As a qualified German and French teacher turned full-time private tutor, I specialise in GCSE and A-Level German and French. Needless to say, I get very excited when it comes to A-Level results day. This year was absolutely no different! In fact, I think I was as nervous as some of my private A-Level German tutees!
How Did My A-Level German and French Tutees Do?
Thankfully, I was very happy to learn that all my A-Level students achieved or surpassed their potential. They all got fantastic grades and were able to get into their universities of choice upon obtaining their required grades. Obviously, making it worthwhile for them to have private tuition in the lead up to their exams.
However, I was disappointed to see that the picture across the country appeared divided on A-Level results day. These are a couple of posts from a German A-Level results thread on Facebook. As well as another on Twitter / X or whatever it’s called these days on A-Level Spanish and A-Level German.
The National Picture
The National PictureSome teachers were very pleased with their students German A-Level results grades. However, as you can see from many of the comments, language teachers were disheartened to see that their students/family didn’t achieve the grades that they would have in past years, despite their abilities.
The Twitter/X thread, in which Bruno Gomes notes that the grade boundaries between 2019 and 2023 were around 10 marks higher for A*, A and B, reflects the annoyance and disappointment from many teachers in relation to their German, French and Spanish students’ grades.
In support of Gomes’s claims, TES Magazine conducted some research into the A-Level A* / A grades by region for all subjects between 2019 and 2023. As you can see, the percentages are slightly lower in most of England, but significantly lower in London and the South East.
What do these comments and statistics tell us?
Do French, German and Spanish A-Level students perform better if they have a tutor?
If we take into consideration this comment from a private tutor on a Facebook group, not necessarily. Especially with the way the marking appears to be going for A-Levels! 
Don’t be disheartened though, it’s clearly a national issue and one that needs to be addressed. Yes, COVID would have affected the 2023 cohort of A-Level students lower down their school journey, so should allowances have been made by the exam boards for this years’ exams? Were they made? It doesn’t appear so.
Final Thoughts
As you can see from my small amount of data, some A-Level linguists got the grades they wanted/were predicted in 2023. They may have had tuition, we will never know! From my experience, a private tutor with excellent knowledge of the exams can support you to achieve your potential. As well as help you to improve your confidence and grades if you feel they are lacking.\
If you would like some support with your German, French or Spanish A-Levels, there are tips that can help! They helped my students, along with private tuition. Here are a couple of reviews from recent students:
A-LEVEL LANGUAGE STUDENTS subscribe to my YouTube channel here to get tips to improve your grades! You may do well without them, but they may help you, as they did my students this year, as well as previous A-Level German and French tutees, for example.
Let me know what you think in the comments, do A-Level linguists need a tutor?
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