is why the high-frequency verbs below are such a safe revision investment.

Verbs you need for AQA GCSE Spanish

These 118 verbs from our 128-verb library appear on the AQA Foundation and Higher vocabulary list. Each links to a full conjugation table for all 13 tenses, with example sentences, common mistakes and free typed practice. If you learn the conjugations of these, the writing and speaking papers get dramatically easier.

abriraceptaracompañaralquilaraprenderarreglarasistiraumentarayudarañadirbailarbarrerbebercambiarcaminarcantarcelebrarcenarcharlarcocinarcomercompartircomprarcomprenderconsistirconsumircontestarcorrercoserdeberdecidirdecirdejardependerdesayunardescansardescribirdeseardibujardiscutirdormirenseñarentraresconderescribirescucharesperarestarestudiarexistirfirmarganargastargritarguardarhablarhacerinsistirinvitarirlavarleerlimpiarllamarllenarllevarllorarmandarmetermirarmontarnadarnecesitarnotarocurrirodiarolvidarpararpasarpensarpermitirpintarpoderponerpreguntarprepararpresentarprometerquedarquererquitarrecibirregresarresponderrobarrompersabersalirseguirsentirsersorprendersubirsufrirtemertenerterminartirartomartrabajarunirusarvendervenirverviajarvisitarvivir

How to revise AQA GCSE Spanish

Reading tables builds recognition, not recall, and exam questions demand recall. On Practicar Verbos you type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback — the fastest way to make verb endings automatic before the exam.

Frequently asked questions

What papers are in AQA GCSE Spanish 8692?
Four papers, each worth 25%: Paper 1 Listening, Paper 2 Speaking, Paper 3 Reading and Paper 4 Writing. All are taken at the end of the course.
How many words are in the AQA GCSE Spanish vocabulary list?
1,200 lexical items at Foundation tier and 1,700 at Higher tier. At least 85% come from the 2,000 most frequent words in Spanish.
What are the three AQA GCSE Spanish themes?
People and lifestyle, Popular culture, and Communication and the world around us. Every question samples vocabulary from these themes.
Is AQA GCSE Spanish tiered?
Yes. Foundation tier covers grades 1-5 and Higher tier grades 4-9. You enter for a single tier across all four papers.

Start practising AQA verbs now

Free typed conjugation practice across 13 tenses, built for GCSE recall. No card, no premium tier.

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On another board?

AQA GCSE Spanish · Edexcel GCSE Spanish · Eduqas GCSE Spanish · all boards

Last updated 2 August 2026. Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.