Pearson Edexcel GCSE Persian Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Persian (Farsi) is assessed across four skills — Listening (Paper 1), Speaking (Paper 2), Reading (Paper 3), and Writing (Paper 4) — at Foundation and Higher tiers. With 73 resources, the archive provides examination preparation material for this heritage language qualification. GCSE Persian at Edexcel is designed for heritage speakers — students of Iranian, Afghan, or Tajik family background who have developed Persian language competence through home and community exposure. The examination assesses Modern Persian (Farsi) as used in contemporary Iran, written in the Persian script (a modified form of the Arabic alphabet written right to left). Paper 1 — Listening — includes standard-speed MP3 recordings of native Persian speakers, as well as extra time (25% additional) versions and tracked recordings. Both Foundation and Higher tier recordings assess students' ability to understand spoken Persian in everyday and topic-related contexts across the specification themes. Paper 2 — Speaking — is a teacher-conducted oral examination assessing communication in Persian across role play, photo card discussion, and general conversation. Students are expected to develop ideas and express opinions fluently in Persian. Paper 3 — Reading — assesses comprehension of written Persian texts using the Persian script. Questions are answered in both Persian and English depending on the question type. The ability to read Persian script fluently and quickly is essential for completing the paper within the time allocation. Paper 4 — Writing — assesses the ability to produce written Persian in the Persian script across structured and extended tasks, including a translation from English to Persian. Accuracy of script, grammar, and vocabulary are all assessed. Papers are available at both Foundation and Higher tier, with Higher tier papers assessing a wider range and greater complexity of language.