In Year 7 all students study French. In Year 8, half the students study French, and the other half Spanish. Both languages are available as GCSE options.
More students are choosing a language at GCSE, and pass rates have improved to a high level in the last three years. Being able to speak a modern European language is an important skill in the modern world and an extremely useful asset in looking for a college place or employment.
Many students come to us with excellent language skills, speaking two and sometimes three languages. In the past few years our students have passed GCSEs in Bengali, Dutch, Greek, Gujerati, Panjabi, Portuguese, Russian, and Urdu – as early as Year 9!
We enter students for these GCSEs when they are ready; many take GCSE at the end of Year 9 or Year 10. We can sometimes arrange ‘twilight’ lessons in languages such as Bengali and Urdu. We have also arranged AS level French for students who passed their French GCSE early.
Both Spanish and French are supported by language assistants, who are also involved in Spanish and French lunchtime clubs. The main aim of the clubs is to give students greater exposure to the national culture and to practise speaking in the language. From time to time, we arrange trips to France and Spain.
