Senior School Curriculum Modern Languages
Modern Languages
Languages Taught
- French, German and Spanish are all available to GCSE and A-level at Clayesmore. In year 9 most pupils have a two-term beginners’ course in Spanish and German, as well as continuing with French.
- Pupils can opt for any one or two of French, German and Spanish in years 10 and 11 for GCSE, and occasionally pupils decide to take all three languages.
- We have healthy numbers studying all three languages in the sixth form to AS and A2 level.
Aims of the Languages Department
- We believe in languages for all and we aim to promote enjoyable and successful language learning for pupils of all abilities.
- Able pupils generally achieve excellent results, with many A and A* grades at GCSE and excellent numbers gaining grade A at A-level in the sixth form in all three languages.
- The A star-C pass rate in languages at GCSE is always very high – 97% in French and German in summer 2007.
- Pupils are encouraged to use the foreign language for communicating with each other in the classroom, and most of them do this very successfully and with a lot of enjoyment.
- We aim to promote an interest in foreign countries and cultures and to broaden pupils’ horizons.
Foreign Visits and Exchanges
- We run regular foreign exchanges for pupils, when they are able to stay with the family of a boy or girl of their own age in France, Germany or Switzerland. The exchanges we are running currently are:
- Year 11 and 6th form French Exchange with a lycée in Béthune, near Lille (2007/8);
- Year 11 and 6th form German Swiss Exchange with a Gymnasium in Lucerne, Switzerland (2008);
- Year 11 and 6th form German Exchange with a Gymnasium in Kaarst, near Düsseldorf (probably in 2008/9);
- Other trips we run on an occasional basis are:
- Year 9 French trip to Paris;
- Sixth form Art and French trip to Paris;
- Berlin Study Visit for U6th A2 Germanists;
- We hope soon to run our first Spanish language and culture trip for older students to Granada in AndalucÃa.