MFL GCSEs - Is Spanish, French, or German easiest to get a high grade?

Picking up on the dyslexia issue- it is well known that French is much harder for learners with dyslexia as it is not a simple phonetic language, just like English isn't. Both German and Spanish are MUCH easier from that aspect. There are some rules you can learn in German spelling that link really well with English eg cht in German usually is ght in English because of the joint Anglo-Saxon roots. Both languages have pros and cons but, if he starts both in y7, he can then see which suits him best.

I did GCSE in all three around 15 years ago. I had been having french lessons since 8 or 9 years old but it was the one that I did worst in and really struggled with. I started German in year 7 and really took to it. For me it was far easier than French or Spanish and the one that I got A* in. I started Spanish for the GCSE course and had 2 years of lessons and came out with an A.
I even ended up living in Spain for a couple of years but even now would say that German is the language I feel more at ease with.

I think it can very much depend on the person. In my German class we had a child who was half Argentinian but despite having a Spanish speaking mother he struggled with Spanish and got better results in German and always talked about how much more sense German made for him.

DS did barejy any MFL up the Y5, then a but if French at Middle school (y6/8). At high school he did dovish and french in Y9, and is now doing Spanish GCSE - it's simple enough that a bright child can go from 0-GCSE in 3 years.

If he died by like French, but had a grounding in it, then Spanish, there a lot of simpler vocabulary, and I don't remember the grammar being so hard (I've studied both languages).

Hey @LimeSqueezer if he hates French then it maybe makes sense for him to plump for the two he hasn't done, German and Spanish, and see which he prefers. But why does he hate French so much? Would he in fact hate studying any MFL do you think? Or is it the teacher, the way it is taught (probs not by a specialist in primary), the challenge of saying it or understanding it? Some of those factors might be an issue with any MFL obvs.

MFL is my subject btw tho I no longer teach it in school. IME one reason a lot of people say Spanish is easier is bc they learned French first (pretty common in England years ago) and then picked up Spanish later - so ofc it was more straightforward as the languages are similar in root and have a good deal of grammar in common. Also people more commonly holiday in Spain from the UK and so are keener to learn the language for that reason.

I don't actually think any MFL GCSE is at all easy, tho I do think there are things about the different languages which may appeal to different people.

All have challenges and easier aspects. German is very logical, with a lot of cases to learn and rules about word order; but it is much easier for an English speaker to get decent at pronunciation. French and Spanish much harder for us to say; the j in Spanish is especially challenging for a UK tongue to master. This may also lead to issues with listening tasks. In French and Spanish you have to make adjectives agree with the gender of the noun. I could pick examples galore - natation in French is the same as natación in Spanish is the same as Schwimmen in German - hmmm the German word is easier there! But I could pick examples the other way too for sure.

FWIW wrt grade boundaries - they are pretty similar. In 2019 (last reasonable year to look at really) there were just a few marks difference. 135 for a 6 in German, 138 in Spanish, 141 in French; 201 for a 9 in German, 205 Spanish, 203 French. That's out of 240 total btw.

Could he try some duolingo on the two he hasn't tried and see if he likes them better? If you are worried about him losing the learning of French in primary if he drops it, I wouldn't; any secondary school will start everyone from scratch and IME so little it learned at primary level sadly that is makes no difference. HTH.

I did German GCSE at the normal pace and got an A* *star I also got an A at A level and carried it through as a subsidiary during my degree. It's now nearly twenty years later and although a little rusty my German is still good. I did Spanish GCSE in a year while I did my A levels as an extra, I also got an A star. I cannot speak, read or understand anything other than the most rudimentary Spanish. It is definitely much easier at GCSE, but I don't think the course actually taught me much Spanish.
I've never studied french so can't comment there.

Edited because if you use the star symbol you just get bold text instead of a star!

Definitely Spanish.

He might prefer Spanish because it is phonetic. Simple rules for pronunciation that actually work.

I did Spanish 'O' level - yes I am that old - did A level as well - loved it and found it much easier/enjoyable than French or German. Can still lapse into it when in Spain all these years later. I had the best teacher in the world though for O level- out of a class of 30 we all passed -16 A's and 14 B's.

Spanish definitely unless he is a very logical boy who likes definite rules -- German grammar is very complex to say the least.
And French gets harder too before it gets easier. (At around A level.)