A Level Spanish Topics by Exam Board: Full List

With several different exam boards offering A Level Spanish, it can be difficult to know exactly what you need to study.

Though specifications contain your syllabus, they’re often much longer and more detailed than you need them to be. What’s more useful is a clear picture of how each theme, topic or area fits into the assessment structure.

This article includes an official and complete breakdown of the topics you need to revise for A Level Spanish. We’ve split the content by the major exam boards – AQA (opens in a new tab), Cambridge International Education (CIE (opens in a new tab)), Pearson Edexcel (opens in a new tab) and WJEC Eduqas (opens in a new tab) – to show you exactly what you need to know. We’ll also explain how to use these lists to revise in the most effective way.

Key Takeaways

• The major exam boards currently offering A Level Spanish are AQA, CIE, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas

• All exam boards will assess your grammar throughout your exams, building on what is learnt in GCSE Spanish

• Avoid revising unnecessary content by only going by what your exam board specification says

• Use topic and theme lists to create a revision plan and organise your notes

Why It's Important to Know Your Exam Board

Although subject content often overlaps across exam boards, each exam board has a different syllabus. This means that the same subject can be taught very differently in one exam board compared to another, with varying topics, skills and assessment methods.

Knowing exactly which topics your exam board covers means you can create a focused revision plan. You won't waste time studying content that won't be tested, and you'll know exactly what to expect when it comes to exams.

If you’re not sure which exam board you’re using, check with your Spanish teacher.

AQA A Level Spanish Topics (7692)

AQA (opens in a new tab) is split into themes and sub-themes:

Theme 1. Social issues and trends

• Aspects of Hispanic society

  • Modern and traditional values

  • Cyberspace

  • Equal rights

• Multiculturalism in Hispanic society

  • Immigration

  • Integration

  • Racism

Theme 2. Political and artistic culture

• Artistic culture in the Hispanic world

  • Modern day idols

  • Spanish regional identity

  • Cultural heritage

• Aspects of political life in the Hispanic world

  • Today’s youth, tomorrow’s citizens

  • Monarchies and dictatorships

  • Popular movements

The table below shows what each AQA exam paper covers:

CIE A Level Spanish - Language & Literature Topics (9844)

CIE (opens in a new tab) bases its content around six topic areas, which can all appear in all three papers:

Culture

• Entertainment

• Identity and culture

• The arts

Health and well-being

• Health and fitness

• Nutrition

• Managing well-being

Education and future plans

• Life at school

• Further/higher education

• Career/work choices

Community and society

• Equality and diversity

• Lifestyle

• Society

Our responsibility for the planet

• The environment

• Sustainable living

• Protecting our world

Science and technology

• Scientific and technological innovation

• Social media

• Technology

The table below shows what each CIE exam paper covers:

Pearson Edexcel A Level Spanish Topics (9SP0)

Pearson Edexcel (opens in a new tab) is also split into themes and sub-themes:

Theme 1. La evolución de la sociedad española (Spain only)

• El cambio en la estructura familiar (the change in family structure)

• El mundo laboral (the world of work)

• El impacto turístico en España (the impact of tourism in Spain)

Theme 2. La cultura política y artística en el mundo hispanohablante (Spanish-speaking countries and communities)

• La música (music)

• Los medios de comunicación (the media)

• Los festivales y las tradiciones (festivals and traditions)

Theme 3. La inmigración y la sociedad multicultural española (Spain only)

• El impacto positivo de la inmigración en la sociedad Española (the positive impact of immigration on Spanish society)

• Enfrentando los desafíos de la inmigración y la integración en España (facing the challenges of immigration and integration in Spain)

• La reacción social y pública hacia la inmigración en España (the social and public reaction to immigration in Spain)

Theme 4. La dictadura franquista y la transición a la democracia (Spain only)

• La Guerra Civil y el ascenso de Franco (the Civil War and the rise of Franco), 1936-1939

• La dictadura franquista (the Francoist dictatorship)

• La transición de la dictadura a la democracia (the transition from dictatorship to democracy)

The table below shows what each Pearson Edexcel A Level Spanish exam paper covers:

WJEC Eduqas A Level Spanish Topics (A810QS)

WJEC Eduqas (opens in a new tab) splits its content into themes and sub-themes:

Theme 1. Being a young person in a Spanish-speaking society

• Families and citizenship

• Youth trends and personal identity

• Education and employment opportunities

Theme 2. Diversity and difference

• Migration and integration

• Cultural identity and marginalisation

• Cultural enrichment and celebrating difference

• Discrimination and diversity

Theme 3. Understanding the Spanish-speaking world

• Regional culture and heritage in Spain, Spanish-speaking countries and communities

• Media, art, film and music in the Spanish-speaking world

Theme 4. The two Spains: 1936 onwards

• El franquismo

• Post-Civil War Spain - historical and political repercussions

• Spain - coming to terms with the past?

How to Use Topic Lists for Revision

Create a revision plan

Print or copy out the themes or paper content into a checklist. Use the traffic light system (opens in a new tab) to prioritise weaker areas, and tick each area off as you revise. Seeing progress is really motivating, and it stops you from accidentally skipping anything important.

For grammar, look at the appendices in your exam board specification. Revise important grammatical rules and write as many sentences as you can.

Organise your notes and flashcards by topic

Separating your notes and flashcards according to topic will make it much easier to find information quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to revise all A Level Spanish topics for the exam?

Yes – whichever exam board you’re using, you need to revise all topics. 

Use a checklist to make your revision more manageable, and check what each paper assesses to help create a relevant revision plan.

Are these topics the same across all exam boards?

The content is broadly the same – for example, AQA, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas all include set literary texts, films and an independent research project – but the topics often come under different names.

CIE is the most different of the exam boards, as it’s A Level Spanish - Language & Literature.

It’s important to only go by what is in your exam board’s specification, as there are differences between how and what each exam board teaches.

How do I know which topics I struggle with most?

Alongside the traffic light system, look at which topics you tend to get the lowest marks on in mock exams or past paper questions. Prioritise revising the areas you’re least confident in.

Do all topics come up in every exam paper?

The listening, reading and writing/translation exams tend to feature content from all relevant themes. However, speaking exams generally only test your knowledge of one theme or sub-theme, and the works exam will just be based on your set literary texts and/or films.

Final Thoughts

Using theme and topic lists to structure your A Level Spanish revision means you'll know exactly what to study, how it's tested, and how to allocate your time between each area.

Bookmark or print this page, and use it as your roadmap. Work through each theme or area, tick it off as you go, practise answering past paper questions, and persevere to improve your knowledge and skills for all four exam papers.

¡Buena suerte!

References

• AQA A Level Spanish Specification  (opens in a new tab)

• Cambridge International A Level Spanish Language & Literature Syllabus (opens in a new tab)

• How to Use the Traffic Light System to Improve Your Marks (opens in a new tab)

• Illustrative content for individual projects (opens in a new tab)

• Pearson Edexcel A Level Spanish Specification (opens in a new tab)

• WJEC Eduqas A Level Spanish Specification (opens in a new tab)