The exam is in Mandarin
Current GCSE Chinese specifications from AQA (8673) and Pearson Edexcel (1CN0) assess spoken Mandarin. The listening recordings and the speaking exam use Mandarin, so a student who is fluent in Cantonese still needs dedicated Mandarin practice.
Four skills, equal weight
Listening, speaking, reading and writing are each worth 25%. All four papers are taken at the same tier: Foundation (grades 1–5) or Higher (grades 4–9).
Traditional and simplified characters
Students who learned traditional characters in Hong Kong should become comfortable reading simplified characters as well. Check your board’s current specification and the school’s guidance on which character set is used in papers and accepted in answers, because this affects how a tutor plans reading and writing practice.
For many heritage speakers, the speaking paper is where the most marks are available with focused practice.
What a tutor should cover
A useful plan usually includes weekly Mandarin conversation on GCSE themes, role-play and photo-card practice, pinyin and tones where needed, and writing to the word counts the paper sets. Some students also need English-language exam technique, because reading and listening questions are asked in English.
Choosing between tutors
On GradeHarbour you can filter by teaching language. A Mandarin-speaking tutor gives the most speaking practice; a tutor who also speaks Cantonese can explain grammar and exam strategy in the language your child thinks in. Some families use both.
Exam details change. Check the current specification on the exam board's website before making decisions.