This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within Education and work for GCSE French. Revise Education and work in Theme 1: People and Lifestyle for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 4 of 4 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- In the speaking exam, if asked about school, go beyond one subject — give a favourite AND a least favourite with reasons. This is worth extra communication marks.
- Pair a present opinion with a future plan for instant tense variety: j'aime les sciences... donc je vais faire des études de médecine.
- In reading/listening, watch for negative opinion phrases: je trouve ça inutile, je suis nul en — these signal a negative evaluation.
- For the translation task (AO4), remember that le baccalauréat → "the baccalaureate" is a valid translation; you don't need to Anglicise it.
❌ Common error: Je suis bon en maths. (when the speaker is female)
✓ Correct: Je suis bonne en maths. (female speaker) / Je suis fort(e) en maths.
Why it costs marks: Adjectives agree with the grammatical subject. If you are a girl writing about yourself and use bon without the -e, examiners mark it as an AO3 agreement error. Note: both fort(e) en and bon(ne) en are correct French; fort(e) en sounds slightly more natural for school subjects and avoids this agreement pitfall being forgotten.
Practice questions for Education and work
What does 'le collège' mean in English?
A French student says: 'Je fais un stage cette semaine.' What are they doing?