Speaking Success: Trinity GESE Grade 10

Advanced stage · CEFR C1.1 — the tasks, themes and language of Grade 10, practised by Philo and Sophia.

•Grade 10, at a glance

Advanced stageCEFR C1.125 minutesOne-to-one with the examiner

1. Topic presentation

up to 5 min

2. Topic discussion

up to 5 min

3. Interactive task

up to 5 min

4. Listening task

up to 3 min

5. Conversation

up to 6 min

At the Advanced stage you give a formal presentation of up to five minutes, lead a discussion of it, take control of an interactive task, respond to three short listening passages (suggesting endings, or identifying the speakers and context), and discuss two subject areas.

1What you need to do (communicative skills)

Presentation: a formal, structured talk of up to five minutes, then invite the examiner’s questions
Topic discussion: defend your view and develop your argument
Interactive task: direct the interaction and relate closely to the examiner’s contributions
Listening: suggest endings and identify contexts from three short passages
Conversation: influence the direction of the conversation

2Themes and topics (subject areas)

Conversation subject areas: List A (teenagers) or List B (adults)

Topics

A: Roles in the family; Communication; The school curriculum; Youth behaviour; Use of the internet; Designer goods
B: International events; Equal opportunities; Social issues; The future of the planet; Scientific developments; Stress management

Your own topic must not be taken from this list: choose something personal, which you know well and enjoy talking about.

3Language functions and grammar (what the examiner listens for)

Functions

Developing an argument
Defending a point of view
Expressing beliefs
Expressing opinions tentatively
Summarising
Deducing

Grammar and language

A broad range of complex structures, with high accuracy
Idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms
Modifiers and intensifiers: basically, quite, absolutely, totally
Tentative language: I may be wrong, but…
Signposting: firstly, finally

Worked example — from the presentation into the discussion

Philo…so, to sum up, I’d argue that libraries matter more now than ever, not less. Do you have any questions, or perhaps a different view?

ExaminerWell, couldn’t someone say that most knowledge is now easy to find without a library?

PhiloI may be wrong, but I’d say finding information and understanding it are two very different things. A library gives you the second, because it’s organised by people who know the subject. Would you agree?

Tips for Grade 10

Your presentation needs a clear structure: introduction, developed points, conclusion. Stop at five minutes.
Bring a brief handout of notes for the examiner; you can’t read a script.
End the presentation by inviting questions: that starts the Topic discussion.
Listening: give short, precise answers; the passages aren’t repeated.

•How Grade 10 is assessed

The examiner gives a letter grade for each phase, for task fulfilment: how well you use the communicative skills, functions, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation of this grade and all the grades before it, with good fluency.

A · Distinction

An excellent performance.

B · Merit

A good performance.

C · Pass

A satisfactory performance.

D · Fail

Not yet satisfactory: the report shows what to work on.

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Based on Trinity College London’s GESE specifications (from January 2026). Always check trinitycollege.com/GESE for the current version.