Please note that Portuguese on Demand is NOT an exam centre. I cannot provide help on this matter to members of the public beyond the information stated below:

If you are still studying at a regular school, please contact the Language Department to find out if they are able to accommodate the Portuguese GCSE into their GCSE Exam timetable. Most schools would do, but if they don't, you will need to find an independent centre. Independent Centres can be found via the JCQ website. Choose the exam tittle and the Awarding Body: Pearson.

Adult candidates must find an exam centre (via the JCQ website).

Portuguese on Demand is NOT an Exam Centre, so I only offer the Portuguese GCSE Preparation Course.

Yes. Everyone is entittled to take Portuguese GCSEs and A-Level Examinations regardless of age.

You must entry as an independent candidate and will need to sit the exam at an independent examination centre. You can find the centres currently accepting Pearson examinations candidates via the JCQ website. Choose the exam tittle and the Awarding Body: Pearson.

Please note that Portuguese on Demand is NOT an exam centre. I cannot provide help on this matter to members of the public beyond the information stated above.

Portuguese on Demand is NOT an Examination Centre, so you will need to contact a centre that accepts independent candidates. You can search centres via the JCQ website. Choose the exam tittle and the Awarding Body: Pearson.

If the student is still of school age, they should contact their school's Language Department.

Adult students should contact an independent examination centre via the JCQ website. Choose the exam tittle and the Awarding Body: Pearson.

Portuguese on Demand is not an examination centre so I am unable to assist members of the public on this matter.

I offer evaluation tests to verify your languistic ability based on the CEFR (Common European Framework for Languages) which is the scale by which both Portuguese GCSE and A-Level examinations are guided.

Students currently enrolled in my Portuguese GCSE Prepration Courses or A-Level Preparation Courses can take this test free of charge.

Members of the public not studying with me can also take advantage of this test for a fee. Please contact me for more information.

The Pearson Edexcel GCSE in Portuguese consists of four externally examined papers based on the following skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Students must complete their speaking assessment in April/May and all other assessments in May/June in any single year.

Each paper is available at Foundation tier or Higher tier. Students must be entered for a single tier across all papers.

Please refer to Pearson Specimen Guide for full information on content syllabuses and mark schemes.

Unlike past examinations run by OCR, the new Portuguese GCSE (from 2020 onwards) offer students the option to take the exam with content from either a Foundation or an Higher Tier level.

The choice of tier of entry must be determined by teachers responsible for the preparation course.

On a Higher Tier paper, a candidate will encounter content targeted at grades 9 to 4.

• On a Foundation Tier paper, a candidate will encounter content targeted at grades 5 to 1. • A candidate predicted to achieve a grade 5 is likely to feel much more at ease with the overall demand of the Foundation Tier papers.

• The same candidate will encounter content targeted way beyond grade 5 in the Higher Tier papers and may well find this very challenging and demotivating.

• Grade 3 is not a default grade at Higher Tier. Although there is some overlap of content at each tier* and some safety‐netting it is important to remember that borderline students will encounter content targeted at levels 9, 8, 7 and 6 in a Higher Tier paper and are likely to find this very challenging – well beyond grade 5. If entered at Foundation Tier they should be more at ease with the overall demand of the assessments and could potentially access a grade 5, which may teachers equate with a B‐/C+ type grade.

Students entered for a GCSE at Foundation Tier can access grades up to 5 and those entered at Higher Tier may access grades 4‐9. It is possible that a grade 3 can be issued to a Higher Tier candidate if the marks are extremely close to those required for a grade 4, but a grade 3 cannot be regarded as a default grade at Higher Tier. This is in line with the regulatory requirements.

For more information about the tiers, please visit:

https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/GCSE/French/2016/teaching-and-learning/Advice-on-tier-entry-decisions-MFL.pdf

Portuguese on Demand is NOT an exam centre and we are unable to assist students and their parents with exam registration or Exam fees.

Parents of children and young people should speak to their school's Language Departament regarding their registration. If the school your child attends does not accept to run Portuguese GCSE examination for your child, please contact an independent centre near your location via the JCQ website Adult students who wish to register as an independent candidate must first contact an independent examination centre via the JCQ website : https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates/

We regret we unable to reply to e-mails seeking information about Exam Registration. Please contact Pearson Edexcel for more information about registration.

Written examination

Foundation tier: 35 minutes, including 5 minutes’ reading time; 50 marks

Higher tier: 45 minutes, including 5 minutes’ reading time; 50 marks

25% of the total qualification

Content overview

This paper draws on vocabulary and structures across all the themes and topics.

Assessment overview

Students are assessed on their understanding of standard spoken Portuguese by one or more speakers in a range of public and social settings.

Students will respond to multiple-response and short-answer open-response questions based on a recording featuring male and female Portuguese speakers.

Students must answer all questions in both sections.

There is no requirement for students to produce written responses in Portuguese.

Foundation tier

● Section A is set in English. The instructions to students are in English.

● Section B is set in Portuguese. The instructions to students are in Portuguese.

Higher tier

● Section A is set in Portuguese. The instructions to students are in Portuguese.

● Section B is set in English. The instructions to students are in English.

Internally conducted and externally assessed

Foundation tier: 7–9 minutes plus 12 minutes’ preparation time; 70 marks

Higher tier: 10–12 minutes plus 12 minutes’ preparation time; 70 marks

25% of the total qualification

Content overview

This paper draws on vocabulary and structures across all the themes and topics.

Assessment overview

Students are assessed on their ability to communicate and interact effectively through speaking in Portuguese for different purposes and in different settings.

There are three tasks which must be conducted in the following order:

● Task 1 – a role play based on one topic that is allocated by Pearson

● Task 2 – questions based on a picture stimulus based on one topic that is allocated by Pearson

● Task 3 – conversation based on two themes.

The first theme is based on the topic chosen by the student in advance of the assessment. The second theme is allocated by Pearson.

The assessments are conducted by teachers in one session within a prescribed assessment window, the recordings are then submitted to Pearson for external marking.

Written examination

Foundation tier: 45 minutes; 50 marks

Higher tier: 1 hour; 50 marks

25% of the total qualification

Content overview

This paper draws on vocabulary and structures across all the themes and topics.

Assessment overview

Students are assessed on their understanding of written Portuguese across a range of different types of texts, including advertisements, emails, letters, articles and literary texts. Students are required to respond to multiple-response and short-answer questions based on these texts.

Students must answer all questions in each of the three sections:

● Section A is set in English. The instructions to students are in English

● Section B is set in Portuguese. The instructions to students are in Portuguese

● Section C includes a translation passage from Portuguese into English with instructions in English.

Written examination

Foundation tier: 1 hour 10 minutes; 60 marks

Higher tier: 1 hour 20 minutes; 60 marks

25% of the total qualification

Content overview

This paper draws on vocabulary and structures across all the themes and topics.

Assessment overview

Students are assessed on their ability to communicate effectively through writing in Portuguese for different purposes and audiences.

Students are required to produce responses of varying lengths and types to express ideas and opinions in Portuguese.

The instructions to students are in Portuguese.

Word counts are specified for each question.

Students must answer all questions.

Foundation tier – three open-response questions and one translation into Portuguese. Higher tier – two open-response questions and one translation into Portuguese.