A-Level Spanish 2026: AQA, Edexcel or Eduqas?

A-Level Spanish in 2026 is a single subject examined by three different awarding bodies in England and Wales, and none of them sets the same papers or weights them the same way. Getting the board right matters before a single past paper is downloaded, because a set-works list, mark scheme or grade boundary for the wrong specification tells a family almost nothing useful.

In 2026 the three current boards are AQA (7692), Pearson Edexcel (9SP0) and Eduqas/WJEC (A810QS). OCR withdrew A-Level Spanish in 2016, with a final assessment series in summer 2017 and a final resit series in summer 2018 -- a fact at least one widely read guide still gets wrong.

Which Boards Still Teach A-Level Spanish, and Which One Withdrew?

AQA's own specification names its qualification plainly: "AQA Advanced Level GCE in Spanish", entry code 7692. AQA's live specification web page states its Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) directly: "The Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) is 601/8732/3." That is worth flagging precisely because the 2016-vintage specification PDF itself does not give a number -- it prints the field as "The Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) is TBC", a placeholder AQA never went back to fill in. This page takes the QAN from AQA's current live page, not the PDF, and says so rather than leaving a reader who checks the PDF to think the number was invented.

Pearson Edexcel's Level 3 Advanced GCE in Spanish specification gives its own subject code as 9SP0 and its QN as 601/8706/2. Eduqas/WJEC's A-level Spanish subject page gives its own reference codes plainly: "Qual Code A810QS A Level ... B810QS - for WJEC use only ... QN 603/0069/3 A Level." A810QS and B810QS are not two different qualifications -- the specification PDF's own title page confirms "This Ofqual regulated qualification is not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales", so A810QS is the Ofqual-regulated, England-facing entry and B810QS the equivalent code for Wales-maintained centres registering the same specification content through WJEC and Qualifications Wales instead.

OCR is not a current option. Its own subject-update notice, dated 16 May 2016, records "the difficult decision not to continue the redevelopment of GCSEs, AS and A Levels in Modern Foreign Languages (French, German and Spanish)" and confirms it would "withdraw from provision of these qualifications at the conclusion of the final assessment series", naming its A-level Spanish entry code H477 (QN 500/2198/9) and AS entry code H077 (QN 500/2254/4), both with a final assessment series of summer 2017 and a final resit series of summer 2018. OCR's own qualification pages cannot be used to check this independently: an invented OCR URL of the same shape as a real qualification page returns the same HTTP 200 "Qualification type menu" shell that a live page would, so a page that looks current proves nothing either way. What does confirm it is OCR's own complete AS and A Level subject list, read directly: it carries no French, German or Spanish entry anywhere in its A-Z, independently corroborating the 2016 notice a decade on.

AQA's invented-URL control test tells the same story from the other direction: a path added under AQA's own /specification/ tree that has never existed also returns HTTP 200, and serves the real qualification's general-administration page, QAN 601/8732/3 included, rather than a 404. AQA's HTML alone cannot confirm a page is genuine; its specification PDF and its live specification page, read together, are what this page relies on.

How Do AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas Split the Four Papers?

Every board sits its speaking paper at 30% of the qualification, but the other two or three papers are shaped very differently, and the mark totals are not the same either.

AQA and Eduqas both split their non-speaking marks 50/20 across two papers; Edexcel splits the same territory 40/30 instead, and its Paper 2 -- 120 marks, worth 30% of the qualification -- is the single largest paper on any of the three specifications. AQA's Paper 3 is examined as an oral exam of 21-23 minutes including 5 minutes' preparation time and graded, like every paper on every current board, on the standard six-point A*-E scale with a U for unclassified, as AQA's specification confirms.

Why Do the Prescribed Text and Film Lists Vary So Much by Board?

Every board examines set-work knowledge in writing, and none allows a candidate to build that answer around two films -- but the size of the list a school actually gets to choose from is not the same on any two boards, and that is the fact a family switching board discovers the hard way.

AQA's own list is the smallest: 10 prescribed literary texts and 6 prescribed films, 16 works in total. Its specification is explicit about the pairing rule: "Students must study either one text and one film or two texts from the list below," examined in closed-book conditions as part of Paper 2, worth 20% of the A-level.

Pearson Edexcel's Appendix 2 lists by far the largest pool: 13 literary texts and 12 films, 25 works in total, counted directly from the specification's own numbered list, which gives no summary count of its own. Edexcel's rule reads "either two literary texts, or one literary text and one film" -- the same never-two-films restriction as AQA, applied to a pool more than half as large again.

Eduqas sits between the two, though its specification frames the requirement differently again: "Twelve works are available for study at A level: six literary works and six films. Candidates are required to study two works, one of which must be a literary work." A film-only pairing fails that rule too. Eduqas examines the response in Component 3, "Critical and analytical response in writing (closed-book)", a two-hour paper worth 40 marks and 20% of the qualification -- the same paper shape as AQA's, built around a list exactly 4 works smaller.

None of the three lists overlaps with either of the others in the specifications themselves, so a text or film chosen for one board's course cannot be assumed to appear on another's -- a school changing board, or a tutor picking up a student mid-course, has to start from that board's own appendix, not carry a list across.

Where Do Students Lose the Most Marks -- the Individual Research Project?

Every current board builds a self-chosen, independently researched topic into its speaking exam, and each names and marks it slightly differently -- differences that matter for how a student should actually prepare, not just for what the component is called.

AQA's own specification calls it the "individual research project" and marks it as part of Paper 3: "Presentation (2 minutes) and discussion (9-10 minutes) of individual research project (35 marks)", inside a speaking paper that runs 21 to 23 minutes in total (including 5 minutes' preparation time), is worth 60 marks overall, and counts for 30% of the A-level. The remaining 25 marks come from a separate discussion of a sub-theme, based on a stimulus card. AQA's specification also sets a boundary many students miss: "students must not base their research on the same literary text or film that they refer to in their written assessment" -- the Paper 2 set text cannot be recycled as the Paper 3 research topic.

Pearson Edexcel structures its speaking paper as two tasks rather than two named halves: "Students complete two tasks - Task 1 is worth 30 marks and Task 2 is worth 42 marks", inside a paper worth 72 marks overall and, again, 30% of the qualification. Task 2 is Edexcel's independent-research equivalent, and at 42 of 72 marks it carries proportionally more weight within its own paper than AQA's 35 of 60. Edexcel's own research-project form, Appendix 1 (RP3), sets a concrete minimum: "You must provide 6 to 10 findings in English", drawn from "at least two written sources" the student must be ready to discuss in Task 2.

Eduqas builds the same research element into Component 1, its speaking paper: 21 to 23 minutes including 5 minutes' preparation, worth 60 marks and 30% of the qualification -- the same overall shape as AQA's Paper 3, split into Task 1 (the presentation and discussion of the research project) and Task 2 (a theme-based discussion). Eduqas's own specification does not publish a further breakdown of marks between the two tasks, so this page does not invent one.

What Parents Say

DP

Deborah Prior

★★★★★

Confidence and progress

My son was low in confidence after COVID and the gaps in learning were building up. Using this service helped plug those gaps, rebuild confidence, and improve his ability to learn properly again.

NI

Nicola

★★★★★

Amazing tutors!

We arranged maths and English tuition ahead of GCSEs and both tutors were brilliant. My daughter's grades improved, and by results day she achieved two grades higher than in her mock exams.

S

Saifan Khan

★★★★★

Great Teaching and Focused Learning

I attended an English bootcamp with Leading Tuition and the experience was excellent. The teacher gave focused attention to the small group while keeping the lessons interactive and engaging.

See more reviews on Trustpilot

Was A-Level Spanish's Grading Ever Adjusted, Like French and German's?

Not in the way GCSE French and German's was, and Spanish's own role in that story is the opposite of what a reader might assume. Ofqual's 5 November 2019 GCSE decision states plainly: "we have judged that there is a sufficiently strong case to make an adjustment to grading standards in French and German, but not Spanish," going on to require boards "to make adjustments to align grading standards in French and German with Spanish." GCSE Spanish was the benchmark the other two languages were moved towards, not a third subject that was also adjusted -- and that GCSE story belongs to French and German, not to this page's subject or level; our own GCSE French and German grading blog post covers it in full.

At A-level, the only real grading intervention on record for Spanish is a narrower one. Ofqual's 21 April 2017 announcement took "action this summer to ensure standards are set appropriately in A level French, German and Spanish," driven by "new research... which suggests that awarding should take into account the fact that native language speakers take these subjects" -- a statistical correction for cohort composition that did include Spanish alongside French and German, not a general severity review. Ofqual's 21 November 2018 decision then confirms nothing further followed: "we are today (Wednesday 21 November) publishing our decision not to adjust grading standards in these A level subjects, based on all the evidence," referring to French, German and Spanish together. So A-level Spanish has had one narrow adjustment, in 2017, and one decision not to go further, in 2018 -- and neither one is the GCSE story.

The wider A-Level tuition hub lists the other subjects we cover at this level. Students weighing a Modern Languages application to Oxford or Cambridge on the back of A-Level Spanish may also find our Spanish Oxbridge interview questions guide useful for the admissions-interview format those universities actually use.

Every figure on this page comes from the awarding bodies' own specifications and live specification pages, OCR's own subject-update notice and current subject list, or Ofqual's own published decisions, checked directly rather than taken from a secondary summary. Primary sources: AQA's A-level Spanish (7692) specification, AQA's live general administration page, Pearson Edexcel's A-level Spanish (9SP0) specification, Eduqas/WJEC's A-level Spanish (A810QS) specification, OCR's MFL withdrawal notice, OCR's current AS and A Level subject list, Ofqual's April 2017 grading announcement, Ofqual's November 2018 decision, and Ofqual's GCSE MFL decision. Checked 8 September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions About A-Level Spanish