A level Spanish

[CeciCC]

Will universities like Cambridge and Oxford look at Alevel Spanish as a good Alevel or not a "proper" A level?

Why would they not consider it a proper A level?
(Unless the person taking it is Spanish)

Well, a friend if hers has been advice to do 4 alevels because one of them is Alevel Spanish and if she wanted to go to Oxford or Cambridge they would consider it as "half" Alevel. We were just wondering if it was tru.

As far as I'm aware a MFL is considered a facilitating A Level by all top universities (along with maths, chem, physics, biology, history, English Lit, geography and probably some others I've missed out).

Thanks is good to hear! That is what I thought too, but we wanted to have more opinions.

I have never heard of a MFL A Level being treated as anything less than a full A Level. And rightly so!
I can see it might be seen differently if the DC lived in, say, a Spanish speaking home or was otherwise bilingual. Although not sure how the uni would know in any event.

Yes if the home is a Spanish speaking home they would want her to have 3 different A levels.

A friend's daughter is half Japanese but her offer was based on the 3 other A levels she was doing but not her Japanese A level.

If she is not from a Spanish background/Spanish speaking home then her MFL A level is treated as a facilitating A level.

What would be the view of Alevel Spanish if her mother was Spanish, but they don't speak Spanish at home. The only language spoken is English. Would Universities not consider it then?

That may be where the issue is if her mother is Spanish there would be an assumption that she has been speaking Spanish since birth.

Does she have a "Spanish" surname? If not it is unlikely that the university she applies to would even realise that she is half-Spanish.

Yes - native speakers with an English sounding surname definitely have an edge here. Universities will not notice unless the family background is mentioned in the PS or reference.

Incidentally there is a big increase in the number of native speakers (or those educated in the language - think French lycee) taking A levels in their home language. This has not been reflected in the grade boundaries which is making it increasingly difficult for British students to get the top grades, and is contributing to the decline in British candidates.

She has a double barrel surname... first part is "very" brittish.. second half not very "Spanish" I mean not ending is "ez" like Rodriguez or Lopez...

Do you have to put nationality on university applications? If she has dual British/Spanish then that could flag something up?

Even if they speak English at home, what does she speak to Spanish grandparents?

Nobody is checking whether you are a dual national - so if you are a British citizen resident in Uk and educated in UK, universities are going to be none the wiser.

If the second part of the name is Spanish sounding I think that unless Spanish is a fourth A level it will count against her if applying to Oxbridge. They are looking for a track record of outstanding achievement and three A levels including your home language does not tick that box.

I am bitter and twisted about this as a friend's DD got into Oxford to study French and German despite the fact that Mum was German and the DD had done primary school in Germany. Not mentioned on the PS or reference and did not come out in the interview.

My DD who had the same grades was turned down

I think it depends on what you're applying for. They might just ignore it - I did two sciences, maths, a language and (compulsory) general studies and applied for NatSci.

My offer was just based on the sciences and maths.

Spanish is a facilitating subject but a gimme if you are part Spanish. Oxford definitely offer places to people who are half German and half (insert another language) because they want the best students. Other universities just want MFL students of any background! Just standing up will do!

Huge numbers of MFL students have a parent from the country of the language they wish to study and have spoken the language since (virtually) birth. It is unfair, but there it is. It is more difficult for British children to shine but my DD did get a place for MFL at Oxford. It is not all about grades, it's a reasonable ps, performing in the tests and at interview if you get that far. DD didn't have a swanky ps and the people who are bilingual probably don't mention it in the ps and can certainly hide it with a standard a British name if the mum is foreign. MFL at Oxford takes a highish percentage of applicants (about 33%) but it is definitely easier to shine in the tests and at interview if you are bilingual.

Like many pupils DD learnt one language from age 11 and the other from age 12. Choosing a language rarely taught at school also helps.