Modern Languages

The Modern Languages teachers work hard to maintain a thriving and flourishing department despite the national trend which has seen numbers of language students falling in recent years. We adopt a lively, fun and interactive approach to our teaching, while retaining the rigour which we think is necessary for success in languages study.

Year 7

Pupils are allocated 6 x 30 minute periods per week of French. Pupils follow the text-book Encore Tricolore Total 1, which has a Kerboodle on-line component for Listening and Reading comprehension practice, at school or at home. The classes are taught in 5 mixed ability form groups, each with about 24 pupils.

Year 8

Pupils are allocated 3 x 30 minute periods per week of French. Pupils follow the text-book Encore Tricolore Total 2, which will also have a Kerboodle component. The Year group is split into 2 Bands; in each Band there are 3 classes, setted 1, 2 and 3, with about 20 pupils in each.

Pupils also opt to begin a second language, Spanish or German, with a ratio of about 3:1. In each Band there are 3 mixed ability Spanish sets and 1 German set, each with about 15 pupils. The text books used are Mira 1 and Echo Express respectively.

Year 9

Pupils are allocated 4 x 30 minute periods per week for each language. Pupils follow the text-book Encore Tricolore 3 (Nouvelle Edition) in French, and continue with Listos 1 and Echo Express in Spanish and German. The second languages continue to be taught in mixed ability groups, but French is setted - 2 Bands, each with sets 1, 2 and 3a and 3b parallel. At the end of the year, in their options, pupils must choose to continue at least one language to GCSE level. We hope that the increased and earlier exposure to a second language will encourage more boys to continue their studies in both subjects.

Years 10 to 11

Pupils are allocated 5 x 30 minute periods per week of each language they have chosen. Almost all pupils continue with French, and currently just over half the Year choose 2 languages (but see note above - we hope the number of double linguists will rise). Classes in all 3 languages have been newly equipped with the Nelson Thornes book for the AQA New Specification, with its on-line Kerboodle component. All pupils will spend some of their lesson time with the Assistant, practising for their Speaking assessments.

6th Form (Years 12/13)

AS and A2 are offered in French (AQA), German (OCR), and Spanish (AQA). The normal allocation is 10 x 30 minute periods, shared by 2 teachers; though timetabling constraints sometimes force a 6:4 split. A lesson with the Assistant is an extra period fitted into free study time, where possible. French AS has 2 sets, usually about 10 pupils in each, of whom around 50% continue to A2. Spanish numbers can vary, but usually there are 2 sets of 8 to 10 boys, with similar numbers completing a full A level. German numbers have been quite low in recent years, and Sixth Form classes have been combined with girls and a teacher from LHS. In both Sixth Form years, a range of textbooks and resources are used, including the online Kerboodle. Students are also issued with a monthly/bi-monthly magazine and tape, and have access to foreign language newspapers and other authentic material. Foreign Language Assistants in all three languages are employed on an annual basis to run weekly oral classes for Years 11 to 13.