Lesson 2
Las normas y la vida escolar.
School rules, uniform, facilities and what you think of them — the language for talking about life at your instituto. 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.
Las normas de mi insti — Pablo
¿Normas justas?
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.
Llevo uniforme — Marta
Demasiado estricto — Diego
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 life and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Llevas uniforme? ¿Qué te parece?
- 3.¿Cuáles son las normas de tu instituto?
- 4.¿Son justas las normas? (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 — school uniform. En la primera foto hay un grupo de estudiantes hablando delante de su instituto. Todos llevan uniforme: una chaqueta negra, una camisa blanca y una corbata de rayas, y algunos llevan mochila. Están charlando y riéndose con sus amigos antes de entrar a clase. En muchos institutos el uniforme es obligatorio y hay que llevarlo todos los días.
In the first photo there is a group of students talking outside their school. They are all in uniform: a black blazer, a white shirt and a striped tie, and some are wearing a backpack. They are chatting and laughing with their friends before going into class. In many schools the uniform is compulsory and you have to wear it every day.
Foto B — school facilities. En la segunda foto se ve una vista aérea de un instituto grande y moderno. Tiene muchas instalaciones: campos de fútbol, pistas de baloncesto, un patio enorme y un aparcamiento grande. En el tejado hay paneles solares, así que parece un colegio bastante ecológico. Unas buenas instalaciones ayudan a los alumnos a estudiar y a hacer deporte.
In the second photo you can see an aerial view of a large, modern school. It has lots of facilities: football pitches, basketball courts, a huge playground and a big car park. On the roof there are solar panels, so it looks like quite an eco-friendly school. Good facilities help pupils to study and do sport.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve(n)… (you can see) · unos alumnos / las instalaciones
Las normas: llevar uniforme · es obligatorio · está prohibido · hay que respetar las reglas · te castigan si…
Las instalaciones: la biblioteca · el patio · el laboratorio · el comedor · el gimnasio · son modernas / buenas
Opinar (tu turno): las normas son justas / injustas · el uniforme me parece… · …porque…
Then the conversation
- Q2 — uniform: (No) llevamos uniforme. Me parece bien/mal porque…
- Q3 — the rules: Está prohibido el móvil, hay que llegar a tiempo y respetar a los profesores.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Creo que algunas normas son justas, pero otras son demasiado estrictas porque…
- Higher tier: use the conditional — Si yo fuera el director, cambiaría… — contrast antes (imperfect) with ahora, and justify your opinion.
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 the rules at 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.
Las normas de mi instituto
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe las normas de tu instituto. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Las normas y la vida escolar
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe las normas y las instalaciones de tu instituto y tu opinión. 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.