GCSE exam
What is GCSE Polish?
GCSE Polish (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is a certificate that middle school students receive at the end of their education. The basic compulsory subjects are mathematics, English, science, known as science. The more such GCSEs we have, the better for us, because we can get into a better college and in the future they can determine our studies and career.
In most schools in the UK it is possible to take the GCSE Polish exam, which gives us an additional certificate. GCSE Polish is valued in many jobs (journalists, drivers, translators), plus it counts as a foreign language.
What does the GCSE exam consist of?
1. Reading - reading with understanding
The exam lasts one hour. The exam sheet contains texts in Polish, after reading which the student must answer questions in English.
2. Listening - listening with understanding
The exam lasts 45 minutes. Students have an additional 5 minutes to review the test questions before the exam. The student listens to the statements in Polish recorded on the CD, then answers the questions in English.
3. Writing - writing
The exam lasts one hour. You have to write two essays on a given topic in Polish.
4. Speaking - speaking in Polish.
The oral exam is conducted by a teacher who speaks Polish. The exam consists of two sections: the first is a presentation by the student on a selected topic (e.g., My hobbies, My vacations, Polish traditions in my home, etc.) along with a discussion of the topics covered in the presentation; the second is a conversation - the student answers several or a dozen questions from two areas, e.g., school, family, leisure activities, environment.
All exams are reviewed by Poles. The grades are as follows: A*, A, B, C, D, E, F. An A* is scored as a 6 in Polish, and an F as a failing grade, although sometimes schools also use grades such as G and U (they also mean a failing grade). The final grade is given after tallying the scores for all four exams.
The GCSE exam in Polish has identical rules to the exam in other foreign languages taught in schools here. That is, the pattern of the exam whether oral or written will be the same as for French or German. It is by no means an exam that resembles the exam written at the end of junior high school in Poland.
A - level exams
What are A level exams?
A stands for Advanced - advanced level. The full A level course takes two years. The first year of the course ends with AS (Advanced Subsidiary) exams. The second year of the A level course is called A2. A level exams are much more difficult than GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Most students take A level courses because they want to pursue higher education. A level exams, like GCSEs, can be taken in a variety of subjects, including Polish.
What do the AS and A2 exams consist of?
Polish language AS exam
The exam consists of three sections. The first tests the ability to read a text with understanding. The student must answer questions to the given text and mark whether the given statements are true or false. The second section is the translation of the text from Polish into English. In the third and final section, the student writes an essay on the given topic. The exam lasts 2.5 hours. Instructions and answers in sections one and three are in Polish.
A2 exam in Polish language
The exam lasts 3 hours. It consists of three sections. The first tests reading comprehension skills, with the student answering questions to the text and identifying the given statements as true or false. In the second, the student translates the text - this time from English to Polish. The third section consists of writing two essays. The student chooses two of the given topics: one from literary and one from non-literary. When writing, he relies on the compulsory reading list developed for the exam:
LITERARY THEMES
1. the struggle for independence as a theme in Polish literature
a) A. Mickiewicz, Reduta Ordona, Death of a Colonel
b) S. Żeromski, Wierna rzeka
c) S. Żeromski, Rozdziobią nas kruki, wrony
d) E. Orzeszkowa, Nad Niemnem
e) B. Prus Omyłka
f) A. Kaminski, Kamienie na szaniec
2. moral and social issues raised in Polish drama
a) G. Zapolska, Moralność Pani Dulskiej
b) S. Mrozek, Tango, Emigrants
c) J. Slowacki, Balladyna
d) A. Fredro, Revenge
e) L. Kruczkowski, Germany
NON-LITERARY SUBJECTS
1. Poles and Poland during the Second World War
2. Polish cinema - Andrzej Wajda: ,,Ashes and Diamonds" and "Man of Marble".