AQA GCSE French Past Papers 2020–2025 (8658) – Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking Foundation and Higher with Mark Schemes, Transcripts & Audio
- Olivia Williams
- Feb 18
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 26
This page provides the latest AQA GCSE French past papers from 2020 to 2025 (8658), including Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking papers for both Foundation and Higher tiers, together with official mark schemes, transcripts and audio files. Practising with real AQA exam questions is one of the most effective ways to improve.
Before attempting these papers, we strongly recommend that you first read our examiner advice and common mistakes section for all parts of your GCSE French Papers below, where experienced GCSE French teachers and examiners explain exactly what students lose marks for every year and how to reach the highest grades
AQA GCSE French 2025 Past Papers (8658) – Listening & Speaker Foundation and Higher Papers
AQA GCSE French 2025 | Downloads | |
AQA GCSE French 2025 Paper 1 Listening (Foundation) 8658/LF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 1 Listening (Higher) 8658/LH | ||
AQA GCSE French Paper 2 Speaking (Foundation & Higher) | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Past Papers (8658) – Listening, Reading & Writing Foundation and Higher with Mark Schemes, Transcripts & Audio
AQA GCSE French 2024 | Downloads | |
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 1 Listening (Foundation) 8658/LF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 1 Listening (Higher) 8658/LH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 3 Reading (Foundation) 8658/RF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 3 Reading (Higher) 8658/RH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 4 Writing (Foundation) 8658/WF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2024 Paper 4 Writing (Higher) 8658/WH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2023 Past Papers (8658) – Listening, Reading & Writing Foundation and Higher with Mark Schemes, Transcripts & Audio
AQA GCSE French 2023 | Downloads | |
AQA GCSE French 2023 Paper 1 Listening (Foundation) 8658/LF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2023 Paper 1 Listening (Higher) 8658/LH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2023 Paper 3 Reading (Foundation) 8658/RF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2023 Paper 3 Reading (Higher) 8658/RH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2023 Paper 4 Writing (Foundation) 8658/WF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2023 Paper 4 Writing (Higher) 8658/WH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2022 Past Papers (8658) – Listening, Reading & Writing Foundation and Higher with Mark Schemes, Transcripts & Audio
AQA GCSE French 2022 | Downloads | |
AQA GCSE French 2022 Paper 1 Listening (Foundation) 8658/LF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2022 Paper 1 Listening (Higher) 8658/LH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2022 Paper 3 Reading (Foundation) 8658/RF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2022 Paper 3 Reading (Higher) 8658/RH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2022 Paper 4 Writing (Foundation) 8658/WF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2022 Paper 4 Writing (Higher) 8658/WH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2021 Past Papers (8658) – Listening, Reading & Writing Foundation and Higher with Mark Schemes, Transcripts & Audio
AQA GCSE French 2021 | Downloads | |
AQA GCSE French 2021 Paper 1 Listening (Foundation) 8658/LF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2021 Paper 1 Listening (Higher) 8658/LH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2021 Paper 3 Reading (Foundation) 8658/RF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2021 Paper 3 Reading (Higher) 8658/RH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2021 Paper 4 Writing (Foundation) 8658/WF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2021 Paper 4 Writing (Higher) 8658/WH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2020 Past Papers (8658) – Listening, Reading & Writing Foundation and Higher with Mark Schemes, Transcripts & Audio
AQA GCSE French 2020 | Downloads | |
AQA GCSE French 2020 Paper 1 Listening (Foundation) 8658/LF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2020 Paper 1 Listening (Higher) 8658/LH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2020 Paper 3 Reading (Foundation) 8658/RF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2020 Paper 3 Reading (Higher) 8658/RH | ||
AQA GCSE French 2020 Paper 4 Writing (Foundation) 8658/WF | ||
AQA GCSE French 2020 Paper 4 Writing (Higher) 8658/WH | ||
What Examiners Actually Want for AQA GCSE French
Before diving into practice papers above, take a few minutes to read through the following advice. These insights come straight from GCSE French examiners and teachers who mark your papers — and they reveal the exact habits and mistakes that determine whether answers get credited or not.
What Examiners Want for the AQA GCSE French Listening Section
1. Always Listen to the Whole Recording Before Answering
This is one of the most important habits to build for the listening exam — and it's especially critical for multiple choice questions and anything asking you to identify positive, negative, or mixed opinions (P/N/P+N). Students who latch onto a single word or phrase they recognise often miss the overall meaning of what's being said, or fall for a distractor that sounds right but isn't.
Resist the urge to write anything down the moment you hear a familiar word. Let the full utterance play out, get a sense of the overall message, and then answer. The meaning is often in the whole sentence — not just one part of it.
2. Listen Carefully for Negative Words
Missing a negative is one of the most consistent sources of wrong answers in the listening exam. Hearing "it is not fun" and registering it as positive, or overlooking a negative before a key adjective, can flip your answer from correct to incorrect in an instant — and it happens to a surprising number of students.*
Train your ear to listen actively for negative words and phrases throughout the recording. Don't assume a statement is positive just because the vocabulary around it sounds upbeat. One small word can change everything.
3. Keep Your English Answers Precise and to the Point
Vague answers, ambiguous phrasing, or responses that include more information than needed often can't be credited — even when the core idea is right. And giving alternative answers in the hope that one of them is correct can actually work against you if one of those alternatives contradicts the other.
Write one clear, precise answer that directly addresses what the question is asking. More is not always better — in fact, unnecessary additions can undo a mark you'd otherwise have earned. Say exactly what you mean and stop there."
What Examiners Want for the AQA GCSE French Reading Section
1. Make Your Handwriting and Non-Verbal Responses Impossible to Misread
Examiners have flagged a real increase in illegible handwriting — and when they can't read an answer, they can't award the mark, even if it's correct. In non-verbal tasks like True/False (V/F) or Positive/Negative (P/N), the stakes are even higher because a single unclear letter is the entire answer. A 'V' that looks like a 'U' or an 'N' that looks like a 'W' will cost you the mark.
Write non-verbal responses in clear uppercase letters every time. And when it comes to written answers, slow down just enough to make sure your handwriting is legible — it's not about being neat for the sake of it, it's about making sure your correct answers actually get credited.
2. Pay Close Attention to Tenses — in Both the Text and the Question
Tense recognition is something examiners describe as "vital" — and it's easy to see why. Missing a future tense like fera des efforts or ils passeront, or overlooking an imperfect like j'avais l'intention, can send you to completely the wrong part of the text and produce an answer about the wrong time frame entirely.
Before you read the text, check the question for tense clues. Then as you read, stay alert to tense markers — they're often the difference between the right answer and a plausible-sounding wrong one. Don't assume everything is in the present tense just because that's the most familiar.
3. Read the Full Context and Watch for Negatives
Two habits consistently lead students to wrong answers here: stopping as soon as they spot a familiar word, and missing a negative expression that flips the meaning of everything around it. Expressions like ne... plus are easy to overlook when you're reading quickly — but missing them can turn a correct interpretation into a completely incorrect one. The same applies to opinions: a negative adjective early in a sentence doesn't necessarily mean the overall view is negative if the sentence continues with something more positive.
Always read to the end of the relevant section before forming your answer. Don't let a recognisable word stop you in your tracks. And actively scan for negative constructions — they're often placed precisely where students are most likely to miss them.
What Examiners Want for the AQA GCSE French Speaking Section
1. Master interrogatives (question words) above all else.
Examiners consistently state that dealing with interrogatives is the "biggest challenge" for students in this paper. A lack of understanding of these words prevents students from responding appropriately to unprepared tasks and from successfully formulating their own questions when required.
2. Address the task directly but avoid unnecessary elaboration.
It is in your best interest to address the specific cue "but no more". While students often try to introduce extra material they feel confident with, this "unnecessary elaboration" often leads to a lack of focus, causing you to overlook the specific detail required or introduce avoidable grammatical errors.
3. Prepare at least three full sentences for each Photo Card question.
Use your 12-minute preparation time wisely to write down exactly what you will say for the prepared questions, aiming for a minimum of three sentences per response, each containing a verb. Additionally, for the Photo Card specifically, ensure your descriptions are "rooted in the photograph"; describing items not shown or personalizing the scene (e.g., referring to a person as "my father") will be discounted.
What Examiners Want for the AQA GCSE French Writing Section
1. Address every bullet point and tick them off as you go.
Coverage of all bullet points is critical; examiners warn that omitting or even misinterpreting just one point makes it impossible to achieve a mark in the highest band for content. Students are advised to tick off each point in the rubric once it has been addressed to ensure nothing is missed.
2. Stick to the suggested word count and prioritize accuracy.
Writing responses that are significantly longer than suggested is described as a "barrier to achievement" because it increases the scope for error. Examiners frequently note that simple, well-formed sentences are more successful than over-ambitious or pre-learnt complex structures, which often lead to a lack of clarity and avoidable mistakes.
3. Carefully manipulate verbs and possessive adjectives.
A very common error is failing to change the "votre" (your) used in the bullet point to "mon/ma" (my) in the response, which can negate the message. Additionally, you must ensure your verb tense matches the specific time markers provided in the bullet points, such as using a past tense for "un samedi récent" or a future tense for "vos projets"
