Modern Foreign Languages

Head of Department: Ms R Willetts

Department Introduction

The highly successful Modern Foreign Languages Department at HBHS is staffed by specialist language teachers. Miss Willetts is head of department, specialising in French, German and Linguistics. Support leader for the department is Mr Dubois, a native French speaker who also teaches Spanish. Mrs Newell’s main language specialisms are Spanish and French. Mr Barrier, who is also a native French speaker, is a newly appointed member of our department and specialises in Spanish as well. Finally, Ms Pecqueux hails from Belgium and is completing her Schools Direct placement with us this academic year. Each member of our department has varied and wide-ranging experience of living, working, teaching and studying overseas both in Europe and beyond.

We measure the success of our department in many ways. Over the past five years, the number of students taking GCSE French has risen significantly - by around 600%, and our summer 2015 GCSE results were our best ever! One of the other highlights of 2015 was our over-subscribed year 10 trip to Paris in July, where students took in the sights and sounds of the French capital, and life-long memories were created.

It is our aim as a department to encourage our students to think beyond the geographical boundaries of our tiny country and to consider how travel to and interaction with foreign cultures can provide a wealth of opportunity for enrichment in life.

Courses

Key Stage Three: Years 7 – 8 – 9.

Year 7 and 8 students have two lessons of French per week. As our future E-Bacc candidates, our Heron groups follow a challenging program of study. Most year 9 students have three timetabled classes of French per week.

All Heron students continue their studies of French to GCSE, and many core students also choose to study at GCSE. Our most able heron students can choose to take up GCSE Spanish alongside French at the options stage of year 9.

Key Stage Four: Years 10 - 11.

Students who continue with their studies at Key Stage 4 study towards AQA GCSE French. The course is examined at the end of Year 11 by AQA. GCSE French students have three timetabled lessons per week.

Click here for more information about GCSE French

Key Stage Five: Years 12-13.

Our post-16 linguists study towards the AQA AS and A-level qualification, which allows students flexibility and the freedom to choose the content of some of their course. The course is demanding and requires a substantial commitment to independent study.

Click here for more information about AS French

Click here for more information about A-Level French

 

 

Enrichment

For our Year 7 students, every year we offer a day trip to Lille, Boulogne or St. Omer in June or July. In early December each year, we take around 90 Year 8 students to Arras to visit the Christmas Markets. For our GCSE French students in Year 10, we offer a residential trip to Paris in July.

In addition to our overseas visits, we frequently take groups of students to the British Film Institute in London to enjoy foreign language film study days. We also enjoy close links to local universities and take place every year in the University of Kent World Languages Day and KS4 Study Days.

Website links for independent study.

www.linguascope.co.uk (French, German, Spanish, Italian)

www.bbc.co.uk/languages
www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca
www.zut.org.uk (French, Spanish, German)
www.languagesonline.org.uk (French, German, Spanish, Italian)
www.francais-extra.co.uk (French)
www.brainpop.fr (French) KS4-KS5
www.espanol-extra.co.uk (Spanish)
www.funwithlanguages.vacau.com/