French

Head of French: Ms Tina Roberts

Head of German: Mr Otto Acs

Curriculum Intent

The acquisition of language skills is central to a student’s personal, cultural and social development as well as providing an important intellectual challenge.

At King’s we aim to encourage students to become confident and articulate linguists. We foster curiosity and independence, as well as valuing accuracy and range of expression. The French Curriculum is designed to develop the four core skills necessary to language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The department places an emphasis on gaining an understanding of French and francophone culture.

All students learn French in Years 7, 8 and 9. Some students will go on to study German as well as French in Years 8 and 9. Students are encouraged to opt for one or both languages at GCSE. Some students study French at A Level and go on to study a language or combine it with other subjects at university level.

In French, the Studio course is used at Key Stage 3 and 4, along with other resources.

Facilities

The department is well-resourced. There are five modern and spacious classrooms for language teaching, situated in the Newton Block. All classrooms have interactive whiteboards. Active Teach and Active Learn are embedded in our curriculum and students also have access to additional online resources such as Linguascope.

Additional Information

The Department has run a joint French and German Year 8 trip to Alsace (staff contact Ms T. Roberts) and an exchange trip to Bamberg in Year 10/11 (staff contact Mr. O. Acs). These trips are currently under review. We also aim to take students to Business Language Champions events in the region whenever possible.

Enrichment opportunities