Entry Requirements: Grade 6 and above in GCSE Spanish
Course Overview
The course is split into 3 papers, covering the skills of reading, listening, writing, translation, and speaking. Students do deep dives into a wide range of social, cultural, political and artistic topics, including but not limited to:
- Changing social and family values
- LGBTQ+ rights over time
- Gender politics in the Spanish-speaking world
- Regional identity in Spain
- Cultural and artistic heritage in the Spanish-speaking world
- Race and Immigration in the Spanish-speaking world
- Monarchies and dictatorships
- Young people and politics
- Protest movements
- Theatre and cinema units
Students also have the unique opportunity to complete an Independent Research Project, focused on one area of study from the Spanish-speaking world that particularly interests them. This could focus on almost anything, and recent projects have ranged from the use of GM products in Latin America, to the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the controversy surrounding a singer accused of cultural appropriation. The list is almost endless!
Students will leave the course with a level of spoken Spanish and cultural awareness that makes them well-rounded, globally-minded citizens. As we often say in the MFL department, ‘why do one A-Level when you can do them all?!’
Homework /Independent Study Policy
There is obviously a heavy workload for Spanish, to garner the grammatical and linguistic fluency needed at this level. Students typically have a range of homework for different parts of the course, from grammatical practice, to vocabulary learning, to independent research and essay writing. On average, students should be completing around 5 hours of independent study per week outside of lessons, and most of this is directed by teachers.
Enrichment
Students studying Spanish A-Level have had the opportunity to attend theatre and cinema events, alongside a residential trip to stay with a Spanish family as part of the course. This trip started in 2019, and although it has not run in 2021, we are hoping to return to offering it when it is safe to do so.