A-Level Spanish tutoring for the jump that catches people out.
The step up from GCSE is steeper than almost any other subject. I took A-Level Spanish and then a Spanish degree at Cardiff, so I know both what the papers want and what the year after looks like.
- Essay technique for the literature and film papers
- Translation practice in both directions
- Independent research project planning and support
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- A-Level Spanish tutoring
What actually moves an A-Level grade
Essays, not knowledge
Most students arrive with plenty to say about the set text or film and no reliable way of structuring it. The mark scheme rewards a clear argument developed across paragraphs, with textual evidence, far more than it rewards plot recall. We work on the shape first and fill in the content afterwards.
Translation into Spanish
This is the paper where careless marks disappear fastest. Agreement, tense choice and prepositions account for most of them, and all three respond quickly to targeted drilling against real passages.
The independent research project
Choosing a topic that is narrow enough to argue and rich enough to sustain a discussion is half the work. I help with the choice, the sources, and the ten-minute presentation, which most students rehearse far too late.
Grammar you were allowed to skip
The subjunctive, the passive, and the conditional perfect are all things you could largely avoid at GCSE and cannot avoid now. We close those gaps deliberately rather than hoping they do not come up.
I have just been through it
If you are considering Spanish at university, I can tell you honestly what the first year involves, how the year abroad works in practice, and what studying at a Spanish university like the Universitat de València is actually like day to day. That is not tutoring exactly, but it is worth an hour of anyone’s time before they fill in a UCAS form.
A-Level lessons cost £26 an hour
That includes marking any essays or translations you send between lessons.
GCSE & beginners
£22Per hour, online or in person. Pay after each lesson by bank transfer.A-Level & university
£26Per hour. Includes marking any written work you send between lessons.Pairs
£15Per student, per hour, for two students at a similar level.First lesson free either way. In person at my home in Killay or at yours within about four miles, a little further by arrangement.
Frequently asked
Do you know the set texts and films?
Tell me which ones your school has chosen when you get in touch. If it is something I have not worked on directly I will read or watch it before we start rather than bluff my way through.
Can you help with the IRP if I have not chosen a topic?
Yes, and that is often the best time to get help. A topic that is too broad is the single most common reason students struggle later.
I got a grade 7 at GCSE and I am now finding it hard. Is that normal?
Very. The jump is real, and it catches out strong GCSE students particularly because their existing approach stops working rather than gradually straining. It is fixable and it is usually about grammar foundations rather than ability.
Will you mark work between lessons?
Yes, that is included in the hourly rate. Send essays or translations and I will return them marked before the next session.
Your first lesson is free
Twenty minutes to work out whether this is a good fit. No payment details, no obligation either way.
Get in touch