Modern Foreign Languages

Mr Alex Tarbox  – Teacher of French and SpanishMrs Janet Frank-Thomas – Head of LanguagesMrs Isabelle Jones – Teacher of French and SpanishMs Andrea Wild – Teacher of French 

MFL Curriculum Intent

“We encourage pupils to communicate in the language from day one by using many practical interactive activities to enable them to have real conversations with their peers.”

Departmental Aims

Knowledge of foreign languages has never been more important to students than it is today; both in the work place and as future citizens of the world, they need to be prepared to compete for the best possible opportunities available. Our aim is to ensure that pupils achieve this. The Government has recognised this academic importance and also the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) requires students to have a good level in a language.

Key Stage 3

Students learn through a wide range of activities based around the four skills of Reading, Speaking, Writing and Listening. In our department pupils are encouraged to be out of their seats and communicating, whatever their level, in the foreign language. We bring the culture alive through the use of ICT and our own experiences. Pupils are taught via the latest resources and technology.

Key Stage 4 

FCSE French/ Spanish (AQA)
In Year 9, students begin to hone their language learning skills by first studying for FCSE ( Foundation Certificate in Secondary Education) in which they gain a recognised qualification whilst bridging the gap between KS3 and GSCE level French/Spanish. Our students find this really enjoyable and motivating.

GCSE French / Spanish (AQA)
The GCSE exam has four papers (foundation or higher tier) in Speaking (25%), Writing (25%), Listening (25%) and Reading (25%) all taken in final exams at the end of the course.

Lessons will continue to be interactive with lots of opportunities to speak in the foreign language and learning through games and practice.

Our highly-motivated GCSE students have to be independent, brave (you must ALWAYS be prepared to have a go and get things wrong), flexible and hard-working.

You will study a range of interesting topics; some new, some you will be building upon from previous knowledge. The culture of French and Spanish speaking countries will be a big part of the topics and will include experiences in music, food, history, literature and popular culture.

Extra Curricular

Students will have the opportunity to visit France/Spain and practise their skills on our yearly MFL trips, as well as subscribing to MFL magazines and communicating with students from France and Spain. We have excellent links with our local primary schools and our pupils often take part in joint MFL activities such as European Languages Day.