The AS Russian exam consists of three papers: listening and writing, reading and writing and a prepared oral topic relating to Russia. For A2 the three papers involve an oral discussion of a Russian issue, set literary texts and a paper that combines listening, reading and writing. In practice, one of the two set texts for A2 is studied during the AS year, along with some Russian poetry, since this adds depth to the course, as well as giving a good start to potential A2 candidates. All AS and A2 candidates have weekly conversation lessons with a native speaker. From time to time there are talks by visiting Russianists and trips to events of interest.