GCSE Support for Chinese
GCSE Support for Chinese aims to support teachers of Chinese and other teachers who have students wanting to take GCSE Chinese.
Chinese is delivered in increasing numbers of UK schools. Students are also coming forward with requests to register for GCSE, as knowledge of Chinese becomes an important economic asset. To help support teachers, GCSE Support for Chinese provides essential information: language specific resources, generic language resources, useful links and guidance.
Teachers will find information on exam boards and guidance on conducting exams, planning resources and resources for learning and exam preparation, as well as other helpful information on summer camps in China, a Mandarin competition in the UK and employing a Chinese language assistant.
Teachers can also use a dedicated forum to communicate on topics relevant to them, such as preparation for speaking assessments, recommending resources and so on.
If you would like support for other languages, please let us know and we will respond to your requests.
The following exam boards offer GCSE Chinese:
What you need to know to prepare for and conduct the exams
If you wish to enter your students or candidates with an exam board for GCSE exams, your school or organisation should contact the board to apply for approval as a centre.
Before the first exam of the new GCSE specification takes place in 2019, centre controlled assessment remains an important part in the GCSE Chinese exams. Centres must have a subject expert to conduct their controlled assessment tasks.
IOE (Institute of Education) Confucius Institute for Schools
There are currently 42 IOE Confucius Classrooms in a range of different schools (state-maintained and independent) and teaching pupils aged between 4-18 years. These schools are also committed to helping other schools improve their Chinese provision.
For a map and list of Confucius Classrooms, click on ‘About us’, then ‘Confucius Classrooms’.
The UK Federation of Chinese Schools has around 80 member schools, representing over 10,000 students. The website below includes the locations and contact details of member schools and links to useful resources on Chinese language and culture.
Employ a Chinese language assistant through British Council
The British Council Foreign Language Assistants programme aims to support the teaching of language and culture in UK schools. It is funded by the Department of Education, and the China programme also receives support from HSBC and Hanban (a Chinese government agency whose aim is to promote Chinese language and culture to worldwide audiences).
This forum is free to join, and teachers use it for networking, exchanging ideas and asking advice from each other. It is also used by schools looking for teachers and by teachers looking for teaching roles. Many other stakeholders are also members and regularly post useful and interesting information.
HSBC/British Council Annual Mandarin Chinese speaking competition
A great, fun opportunity for students to practise and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills.
Hanban/IOE CI Annual Summer Study Camps in China
Managed by IOE Confucius Institute, this annual study visit is generously funded by Hanban (a Chinese government agency whose aim is to promote Chinese language and culture worldwide) for all the in-China costs, including language and cultural lessons, food and accommodation, travel and transportation as well as some tourism. Students aged between 14-18 from secondary schools in England who are studying Chinese or who are interested in learning the language and culture are eligible to apply.
