A Levels combination for languages at university?

I think the EPQ is the best prep from what’s offered. What value is work experience at this stage? What could it be? She’s not going to get any advantage in any job from this. She will when she’s an undergrad. A plumber might so I guess that’s why the school has it.

She should think about academic enhancement and, in my view, the AS might be ok in English Lit or an EPQ in something related to MFL.

Why do the parents think working now is important for languages? Having a successful career won’t depend upon it!

So what’s now favourite for the 3rd A level. I agree that 4 is too many and not at all necessary. Did she decide on History? If so, that’s perfectly fine with 2 languages. You don’t need Eng Lit. It’s just a way to read and interpret literature. Eng Lang isn’t really any great use with 2 other languages. Neither is work experience. DD didn’t do any until she was at university. Employers won’t care that much about what you did at 16. Doing something useful towards your career aims has much more resonance post 18. At the moment, get the A levels and do as much as possible to improve MFL skills that are required at university. Working can come after that. It will make no difference regarding getting into university and being successful.

Might be worth looking at linguistics as well, if the DC is interested in lots of languages and how they fit together.

DD went into law. One of her friends is teaching. No one else she knows is using their languages in their work. Our friends’ DS did go and work in the French office for his company with his ability in French but you won’t necessarily get a job with a French or Spanish office. He is a lawyer for a Magic Circle firm.

And I’d completely agree with PresentingPercy re breadth of careers. From
My cohort, I think at least 1/3 went into law or the city, a big chunk into charities or civil service. There were very few I can think of that went into teaching or translation. I have never used my languages professionally.

I had someone in my year that (despite being a native speaker in one of her languages) got a 2:2 and nearly got a third. It is essentially an essay based subject with language work on top.

That’s what I’ve been trying to advise. You need an essay subject and be comfortable with literature. DD did other modules such as art and medieval French but that was literature based too. The core of the better MFL degrees will have a high proportion of literature. As I’ve said, it’s not about doing more, and even more, languages, translation or speaking. People think it is and that’s why they assume you will want this type of work after graduating. The degrees are more about breadth of learning in the two Languages you have chosen. The year abroad is the only time when literature isn’t to the fore.

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I would strongly recommend English lit. My course was heavily lit focused and county be avoided. Some of my friends that hated it or had chosen not to do English lit at a-level struggled. I tried to tilt my modules more towards history but I still found I had to do some very chunky modules on literature. It wasn’t enough to be good at languages. Looking back I think a max of 1/3 of my marks were linked to language skill. The rest was history or literature.

Don’t rule out a top university for one semester abroad. The French universities can feel a bit large and impersonal according to DDs friends. Often poor halls of residence. Geneva was different altogether. No Brexit issues either. I think Canada might also be possible and DD had a friend that went to Reunion Island. The Caribbean placements might get oversubscribed so don’t bank on that. Often students at the universities find it a bit easier to make friends. The BC can place you in the middle of nowhere!

Doing 3 full languages cuts down study abroad from around 5 months in each plus vacation to a very full schedule. Vacations are useful for work experience. DD felt this was more important than yet another language.

Newcastle doesn’t do Italian. Not many do. I know Sheffield doesn’t. DD applied to Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Durham as well as Oxford. Bath didn’t offer the same number of modules as the others. It’s a course that’s more linked to business. We also looked at Exeter and UCL.

The universities are getting links with the foreign universities. Year 3 abroad is compulsory for language immersion. DD went to the university of Geneva and then to the university of Bologna. Then worked here in her vacations. I’m not convinced there is any advantage in doing 3 languages and cramming in 3 countries. A good university requires the student to do an academic study in the year abroad and it’s per language. If you look at the year abroad info at each MFL dept you can see where they link with.

Ours did Italian from scratch, with Spanish built on a higher at IB. She went to Exeter and had great fun.
Our friend’s daughter is two years older and did Italian from scratch with French from A level at Bath.
Exeter have a year in second language with expectation that you’ll boost your first language through holiday work or holidays.
Bath did six months in each country.

Neither’s work is related to their degree but our friends daughter does use her French in Africa where she visits several countries regularly overseeing aid contracts.

Friends daughter did Erasmus in Naples but worked in Evian. Ours spent a year with British Council in Verona.

Lancaster makes a big deal out of Italian ab initio and is supposed to be v good for languages.

If she's interested in Italian from scratch she could look at French/Spanish plus Italian ab initio degrees. (Or any other ab initio language.)

Unlikely Erasmus will exist for UK students sadly. Though there may be other opportunities for year abroad.

No History syllabus is boring. English Language won’t matter but it’s not best prep. You need reading, research and essay writing skills. Oxford highly recommends English Lit for this reason. The best prep for MFL is not another “language”.

Students do need to move away from thinking that post grad they will use their languages in every job. I know a highly paid female banker who did Arabic at Oxford. It’s a great vehicle to a good job. They really don’t have to be translators or teachers. There a very big world of jobs out there.

Students should not be put off doing anything because someone says they won’t use it. But if the student definitely wants teaching then you do have to offer what’s taught in schools.

If you look at the stats for Oxford MFL: applicants vs successful applicants, you will see around 33% get in for MFL. No one says it’s easy (And I didn’t) but that’s a significantly bigger proportion than for Medicine, PPE and nearly every other subject.

I suspect the universities will set up their own arrangement with partnership universities abroad. The Swiss manage it. It’s not going to be the end of the year abroad and MFL degrees.

I agree with everything said about Italian, plus as a linguist with French and Spanish behind her Italian will be easy (I did A level French, Spanish from scratch and an enrichment Italian course - the Italian was very basic comparatively - but this was back in the day).

I teach EPQ. One of my students has learned Welsh and her EP is a children's book in Welsh/English (artefact). It looks amazing.

My DD's boyfriend is a Cambridge MML student. His languages are German & Latin. He is exploring PGCE options. German attracts funding as there are not so many graduates. However, to do a MFL PGCE, he has to include French or Spanish at many institutions. Alternatively, he could use his Latin and offer Classics.

OP, school 1 sounds better. Do your research on the EP as it is a recognised and valued qualification by an increasing number of institutions. I am happy to help if you want to PM me.