Pearson Edexcel GCSE Urdu Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Urdu is assessed across four skills — Listening (Paper 1), Speaking (Paper 2), Reading (Paper 3), and Writing (Paper 4) — at Foundation and Higher tiers. With 265 resources, the archive spans the current 9-1 specification and legacy unitised papers (Units 1–4), and includes authentic listening MP3 recordings across multiple paper types. GCSE Urdu at Edexcel is one of the most popular heritage language qualifications, primarily taken by students of Pakistani or South Asian family background with significant prior exposure to Urdu at home or in community education. The examination assesses Urdu in the Nastaliq script (a right-to-left Perso-Arabic script) — literacy in this script is a prerequisite for the Reading and Writing papers. Paper 1 — Listening — includes standard and extra time (25% additional) MP3 recordings of native Urdu speakers at both Foundation and Higher tiers. Tracked recordings are also available for detailed preparation. The archive includes multiple naming variants of these recordings reflecting changes across exam years. Paper 2 — Speaking — is a teacher-conducted oral examination covering role play, photo card discussion, and general conversation on specification themes. Students demonstrate their ability to communicate spontaneously and fluently in Urdu. Paper 3 — Reading — assesses comprehension of written Urdu texts in Nastaliq script, with questions answered in both Urdu and English. Reading speed in Nastaliq is an important factor in completing the paper within the time allocation. Paper 4 — Writing — assesses the ability to produce written Urdu in Nastaliq script, including structured tasks, extended composition, and a translation from English to Urdu. Accuracy of script, grammar (including correct use of postpositions and verb conjugations), and vocabulary range are all assessed. Legacy unitised papers (Units 1–4, Unit 2 Papers 2A and 2B) are also included and provide additional practice across all skills.