French
We have an established, well-resourced French department with three full-time specialist MFL teachers (two are French nationals) and a part-time teacher. All KS3 pupils are taught the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing and are taught 4 hours a fortnight. French is a very popular GCSE option: boys choose French as they enjoy it, and it is a great advantage to have a Modern Foreign Language grade on their CV and application to Sixth Form and university. A pass grade in a MFL is also required for the eBacc certification. Our KS4 pupils are taught 5 hours a fortnight.
In Year 7, pupils learn to talk about introducing and describing themselves, their family and friends, their school and their pets. Pupils are also introduced to classroom commands in French. They are taught phonics, vocabulary and grammar concepts and terminology. All pupils are assessed at the end of each half-term term with a Key Piece in Listening, Speaking, Reading or Writing. French homework/support club runs weekly after school. A French theatre company comes to Hurstmere School to perform plays in French for the whole year group.
In Year 8, pupils learn to talk about food and drink, visiting a French town, they learn to talk about the weather and the clothes they wear, music, TV and cinema. They are encouraged to further respond in French during class activities, and to explore more grammatical structures. All pupils are assessed at the end of each half-term term with a Key Piece in Listening, Speaking, Reading or Writing. French homework/support club runs weekly after school.
In Year 9, pupils learn to talk about going on holiday, daily routine, sports and leisure activities, celebrations in the home and charity work. All pupils are assessed at the end of each half-term term with a Key Piece in Listening, Speaking, Reading or Writing. Year 9 students are offered the opportunity to visit Paris for 4 days in July which includes a day or two in Disneyland Paris!
In Year 10, pupils who have opted for French as a GCSE Option start a two-year GCSE course.
Pupils study 6 topics: Me, my family and friends; Technology in everyday life; Free-time activities; Customs and festivals; Home, town, neighbourhood and region; Social issues.
In Year 11, pupils study another 6 topics: Global issues, Travel and tourism, My studies, Life at school and college; Education post-16; Jobs, career choices and ambitions.
KS4 pupils are taught at Foundation or Higher level with differentiated lessons and they are internally assessed every half-term with Key Pieces in Listening, Speaking, Reading or Writing.
Booster and revision sessions run weekly after school.
In May/June of Year 11, pupils sit their official GCSE exams with AQA on all 12 topics studied throughout the two years. Pupils are entered for either the Foundation Tier (grades 5-1) or the Higher Tier (grades 9-4).
At KS3 and KS4, teaching and learning are enhanced by the use of songs, games, video clips, films and access to ICT rooms. We use the websites Vocab Express and Seneca to consolidate the boys’ learning.
Other MFL:
A Spanish club currently runs weekly after school for the younger year groups.
Some pupils come to us already fluent in a second language. Provided they are competent in the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, these boys are encouraged to take an additional GCSE in Year 9 or Year 10. In recent years, excellent results were achieved in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Turkish.