<p>Are the “special subjects” you mentioned at Oxford or Cambridge? If they are at Oxford I suggest you research more deeply into what they involve. I say this because the special subjects in the Oxford Modern History course are based on the detailed study of primary sources in the original language. So, for example, the special subject on the Third Reich requires the study of 100s of pages of German documents; William the Conqueror is of similar bulk, all in Latin. Unless you have good language skills your available options may be a lot narrower than you think.</p>