MA
Mrs Amanda Clarke, parent
Verified
Grade 8My son was fine on the theory but terrified of speaking. After six sessions with a native French tutor he felt genuinely confident. He scored the top grade on s...
AQA GCSE French · London
GCSE specialist tutoring
GCSE FrenchTutoring
Expert 1-on-1 GCSE French tutoring for AQA and Edexcel. Build vocabulary, sharpen grammar, and develop speaking and writing confidence to reach Grade 7, 8, or 9.
86%
reach Grade 7 or above
+1.8
average grade improvement
9+
years average tutor experience
Free
first lesson, no commitment
Free trial lesson
Tell us the subject, exam board and current level.
AQAEdexcel (Pearson)AQAEdexcel (Pearson)AQAEdexcel (Pearson)
Real specialists
Meet tutors with examiner instincts.
Specialist tutors with board knowledge, strong academic backgrounds, and proven grade-improvement records.
Native SpeakerMme Isabelle Dupont
Paris Sorbonne BA · Native French Speaker
GCSE French (AQA, Edexcel), A-Level French, French conversation
Avg +1.9 grade improvement
AQA ExaminerMr James Harrington
Durham BA French & Spanish · PGCE
GCSE French (AQA and Edexcel), A-Level French
88% of students reach Grade 7+
Our standard
Every tutor clears a high bar.
UK-qualified teachers
Degree-level subject specialists, many PGCE-trained, who teach to the UK exam standard.
Examiner insight
Tutors who know the mark schemes and coach the exact phrasing that earns every mark.
Vetted & background-checked
Tutors complete interviews, teaching demonstrations and the academy's structured approval process before student assignments.
Matched to your board
You are paired with a specialist in your exact board and tier — never a generalist.
Lesson flow
From confusion to calm, one lesson at a time.
Our tutors cover all four skills simultaneously — building vocabulary and grammar accuracy alongside the speaking confidence that most students lack.
Step 1
Pinpoint the gaps
We start with recent marks, confidence blockers, and the exact exam board so sessions feel personal from lesson one.
Step 2
Teach the mark scheme
Tutors connect concepts to examiner language, worked examples, and the habits that turn knowledge into marks.
Step 3
Track the lift
Parents see what changed after each session: topics covered, next steps, and the grade trajectory we are building toward.
What we cover
A syllabus map students can actually follow.
Listening Comprehension
Understanding spoken French at different speeds and accents. Identifying specific information, opinions, and implied meaning from short and longer passages.
Speaking — Role Play
Responding to prompts in a structured conversation scenario. Preparation of a short speech or unprepared questions. Students practise with a wide range of topic vocabulary.
Speaking — Photo Card
Describing a photo and answering follow-up questions. Students learn to describe, speculate, and give opinions fluently in the target language.
Speaking — General Conversation
Discussing one or more of the exam themes in a natural conversation. Students practise expressing opinions, justifying viewpoints, and handling unexpected questions.
Reading Comprehension & Translation
Understanding French texts across all exam themes, translating paragraphs into English, and producing a French translation of English sentences.
Writing — Structured & Open Tasks
Photo descriptions, message writing, structured questions, and 90/150-word open essays. Accurate use of tenses, gender/agreement, and a range of structures is essential for Grade 7+.
Grammar — Tenses & Structures
Present, perfect, imperfect, future, conditional, and subjunctive (Higher). Gender, agreements, pronouns, negatives, and subordinating conjunctions — the infrastructure of all writing and speaking marks.
Listening Comprehension
Understanding spoken French at different speeds and accents. Identifying specific information, opinions, and implied meaning from short and longer passages.
Speaking — Role Play
Responding to prompts in a structured conversation scenario. Preparation of a short speech or unprepared questions. Students practise with a wide range of topic vocabulary.
Speaking — Photo Card
Describing a photo and answering follow-up questions. Students learn to describe, speculate, and give opinions fluently in the target language.
Speaking — General Conversation
Discussing one or more of the exam themes in a natural conversation. Students practise expressing opinions, justifying viewpoints, and handling unexpected questions.
Reading Comprehension & Translation
Understanding French texts across all exam themes, translating paragraphs into English, and producing a French translation of English sentences.
Writing — Structured & Open Tasks
Photo descriptions, message writing, structured questions, and 90/150-word open essays. Accurate use of tenses, gender/agreement, and a range of structures is essential for Grade 7+.
Grammar — Tenses & Structures
Present, perfect, imperfect, future, conditional, and subjunctive (Higher). Gender, agreements, pronouns, negatives, and subordinating conjunctions — the infrastructure of all writing and speaking marks.
See this plan built around your child's exact paper.
Book Free Demo
+1.8
average grade improvement
Common blockers
Where students struggle, and how we fix it.
1Grammar accuracy under pressure+
We drill the highest-frequency grammar patterns systematically: gender and adjective agreement, verb conjugation across tenses, and use of pronouns. Students who get grammar right consistently score in the higher levels for both writing and speaking.
2Speaking confidence+
Speaking anxiety is common. We run regular mock speaking assessments in a supportive environment, building vocabulary for each theme and practising the role-play and conversation formats so students arrive at the assessment relaxed and prepared.
3Higher tier writing quality+
Higher tier writing requires a range of tenses, complex structures, and opinions with justification. We teach students to embed the conditional, imperfect, and subjunctive naturally — not just include them as add-ons — which is what examiners reward.
Proof that feels close to home.
SL
Sophie L., student
Verified
Grade 8My grammar was letting me down in writing. The tutor focused on the patterns I kept getting wrong and drilled them until they felt natural. Grade 5 to Grade 8.
Edexcel GCSE French · Bristol
Sarah M.
Verified
Grade 4 → 6My daughter was struggling with IB Mathematics HL and had almost given up hope of getting a 7. After just two months of weekly sessions with her ComboTutors tut...
Parent of IB Student · London
James P.
Verified
B → A*My son started tutoring for A-Level Physics about three months before his exams. His tutor was incredibly patient and broke down complex topics like electromagn...
Parent of A-Level Student · Manchester
Priya K.
Verified
+2 GradesWe needed help with GCSE Science for my son who found chemistry particularly challenging. His tutor made the sessions engaging and relatable—using real-world ex...
Parent of GCSE Student · Birmingham
DW
Daniel W.
Verified
+150 PointsI used ComboTutors to prepare for the Digital SAT. My tutor helped me develop a study plan, learn time-management techniques, and practise with realistic mock t...
SAT Prep Student · Boston
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Family trust
Why parents chose Combo.
Families usually want three things: a tutor their child respects, a plan that fits the real paper, and updates that make progress easy to follow.
Handpicked tutors
We shortlist tutors who know the curriculum, teach clearly, and can coach the exact exam habits that lift marks.
Top-university academics and exam-savvy specialists.
Clear weekly updates
Parents see what was covered, what improved, and what needs attention next, so progress never feels vague.
Structured feedback after every lesson block.
A plan built around your child's paper
Sessions are matched to the student's board, tier, topic gaps, and exam timeline instead of generic subject tutoring.
Board-specific support with a measurable target grade path.
Ready to close the gaps? Start with a free demo.
Book Free DemoGCSE FAQ
Common Questions.
The speaking assessment is conducted by your own teacher at school, then marked externally. It includes a role play, a photo card discussion, and a general conversation on your chosen theme. We run mock assessments with feedback so students are fully prepared.
Foundation tier requires present, perfect, and future tenses. Higher tier also requires imperfect, conditional, and — for the top grades — subjunctive. We teach each tense in context and ensure students can use them accurately and naturally, not just correctly.
Yes. We regularly work with students who feel their French is at a low level. We start with core vocabulary, the most common verb patterns, and essential grammar, then build up systematically. Most students see rapid improvement when they work one-on-one.
Yes — we have native French speaker tutors available, which is particularly valuable for listening and speaking preparation. We can match students with either a native speaker or a highly qualified UK-trained French specialist depending on preference.
Ready to Excel in GCSE French?
Book a free consultation and we will match you with a specialist GCSE French tutor who can make a real difference.