Lesson 1
El instituto y las asignaturas.
Your school, your subjects and your opinions on them — the bread and butter of every speaking and writing exam about education. Work through the eight steps below: learn the words, read, listen, translate, then practise the photo card, role-play and writing exactly as they appear in the AQA exam.
Refresh your KS3 school words.
You met all of these in earlier years. Tap any word to hear it, and check the model sentence to see it in action. These are the building blocks — make sure they're solid before the new GCSE words.
Twenty new GCSE words.
Each card shows the word, its meaning, a model sentence and a tag: F on the AQA list (Foundation & Higher), H Higher only, útil not on AQA's list but very useful for speaking & writing. Tap to listen.
Read, then answer.
Two texts on the same topic — a Foundation text and a tougher Higher text. Read each one, then answer the questions in English underneath. They mark themselves: tap your answer and you'll see straight away if you're right.
Mi instituto — Pablo
Lo bueno y lo malo del insti
Listen, then answer.
Press play to hear the passage read aloud, as many times as you need, then answer the English questions. You can reveal the transcript afterwards to check what you heard.
🎧 Native-quality audio. Play it as many times as you need — just like the real exam, where each recording is played twice.
Mi instituto — Laura
El insti es estresante — Álvaro
Translate both ways.
First Spanish → English (reading translation), then English → Spanish (the harder direction, tested in Paper 4). Have a go on paper, then tap to reveal the model answer and compare.
Translate into English
Translate into Spanish
Describe the photo card.
In the speaking exam you get a card with two photos from one theme. You must say at least one thing about each photo, then have a conversation on the topic. Here are two photos about school and studying and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Cuál es tu asignatura favorita y por qué?
- 3.¿Cómo es un día normal en tu instituto?
- 4.¿Es importante la educación? (opinión + razón)
Describing the photos — model answer
The first question is compulsory: say at least one thing about each photo. Below are two model descriptions you can adapt to whoever is in the picture — tap the speaker to hear them.
Foto A — a classroom. En la primera foto hay una clase en un colegio. La profesora lleva un vestido negro y está de pie delante de una pizarra digital, explicando una lección de matemáticas. Los alumnos llevan uniforme azul marino y están sentados en mesas azules, escuchando con atención. En las paredes hay carteles de inglés y las normas de la clase.
In the first photo there is a class in a school. The teacher is wearing a black dress and is standing in front of an interactive whiteboard, explaining a maths lesson. The pupils are wearing navy-blue uniform and are sitting at blue tables, listening carefully. On the walls there are English posters and the class rules.
Foto B — studying at home. En la segunda foto se ve a un chico estudiando en su habitación. Lleva una camiseta negra y está escribiendo en un cuaderno con un libro de texto abierto al lado. Sobre la mesa hay una botella de agua y un estuche, y en la pared se ven pósteres de deporte y trofeos. Está haciendo los deberes o repasando para un examen.
In the second photo you can see a boy studying in his bedroom. He is wearing a black T-shirt and is writing in a notebook with a textbook open beside him. On the desk there is a water bottle and a pencil case, and on the wall you can see sports posters and trophies. He is doing his homework or revising for an exam.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve a… (you can see) · unos alumnos / un estudiante / un profesor
En clase: estudiar · escuchar al profesor · tomar apuntes · escribir en la pizarra · hacer los deberes · un examen
Las asignaturas y opiniones: las matemáticas / la historia / el inglés · es interesante / aburrido / fácil / difícil / útil
Opinar (tu turno): la educación es importante para el futuro · mi asignatura favorita es… · …porque…
Then the conversation
- Q2 — favourite subject: Mi asignatura favorita es … porque es interesante / útil / el profesor es …
- Q3 — a normal day: Las clases empiezan a las …, tengo … asignaturas y en el recreo …
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, la educación es esencial porque abre muchas puertas en el futuro.
- Higher tier: add a tense — Antes sacaba malas notas… (imperfect) or me gustaría estudiar en la universidad (conditional) — and an opinion with creo que / pienso que.
The role-play.
The instructions are in English. You must answer the prompts and ask one question (the ! bullet). Try it out loud first, then reveal the model answers.
Your Spanish exchange partner asks you about your school. Your teacher plays your exchange partner.
Model answers & tips
Write your answer.
Two tasks in the real exam style — a Foundation ~50-word task (five bullets) and a Higher ~90-word task (three bullets). Use the sentence starters (tap to drop them into the pad) and the useful vocab, then compare with a model answer.
Mi instituto
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe tu instituto y tus asignaturas. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Mi instituto y el futuro
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe tu instituto, tus asignaturas y tus planes para el futuro. Menciona los tres puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 90 palabras en español.
Foundation answers cover all the bullets with clear, accurate present-tense sentences joined by y, pero and porque, plus at least one opinion. Higher answers do all that and then reach further: more than one tense (e.g. imperfect vivía, near future voy a, conditional me gustaría), opinions with developed reasons, a wider range of connectives (aunque, sin embargo, además) and more ambitious vocabulary. The biggest single lift from Foundation to Higher is justifying opinions and using a second and third tense accurately.