French

All of our courses set out to imbue students with a love of francophone culture and language as well as with practical skills that will serve pupils well in later life.

A lingua franca of culture, art, cuisine, and an official language of the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee, and International Red Cross, among others, the study of French is as relevant and rewarding today as ever.

Lower School

Pupils in Years 10 and 11 sit the Edexcel IGCSE Course. The course comprises five broad topic areas, through which grammar and general linguistic competency are taught. The topics are: Home and Abroad; Education and Employment; House, Home and Daily Routine; The Modern World and Environment; Social Activities, Fitness and Health. The course aims to promote and develop a love for and natural curiosity about French language and culture.

There is no coursework element to the course and all four skills (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing) are assessed at the end of the Year 11 year and are worth 25% each. The IGCSE course intends to be rigorous enough to prepare pupils for A Level French whilst remaining accessible enough to equip all students with practical communication and comprehension skills in the language.

ICT is used extensively to support the teaching and learning of languages. iPads are used to complete and organise work and to access authentic materials to foster the development of pupils’ comprehension and communicative skills. Pupils are encouraged to use and develop their ICT skills by preparing PowerPoint presentations, voice recordings and posters.

Upper School

Two year A Level

The department follows the Edexcel A Level French course. The A Level course assesses the four language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening), but also assumes a degree of awareness of the broader cultural aspects of life in the countries concerned. The content of the courses is based on a number of contemporary themes and the study of literature, history and film is included within these themes. The following contemporary themes are a sample of what is covered throughout the course: La Musique; le Monde du Travail; l’Extrême Droite; La France Occupée; L’impact positif de l’Immigration. Throughout the course, pupils learn to use language effectively to express their ideas, develop an argument and to analyse and evaluate.

Pupils are encouraged to acquire a high level of grammatical competency. The principal aim is to develop confidence and competence in practical communication skills for study, work and leisure. Skills in reading, speaking, writing and listening will develop and pupils will acquire an increased knowledge and understanding of language structures.

The A Level course also affords students the opportunity to undertake a research-based project on an area of interest to the pupil.

Pupils also benefit from weekly lessons in small groups of two or three with the French language assistant to develop spoken fluency and gain confidence in producing accurate language on the spot.

Two year A Level

The two-year AS in French offers those students who do not wish to opt for a full A Level the opportunity to continue with French in the Sixth Form. In doing so, pupils will gain practical language skills over and above those acquired at GCSE and a widely-respected qualification held in high esteem by both universities and employers. French is spoken on every continent and remains the second most widely learned foreign language in the world after English. A command of the French language opens up many opportunities with French companies (France is the fifth biggest economy in the world), not to mention opportunities in Canada, Switzerland, Belgium and all of francophone Africa.

For the two-year AS course we follow the AQA AS Specification. The AS course includes the study of one set text in addition to a number of themes such as the changing nature of family, contemporary French music, and French cinema.

The course is particularly suitable for those students with a clear specialism in other subject areas but who would nevertheless like to add a language to support their university application and future job prospects. The course is both rigorous and rewarding and, in addition to the obvious linguistic benefits, it seeks to develop pupils’ communication and independent research skills.

Trips & Events

In Year 9, we hold an annual play evening where pupils are invited to watch a performance (entirely in French of course!) by a travelling theatre company.

In Year 11 we have in the past offered a trip to Nice during the Easter holidays. Pupils stay with host families, attend lessons in the morning and undertake cultural activities in the afternoon before returning to their host families in the evening. The timing of the trip is ideal given that the IGCSE orals take place straight after the Easter holidays!

In the Sixth Form, a variety of events and trips are arranged. In 2023, for example, we ran a joint French and Art trip to Paris. Other trips have included day trips to conferences, French theatre visits and film evenings.

Beyond School

Many of our A Level students go on to read French at university, including in recent years two of our former pupils securing a place in the same year at Cambridge.