Why you should not fear the Pre-U

Students are increasingly better prepared for it

The new GCSE develops and tests the skills and knowledge that you will need to use to succeed on the Pre-U Modern Languages course. The new National Curriculum for Languages states the importance of grammar and translation, as well as the need for students to start becoming familiar with literature in the language they are studying. With this foundation, students will come prepared to further develop their skills in these areas, and others, when undertaking the Pre-U.  

It prepares students extremely well for university courses

Teaching the Pre-U Languages course reminded me a lot of my undergraduate days at Oxford: teaching the speaking, listening, translation, and literature parts of the Pre-U course mirrored almost exactly how and what I studied at university. Half of the speaking examination is identical to the Oxford Finals speaking examination (summary of an article in the language followed by a discussion on the broader topic), as is the listening section, comprising a short audio clip to be summarised in English. In the Pre-U literature paper (lovely Paper 4), an essay is written in English in the style of linguists at Oxford, who must write analytical essays on the prominent literary texts they study. In this sense, Pre-U truly is pre-university, and I am envious of the preparation Pre-U students receive on the course before beginning their studies at undergraduate level; I could certainly have done with it myself when starting out at university all those years ago…  

The course material is substantial and interesting

Students and teachers of Pre-U Languages absolutely love the Pre-U syllabus. This is, in part, because you get to study an aspect of the target language community’s culture through its films and books, such as the films of cinema great Pedro Almodovar, as well as read literature classics in the language, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s No One Writes to the Colonel, or Phèdre by Racine. This makes up a quarter of the course (Paper 4), and is arguably its most fulfilling part, both in terms of enjoyment gleaned from it and this translating to being the paper in which students most often perform best at examination. The remaining papers similarly present an appropriate level of challenge and interest; there are no textbooks from which to teach the course, so most teachers make their own high-quality and level-appropriate resources using authentic materials in the language (like news articles and videos), which is also how questions are set for the reading and listening components of the qualification.  

You will be a proficient linguist by the end of it

Pre-U does not favour rote learning. Gone are the days of memorising endless pages of material in the target language, with no idea what you are actually saying. The good news is that by the end of the Pre-U course, you will be able to spontaneously say, write, and understand things in your chosen language of study, and that’s when you’ll sit the exams. There is no way to prepare exactly what you are going to say or write in them; instead you will be able to use two years’ worth of practice, knowledge of the language, and targeted study to accurately and eloquently express your ideas and analysis. For instance, the second half of the speaking examination requires that students talk about someone or something related to your chosen language’s culture (like a famous author, artist, scientist, musician, or a movement they were part of, etc.), except you don’t know what the (external) examiner will ask you. However, by this time you will be an expert in the topic you have researched and will know enough about it, and enough of the language, to reel off even the tiniest details about it.  

Excellent schools and universities are on board with it

A significant number of prominent schools currently offer Languages (and other subjects) at Pre-U, such as Westminster School, Harrow, Watford Grammar, alongside many other excellent schools, both comprehensive and independent. Some schools have been offering this course since it was first introduced in 2008, with many schools across the country and beyond opting to switch to Pre-U courses over time as the qualification gains recognition and builds its reputation. Universities have likewise adapted to the Pre-U, offering 5 more UCAS points per grade than their A-level equivalents, in acknowledgment of the course’s rich and comprehensive nature.