Oxbridge History and MFL

Hiya,

I'm in Year 11 at school and am looking into studying History and MFL joint course at oxbridge. I am predicted a 9 in GCSE French and an 8 in GCSE history. I have had my heart set for a while on studying both history + french at uni, as I would love to do a year abroad and to be able to (eventually) speak fluent french. My issue is that the college (sixth form) nearest me has dropped their French A level, and if I were to do French A level, I would therefore have to make a 2 hour journey each morning and evening to the nearest college (which does French). So, I would be getting home at close to 7pm each night and leaving the house at 6am every morning. I'm not sure if its honestly worth it, especially since I am not sure that I would get a minimum of an A in French A level, and therefore wouldn't fulfil the entry requirements. Am I better off going to the nearer college and doing A levels that I am likely to get As in? Sorry if this is rambly and I appreciate any input! xx

I think its really important to study subjects that you enjoy! What makes you think that you won't be able to get an A in alevel French though- your gcse prediction for French is brilliant! Have you looked at school sixth forms close to you, rather than college sixth forms in your area- some of them might offer french?

That's definitely not a commute that is conducive to your studies - I think you need to rule out the other college altogether now unless your family is able/willing to move closer to it, or there's another option nearer.
So looking at the bigger picture beyond that - firstly, are you specifically only interested in doing French at degree level, or are there other languages you are interested in? Quite a few languages are offered "ab initio" at Oxford or Cambridge for history and modern languages (just not French). Alternatively if you really do want to carry on with French, you may need to look at other universities besides Oxbridge which you can take it ab initio. You could also consider taking a gap year to do A-level French in a gap year somewhere - this may give you a little more flexibility in times for example. However you may need to pay some costs associated with taking it depending on the provider.
Secondly there is also the aforementioned option of just doing single honours history and developing your language skills alongside that - usually this won't form a credit bearing part of the course but is something you can do via the university's language centre (which will normally have options for languages at most if not all levels - generally all beginning from scratch). Especially if you are more interested in language acquisition than e.g. studying the literature and other textual/documentary cultures of that language in the original language that may well suit your interests well (or even better). Particularly at Oxbridge as I understand the languages courses are very literature oriented and are closer to an English lit degree except it would be e.g. French literature (in French).

Hiya,

I'm in Year 11 at school and am looking into studying History and MFL joint course at oxbridge. I am predicted a 9 in GCSE French and an 8 in GCSE history. I have had my heart set for a while on studying both history + french at uni, as I would love to do a year abroad and to be able to (eventually) speak fluent french. My issue is that the college (sixth form) nearest me has dropped their French A level, and if I were to do French A level, I would therefore have to make a 2 hour journey each morning and evening to the nearest college (which does French). So, I would be getting home at close to 7pm each night and leaving the house at 6am every morning. I'm not sure if its honestly worth it, especially since I am not sure that I would get a minimum of an A in French A level, and therefore wouldn't fulfil the entry requirements. Am I better off going to the nearer college and doing A levels that I am likely to get As in? Sorry if this is rambly and I appreciate any input! xx

I had an almost two hour commute to college each way when I was at college and, whilst it was something that took a lot of effort, it wasn't impossible and I did get used to it (I spent most it working or asleep). One thing to note is that you may not be able to do French A-Level ab initio at Oxbridge. Annoyingly, their entry requirements haven't caught up to the decreasing availability of French in many parts of the country. Obviously, there are other universities around the country that do not have this requirement but Oxbridge do. Another thing to note is that you may be able to drive there by the end of your studies, if you're able to pass your test in time and are able to drive. You could also have friends that could give you lifts but this can't always be relied upon.