The syllabus content is organised around five broad themes, which provide contexts for the acquisition of vocabulary and the study of grammar and structure:
- Identity and culture
- Local area, holiday and travel
- School
- Future aspirations, study and work
- International and global dimension
All students take the following four examinations:
- Paper 1 Listening and understanding in Chinese
- Paper 2 Speaking in Chinese
- Paper 3 Reading and understanding in Chinese
- Paper 4 Writing in Chinese
All students take the following four examinations, each worth 25% of the final grade:
- Paper 1 Listening: Students are assessed on their understanding of spoken Chinese. Foundation Tier assessment is 35 minutes and Higher Tier assessment is 45 minutes.
- Paper 2 Speaking: Students are assessed on their ability to communicate and interact effectively through speaking Chinese. The assessment covers three core tasks: role play, a picture-based task and conversation.
- Paper 3 Reading: Students are assessed on their understanding of written Chinese across a range of different text types, including advertisements, emails, letters, articles and literary texts. Foundation Tier assessment is 50 minutes. Higher Tier assessment is 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Paper 4 Writing: Students produce various responses of varying lengths to express facts, opinions and ideas in Chinese. Foundation Tier assessment is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Higher Tier assessment is 1 hour and 25 minutes.
The listening, reading and writing skills are assessed at the end of Year 11 as external examinations. The speaking skills are assessed in the Summer Term of Year 11. There is no controlled assessment in this subject.