Languages

The MFL department comprises three subject specialists including one native Spanish speaker. We offer both French and Spanish to GCSE. 

Teachers

Madam Balch – Head of Languages 

Senior Shane – Teacher of Spanish

Senior Navarro – Teacher of Spanish 

Phase 2 (Years 7 and 8)

Our Phase 2 Scheme of Learning is based around the very interactive and fun Active Learn programme, which caters for a variety of learning styles to engage all learners.

Students in Year 7 have the opportunity to study one half term of Spanish and one half term of French before making an informed decision about which one to pursue as their language of choice for their continuing MFL studies.

French Topics – Year 7 

French Topics – Year 8

Phase 3 (Years 9, 10 and 11) 

MFL students in Year 9 will begin a three year GCSE course, which is designed to provide them with an interactive learning experience, they will develop their skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, all of which are equally weighted in four examinations at the end of Year 11. Learning cafés are run after school and during half-term breaks, to help all students work towards their learning goals and to prepare for the all-important examinations.

AQA GCSE in French 

The course is made up  of 3 main subject areas called themes:

Theme 1 – Identity and culture (relationships, social media, music, cinema food, sport, festivals and customs).

Theme 2 – Local, national, international global areas of interest (home and local area, charity work, healthy living, environment, poverty, holidays/travel and French regions).

Theme 3 – Current and future study and employment (school

subjects, school and college, university, work and career).

During the course students will also acquire translation skills, learn how to deal with authentic texts, learn vocabulary and build on grammatical knowledge.

Assessment:                      

Students must complete formal assessments in listening, speaking, reading and writing. These will be conducted at the end of the two year course. Each of these represents 25% of the overall numerical grade. The speaking component, which includes a role-play, a photo card and a general conversation element will be conducted by the teacher and marked by an external examiner

French Topics – Year 9

French Topics – Year 10

French Topics – Year 11

Support available 

How parents can support 

Career Opportunities

Some modern language graduates work on a self- employed basis as interpreters or translators. However, many others choose careers not directly related to their subject but where there is the opportunity to use their language skills, for example working for companies who trade or offer services internationally or to non-English speaking customers and suppliers.

This means that language graduates work for a huge variety of employers and sectors, including:

• business services
• charity work
• engineering
• media
• museums and libraries
• public administration
• teaching
• tourism
• transport and logistics