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

Upper School

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.

Head of French

Lindsay McDonald

Head of Modern Foreign Languages