GCSE Spanish Writing: the 150-word Higher Task

At Higher tier, the writing paper of the reformed GCSE in Spanish (first exams in 2026) ends with an open-ended task. In AQA's paper, for example, you choose one of two questions and write about 150 words on two compulsory bullet points; the marks reward how fully both bullets are covered and the range, complexity and accuracy of your Spanish, with equal credit for correct language beyond the defined vocabulary. This is where the Higher-tier grammar pays off: the present subjunctive after cuando, para que and querer que, lo + adjective, lo que, the passive, superlatives, negatives such as ya no and ni… ni, and irregular conditional stems.

The quiz tests each of those structures in a sentence, with one correct version and three typical errors: tenga after para que, haga after quiero que, lo mejor, lo que más me gustó, the passive with se, the imperfect continuous interrupted by the preterite, the superlative with de, no… ni, ya no, tendría, and the object pronoun lo. The last question asks what examiners reward in this task. Every explanation names the rule, and all the subjunctive forms stay within the list for GCSE: the singular of hacer, ser, ir, venir and tener.

The flashcards summarise the complex structures with an example each, plus a plan for the 150 words.

The written sheet is where you practise the task itself. Five questions ask for about 150 words each, on school and your future, celebrations and traditions, the environment where you live, health and lifestyle, and travel; each comes with a complete model answer of about 150 words and the points a marker checks for both bullets. Three shorter items train the skills behind a strong answer: correcting six typical errors in a paragraph, rewriting simple sentences with complex structures, and planning an answer before you write.

Read the model answers actively: underline the tenses, the connectives and the complex structures, then write your own version to the same bullets under timed conditions and check it against the key points. The 90-word task and the Foundation tasks are covered in a separate writing material.

• Plan and write about 150 words covering two compulsory bullet points
• Use the Higher-tier subjunctive correctly (singular of hacer, ser, ir, venir, tener) after cuando, para que and querer que
• Raise the level of an answer with lo + adjective, lo que, the passive, superlatives and negatives
• Combine past, present and future time frames, including irregular conditionals
• Find and correct typical errors in agreement, verb forms and the subjunctive

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE modern foreign languages subject content (2022), Higher-tier grammar, and on the open-ended writing task as described, for example, in AQA's GCSE Spanish specification (8692, version 1.0), Paper 4 Higher Question 3. All tasks and model answers are original.