Curriculum Intent

Learning a foreign language is an essential life skill.  As well as making travel more enjoyable and easier, it will enable students to experience another culture and make new friends.  Knowledge of a language increases chances of employment as well as earning potential and opens our mind to new ideas.  It is an enriching experience.

At Key Stage 3, we aim to make language-learning fun, relevant and accessible to all through games and communicative activities.  Students will feel confident about using every day French both at home and abroad by the end of Year 9 and will feel proud of their achievements. At Key Stage 4 our key aim is to further develop the linguistic skills of comprehension and expression, both written and spoken and to further extend students’ knowledge of the countries where the language is spoken, their way of life, culture and general civilisation. At A-level the skills acquired at Key Stage 4 are carefully honed and developed, to produce fluent speakers of the foreign language with a keen interest and understanding of their culture.

Key Stage 3

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9
Personal information School subjects Where I live (home) Food Local area Lifestyle Film study: Ma vie de courgette	Holidays Sport and leisure Daily life and issues in francophone countries France and other countries Entertainment and advertising Technology Film study: Le petit Nicolas	Issues for teenagers A balanced diet Parties and festivals Transport and holidays Home Jobs and ambitions Film study: Les choristes

Key Stage 3 assessment

• At the end of each unit, the students are formally assessed in 2 or more skills (listening, reading, writing, translation, speaking)

 

Key Stage 4

AQA French GCSE (8658)

Year 10	Year 11
Me, my family and friends Technology in everyday life Free time activities Customs and festivals Home, town, neighbourhood and region Healthy and unhealthy living	Charity and voluntary work Global issues Travel and tourism My studies Life at school and college Education post-16 Jobs, career choices and ambitions

 

Key Stage 5

AQA French A Level (7652)

Year 12	Year 13
The changing nature of family The ‘cyber-society’ The place of voluntary work A culture proud of its heritage Contemporary francophone music Cinema: the 7th art form Film study: La haine	Positive features of a diverse society Life for the marginalised How criminals are treated Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power? Politics and immigration Literature: No et moi

Key Stage 5 assessment

• In Year 12, the students are assessed using the class tests in February and the UCAS prediction exams in June in all skills (speaking is only assessed in June)
• In Year 13, the students are assessed during the mock exams in January in all skills (speaking takes place later in March)
• Furthermore, the students are regularly assessed in class in vocabulary and grammar.
• Essays are regularly set

 

Curriculum enrichment outside of the classroom

• Lunchtime support sessions
• Film club
• Letters to Pere Noel
• Celebration of European Day for languages
• Language study trips to France
• Use of languages assistants
• Day trips to the BFI and Goethe Institute…
• Language plays in school
• Opportunity for students to purchase language magazines

A level Modern Foreign Languages:  Please see the Sixth Form section of our website: sixth-form-subject-information