Pearson EdexcelInternational GCSE151 resources

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE French Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Free Edexcel iGCSE French (4FR1) exam papers, marking guides, and audio recordings alongside examiner feedback. All four skills tested. 109 resources.

📅January and June, multiple years📄151 resources availableFree to download

Download Past Papers

Type
Year

151 of 151 resources — page 1 of 7

June 2018

2 files
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A-Level French – Listening Exam MP3 – Paper 1 – June 2018

Additional Resources
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A-Level French – Listening Exam MP3 – Paper 1 – June 2018

Additional Resources

June 2017

7 files
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A-Level French – Question paper – Paper 2 – June 2017

Question Paper
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A-Level French – Question paper – Paper 1 – June 2017

Question Paper
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A-Level French – Examiner report – Paper 1 – June 2017

Examiner Report
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A-Level French – Examiner report – Paper 2 – June 2017

Examiner Report

A-Level French – Mark scheme – Paper 2 – June 2017

Mark Scheme

A-Level French – Mark scheme – Paper 3 – June 2017

Mark Scheme
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 1 – June 2017

Question Paper

June 2016

2 files
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 2 – June 2016

Question Paper
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 1 – June 2016

Question Paper

June 2015

3 files
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Edexcel Certificate French – Examiner report – Paper 3 – June 2015

Examiner Report
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Edexcel Certificate French – Examiner report – Paper 1 – June 2015

Examiner Report
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 1 – June 2015

Question Paper

June 2014

8 files
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A-Level French – Listening Examination MP3s – French – June 2014

Additional Resources
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Edexcel Certificate French – Examiner report – Paper 2 – June 2014

Examiner Report
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Edexcel Certificate French – Examiner report – Paper 3 – June 2014

Examiner Report

Edexcel Certificate French – Mark scheme – Paper 1 – June 2014

Mark Scheme
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 2 – June 2014

Question Paper
📊

Edexcel Certificate French – Examiner report – Paper 1 – June 2014

Examiner Report

Edexcel Certificate French – Mark scheme – Paper 2 – June 2014

Mark Scheme
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 1 – June 2014

Question Paper

June 2013

2 files

Edexcel Certificate French – Mark scheme – Paper 1 – June 2013

Mark Scheme
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Edexcel Certificate French – Question paper – Paper 1 – June 2013

Question Paper

June 2011

1 file

Edexcel Certificate French – Mark scheme – Paper 2 – June 2011

Mark Scheme

International GCSE French: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking Across Three Papers

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE French (specification 4FR1, replacing legacy 4FR0) assesses all four language skills — listening, reading, writing, and speaking — through a combination of externally assessed papers and an internally conducted speaking test. The listening component allocates candidates half an hour of response time after a five-minute preview period, contributes a quarter of the grade across 40 marks, and uses authentic French audio — everyday dialogues, media clips, and short narratives played twice each. The reading and writing component is the weightiest at 50%, giving candidates ninety minutes to tackle 60 marks of French text comprehension and written production demonstrating vocabulary breadth, grammatical control, and effective communication. The spoken component lasts 8–10 minutes, contributes a further quarter through 40 marks, and is administered by the candidate’s teacher before being submitted for external moderation. The qualification uses a single-tier structure — there is no Foundation or Higher split. Grading runs from 9 to 1. The 109-resource archive includes question papers, mark schemes, and the audio recordings for listening practice, making it possible to replicate full exam sessions independently. Content draws on five broad topic groupings: domestic and international settings, school and career pathways, interpersonal connections, environmental and societal awareness, and leisure alongside wellbeing.

Exam Paper Structure

Paper 1No calculator

Listening

~35 minutes🎯 40 marks📊 25% of grade
Everyday conversationsMedia and announcementsNarrative extractsNote completion and multiple choice
Paper 2No calculator

Reading and Writing

1 hour 30 minutes🎯 60 marks📊 50% of grade
Reading comprehensionGrammar in contextShort and extended writingTranslation
Paper 3No calculator

Speaking

8–10 minutes🎯 40 marks📊 25% of grade
Role playTopic discussionGeneral conversationSpontaneous interaction

Key Information

Exam BoardPearson Edexcel
Specification Code4FR1 (current) / 4FR0 (legacy)
QualificationInternational GCSE
Grading Scale9–1
Assessment Type3 papers (Listening, Reading & Writing, Speaking)
TiersNo tiers
Number Of Papers3
Exam DurationPaper 1: ~35 minutes; Paper 2: 1 hour 30 minutes; Paper 3: 8–10 minutes
Total Marks140 (40 + 60 + 40)
Calculator StatusNot applicable
Available SessionsJanuary and June, multiple years
Total Resources109

Key Topics in French

Topics you need to know

Home and abroad (travel, accommodation)Education and employmentPersonal life and relationshipsThe world around us (environment, media)Social activities (leisure, food, festivals)Grammar: tenses, moods, and sentence structureListening comprehension strategiesWriting for purpose and audience

Exam Command Words

Command wordWhat the examiner expects
Listen and answerUse information from the audio recording to respond
Read the text and answerLocate and use information from the French passage
Write approximately X wordsProduce a written response of the specified length
Translate into EnglishRender the French text into accurate English
Translate into FrenchRender the English text into grammatically correct French
Complete the sentencesFill in missing information using the text or recording

Typical Grade Boundaries

GradeApproximate mark needed
980–90%
870–79%
760–69%
650–59%
540–49%
430–39%
322–29%
215–21%
18–14%

⚠️ Typical grade boundaries across all papers (140 total marks). Boundaries vary by session — check Pearson's website.

Authentic Recordings, Grammar Drills, and Timed Writing: Preparing for iGCSE French

Download the listening recordings from past papers and practise regularly at full exam speed. On the first hearing, focus on understanding the overall context — who is speaking, what is the topic, what is the tone? On the second hearing, listen for the specific details the questions ask about. Train yourself to recognise spoken French features that differ from written French: liaisons, elisions, and the silent endings that can make words harder to distinguish. Paper 2's writing section rewards grammatical accuracy and range. Build a core toolkit of structures: three tenses (present, past composé, future), the conditional mood for hypothetical situations, comparative and superlative adjectives, and subordinate clauses with 'que', 'qui', and 'parce que'. In each writing response, aim to demonstrate at least three different tenses and one complex sentence structure. Examiners explicitly reward responses that show a range of grammatical structures, even when the task seems straightforward. For reading comprehension, work through past-paper texts systematically: identify the main idea of each paragraph first, then tackle the specific questions. When a question asks for a specific detail, locate the relevant paragraph and translate carefully — false friends (sympathique ≠ sympathetic, actuellement ≠ actually) are a perennial source of lost marks.

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