French

A desire to open the world to our students, to foster the skills of tolerance and inquiry as well as to embed an eagerness to be the best that they can be both linguistically and socially, underpins the intent of the Modern Foreign Language curriculum here at St. Barts.

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“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), philosopher.

All Year 7 students at St Bart’s learn a language (French or German). The language studied is dependent on the House to which the students belong. Most Year 8 students then move on to learn 2 languages and choose to add to their Year 7 subject with either French, German or Spanish.

All Year 9 students learn a language, opting to continue with one or both of the languages they studied in Year 8.

The department offers lots of co-curricular activities from clubs, to competitions such as our Cultural Poster Competition and the annual MFL Karaoke competition! You can also read more about our international links.

Year 7-9

Our KS3 French Curriculum is designed to be an introduction to French so that students can gain an understanding of the basics of reading, writing and speaking French. Students will start by learning phonics, numbers and alphabets and then go on to learn a range of descriptions. By the end of Year 9, students will have a firm grounding in three main time frames which they can apply to a range of different topic areas.

Students will understand what it is to become a linguist; not only in their linguistic ability but also in developing a passion for travel and for understanding the way languages relate to everyday life in different cultures. We will develop their Cultural Capital, by broadening their knowledge of what it means to live in different French speaking countries, to understand more about culture, lifestyle and important places and people.

Year 7 Curriculum

In Year 7, students learn the basic principles of how French differs from English, exploring the concept of all nouns having genders, adjective agreements, differences in word order, possessive adjectives, how to ask questions, negatives, opinions and looking at the present and future tenses. Phonics, grammar and vocabulary is taught through topics relevant to a beginner, focusing on basics before moving on to conversational topics.

Topics

Introduction to French phonics, key phrases and core vocabulary
Pets, hair and eye descriptions and to be able to say where you live
Hobbies (sports with jouer and faire, music, TV programmes and being able to give opinions, starting to look at the present tense in more detail)
Town and local area (town and buildings, giving directions, activities that can be done in town, saying where you want to go, verb ‘aller’, asking where places are, and using the near future tense to talk about plans for next weekend)
Holidays (holiday destinations, activities on holiday, using the near future)

Year 8 Curriculum

In Year 8, students build on the skills they developed in Year 7 and enhance their knowledge by learning about tenses, how to express their views on topics and look at family relationships.

Topics

Television, books, reading, expressing opinions
Visiting Paris (activities, opinions)
Describing a visit (using the passé composé (perfect tense)
Personalities (describing people, relationships)
Talking about music (clothing and favourite things)

Year 9 Curriculum

In Year 9, students further embed the 3 main tenses and those in the express sets will also learn about the imperfect and conditional tenses. Students deepen their learning and start to look at topics in keeping with their age such as healthy lifestyle choices, the use of social media, future education and career plans,describing holidays in the present, past and future as well as using hypothetical statements to say what their ideal holiday would look like.

Topics

Description of others (social media, outfits and invitations)
Sports (healthy living and eating)
Future jobs (careers and ambitions, future tenses, expressing volition)
Tourism (going on holiday, visiting attractions)
In the final half term of Year 9, students start their GCSE course and learn valuable exam skills such as how to tackle a photocard and how to revise for the speaking and writing exams.

GCSE (Year 10-11)

Examination Board: Please note our Modern Foreign Languages department will be changing the GCSE French Exam Specification in September 2024. For the academic year of 2024/25 Year 10 will follow AQA and Year 11 will follow AQA.

Course Description

The world is a global village, with increasing opportunity and the need to interact with people from other countries and cultures. Whether it is for leisure or work purposes, the ability to speak other languages opens doors and broadens your understanding of how people from different cultures live.

There is a focus on deepening understanding of more complex grammar structures and broadening their range of vocabulary within the topic areas.

(Year 10 – September 2024): The GCSE French course is divided into 3 main themes:

Theme 1: People and lifestyle (Identity and relationships with others, Healthy living and lifestyle, Education and work)
Theme 2: Popular culture (Free-time activities, Customs, Festivals and celebrations, Celebrity culture)
Theme 3: Communication and the world around us (Travel and tourism including places of interest, Media and technology, The environment and where people live)

(Year 11 – September 2024):The GCSE French course is divided into 3 main themes:

Theme 1: Identity and culture (Me, my family and friends, Technology in everyday life and Free-time activities)
Theme 2: Local (Home, town, neighbourhood and region, Social issues, Global issues and Travel and tourism)
Theme 3: Current and future study and future employment (My studies, Life at school/college, Education post-16 and jobs, Career choices and ambitions)

Assessment

The GCSE is assessed at either Foundation (grades 1-5) or Higher tier (grades 4-9). There are 4 separate units taken at the end of the course and each is worth 25% of the final grade.

Unit 1 Listening Comprehension
Unit 2 Speaking assessment (conducted by the class teacher)
Unit 3 Reading Comprehension (includes a short translation into English)
Unit 4 Writing Assessment (includes a short translation into the foreign language)

Revision Materials

French GCSE Revision Video
Google Classroom pages. On these pages you can find: past papers, revision tips, knowledge organisers, help with mastering the tenses and resources to help with the speaking and writing exams. Ask your teachers for the codes
National Oak Academy. Lessons created in lockdown to give students a teacher taught lesson from home
AQA- past papers
BBC Bitesize
Seneca Learning

Sixth Form (Year 12-13)

Examination Board: AQA

Course Description

A Level French allows students to develop both their mastery of the language and their understanding of the history and culture of the French-speaking world. Using a range of sources, lessons will consider current trends and issues in French-speaking society, looking at the changing nature of family, ‘cybersociety’, diversity, the marginalised, the place of voluntary work and the criminal system.

Students will have the opportunity to delve into Francophone artistic culture and heritage, including literature, music and cinema, and explore aspects of political life, from voting to demonstrations and strikes, and political decision-making on current topics as immigration.

Building on GCSE knowledge, students study French grammatical structures, forms and functions in greater complexity. During lessons, alongside written work, they will take part in debate, discussion and presentations to build confidence. To complement the classroom lessons and to help develop fluency, students in the Sixth Form have weekly lessons with our French assistant on a two-to-one or one-to-one basis.

Assessment

This is a linear course. This means that students opting for this subject will be committing to a two-year linear course, with all units examined at the end of year 13.

Entry Requirements

A grade 6 or higher in GCSE French is required.

Where might it lead?

A Level Modern Foreign Languages can help open doors to careers in/as:

Academic Researcher
Archeologist
Art Historian
Cabin Crew
Diplomatic Service Officer
English as a Foreign Language Teacher
Intelligence Analyst
International Aid/Development Worker
Interpreter
Journalist
Logistics and Distribution Manager
Political Risk Analyst
Publishing Rights Manager
Teacher
Translator/Tutor
Travel Consultant
Tour Manager
Writer

Student Destinations

Megan Wharry

2024 Offers From:

University of Exeter – History and Modern Languages
University of Nottingham – French and History
Swansea University – French and History
University of Warwick – French and History

St Bartholomew’s School Andover Road, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 6JP

Telephone: 01635 521255 | Email: office@stbarts.co.uk | Full Staff Contact List
Y7-Y11 Attendance: 01635 576372 | Y12/13 Attendance: 01635 576366