Modern Foreign Languages

The ability to speak a foreign language is a skill that is much in demand in industry and commerce and also one that our students will find valuable throughout their adult lives.

As well as encouraging excellence in the grammatical and linguistic elements of French, German, Spanish and Mandarin we aim to foster an appreciation of the cultural and historical similarities and differences between English and a student’s chosen language.

High quality teaching and learning in the department have led to increasingly impressive examination results, and we also provide opportunities for students to study languages in non-academic situations via video podcasts, apps, interactive exercises and websites.

Our VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) also provides students and parents with up-to-date digital resources to consolidate the classroom learning, as well as past papers and vocab learning games with specific topic-based themes and examples of exam answers.

Lower School

In Year 7, pupils study French or Spanish (depending on the year of entry) for four lessons per week. Latin is also offered to help pupils assimilate key grammatical structures more quickly.

In Year 8 and 9, pupils continue with the first year language (French or Spanish) for two lessons per week, as well as choosing one of the remaining languages (French/German/Latin/Spanish) to be their new language option (three lessons per week).

Modern textbooks and resources are used to ensure that students are challenged and that they develop and hone their reading, listening, speaking and writing skills.

Regardless of language, by the end of Key Stage 3 all the requisite aspects of grammar will have been mastered and command of the five tenses will have been attained by most students, to ensure they can go on and achieve their highest potential result in terms of GCSE grades.

GCSE

Knowing a foreign language will help to improve your cultural awareness, increase your adaptability, and make you a more confident and effective communicator. If you speak a second, or third, language, you may be way ahead in terms of your cognition and your career. Proficiency in modern languages is becoming more and more important for trading with the E.U. and in the world at large and is a distinct advantage to a student looking to go to university as well as a graduate in the job market.

Our students opt for French, German or Spanish (or a combination of two) at Key Stage 4 and follow the Pearson Edexcel specification.

GCSE has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier.

GCSE Examinations:

Paper 1: Speaking (Non-examined assessment)

Prep time: 15 mins Foundation: 7-9 mins Higher: 10-12 mins

Task 1: Read aloud and 2 short unprepared questions

Task 2: Role play in a transactional setting

Task 3: Picture description, 2 short unprepared questions and follow-on conversation

Paper 2: Listening and Understanding

Foundation: 45 mins Higher: 60 mins – 5 mins reading time included

Section A: Listening – multiple-choice, multiple-response and short-answer open response questions. All questions set in English.

Section B: Dictation

Paper 3: Reading and Understanding

Foundation: 45 mins Higher: 60 mins

Section A: Reading – multiple-choice, multiple-response and short-answer open response questions. All questions set in English.

Section B: Translation into English

Paper 4: Writing

Foundation: 1 hour 15 mins Higher: 1 hour 20 mins

Picture task (Foundation tier only)

Two writing responses (both tiers, with a choice of two options for each question)

Translation into German (both tiers)

A Level

The A Level course extends the depth of knowledge and skills that students have acquired at GCSE, not just in terms of grammar, vocabulary and spoken fluency, but also in terms of extending their appreciation of the deeper nature of the language. This goes hand in hand with the study of social, historical, literary and cultural aspects of the countries where the language is spoken.

Our students, who opt for French, German or Spanish (or a combination of two) at Key Stage 5 follow the AQA specification A Level.

Topics at A Level:

Social issues and trends
Political and artistic culture
Grammar
One literary text and one film

Examinations at the end of Year 13:

Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing exam lasting 2 hours 30 minutes,

Paper 2: Writing lasting 2 hours

Paper 3: Speaking lasting 21-23 minutes (including 5 minutes preparation time)