Vision 

Our vision is to foster respect, empathy and understanding in our students, by developing their intellectual and emotional character.  We firmly believe that every child has the right to pursue their curiosity about the world they live in through the study of the language, geography and culture of French and German speaking countries.  It is our purpose to cultivate well-rounded global citizens who sustain a life-long love of learning and an acceptance of cultural diversity.  Creating confident communicators is at the heart of everything we do. We aim to provide students with the necessary tools to be effective communicators in the modern world by exposing them to a rich blend of interesting, expressive high frequency vocabulary. We want pupils to acquire a solid linguistic foundation on which to independently build further knowledge and skills and to be brave enough to take risks, explore, and try to achieve in French and German. We want our students to be proud of their work and celebrate their success in languages.

 

Core Knowledge: French

Year 7

Pupils develop an awareness of phonic rules to support good pronunciation. They ask and answer simple questions about themselves and the world they live in. Pupils will learn about verb conjugation for high frequency verbs so they can talk about other people in a variety of contexts. Pupils will learn how to talk about future events in simple terms. Throughout their studies in Year 7, pupils’ cultural development will be raised through exposure to texts/videos about life in French speaking countries and discussing the differences between their lives and ours.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 7:

• Essential high-frequency verbs in first, second and third person
• Modal verbs in the present tense
• Tenses
  • Present
  • Future intentions
• Adjectives and adjectival agreement
  • Describing things and people
• Forming questions
  • Intonation
  • Subject-verb inversion
• Quantities and numbers
• Possessive adjectives in the context of family, ownership, and opinions
• Countries and places

 

Year 8

Pupils continue their journey to become effective communicators in French through a wide range of topics (holiday and travel; sport, leisure and media; French speaking countries and culture; home and town; technology).   Pupils continue developing their knowledge and understanding of phonics in French, they will expand their core vocabulary and consolidate verb conjugation of high frequency verbs.  Pupils develop their cultural awareness and learn facts about key cultural aspects including traditions, celebrations, history and music.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 8:

• Core verbs in a variety of tenses including past, present, future and conditional.
• Expressing opinion and preferences including comparatives and superlatives
• Complex linguistic structures including infinitive phrases, relative pronouns, idioms and impersonal structures
• Forming simple questions using key question words using role play activities and peer interviews.

 

Year 9

Pupils consolidate and further develop their awareness of phonics, grammar, and syntax to successfully communicate in speaking and in writing. They work through a variety of textbooks, original and purposely created tasks in listening and in reading, increasing their understanding and language proficiency. Pupils study cultural topics such as celebrations and festivals, compare school in France to the UK as well as study topics of work, healthy living, and teenage issues.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 9:

• Forming simple questions using key question words
• Giving short responses to questions formed with key question words
• Describing pictures and responding in more detail in speaking
• Expressing and justifying opinions in speaking and in writing
• Conjugation of high frequency and new key verbs
• Tenses: present, past and future
• Modal verbs in the present tense
• Conditional mode
• Si clauses
• Applying adjectival agreement
• Manipulating sentences

 

Year 10

Pupils develop their ability to communicate confidently in speaking and writing and to express and develop thoughts and ideas with increasing accuracy and fluency. They acquire new knowledge, skills and ways of thinking through the ability to understand and respond to a rich range of spoken and written materials.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 10:

Pupils in Year 10 will apply a range of vocabulary and grammar knowledge across the following topics:

• Talking about themselves, family and friends
• Talking about customs and daily life in French speaking countries including food and drink, social media and new technologies
• Discovering the cultural life of French speaking countries (celebrations and festivals, reading, music, sport, film and television)
• Talking about holiday preferences and experiences, including using language for real purposes in holiday situations
• Describing their local area

 

Year 11

Pupils continue to develop linguistic ability with increasing accuracy, complexity and fluency.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 11:

Pupils apply more complex vocabulary and grammar across the following topics:

• Expressing future work and personal plans
• Voluntary work
• Importance of languages beyond the classroom
• Discussing environmental issues
• Benefits of sports and music big events
• Comparing the British school system with the ones in French speaking countries
• Expressing opinions about school subjects and rules
• Experience and importance of school trips, events and exchanges

 

Year 12

Pupils develop their spoken and written skills using an extended range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. They develop their critical analytical thinking through study of a rich range of authentic spoken and written materials about the culture and society of French speaking countries.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 12:

Pupils apply their extended knowledge and understanding across the following topics:

• Changes in French society including family, marriage, education and work
• Changes in music, media, and traditions
• No et Moi novel by Delphine de Vigan, tackling the issues of relationships, family and homelessness

 

Year 13

Pupils continue to develop linguistic and analytical competencies with increasing accuracy, complexity and fluency. They develop independent research skills through completion of an Independent Research Project on a subject of their choice relating to the social and cultural context of a French speaking country.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 13:

Pupils apply their extended knowledge and understanding across the following topics:

• The impact of immigration in France and the rise of far-right political parties
• France under occupation, the Vichy regime and la Résistance
• Les Choristes film, tackling the themes of relationships, education and music
• Independent Research Project

 

Core Knowledge: German

For the academic year 2021-2022 both Year 8 and Year 9 are new beginners in German.

Year 8

Beginner learners in Year 8 develop an understanding of basic grammatical foundations, within the context of:  relationships, school, hobbies and home region.  They draw on their grammatical knowledge of French to make comparisons and contrasts between the two languages. Students will learn about aspects of the culture in German-speaking countries.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 8:

• A sound phonetic basis in the language
• Expressing and justifying opinions
• Conjugation of high frequency weak verbs
• Understanding of basic commands and questions
• Word order with conjunctions

 

Year 9

In Year 9 pupils follow an accelerated course for beginners, including an understanding of basic grammatical foundations, within the context of:  relationships, school, hobbies, home region, holidays and school.

They draw on their grammatical knowledge of French to make comparisons and contrasts between the two languages. Pupils learn about aspects of the culture in German-speaking countries.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 9:

• A sound phonetic basis in the language
• Expressing and justifying opinions
• Conjugation of high frequency weak verbs
• Understanding of basic commands and questions
• Word order with conjunctions, verb inversion
• Past and future tenses

 

Year 10

Pupils develop their ability to communicate confidently in speaking and writing and to express and develop thoughts and ideas with increasing accuracy and fluency. They acquire new knowledge, skills and ways of thinking through the ability to understand and respond to a rich range of authentic spoken and written materials.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 10:

Pupils in Year 10 will apply a range of vocabulary and grammar knowledge across the following topics:

• Talking about themselves, family and friends
• Talking about customs and daily life in German speaking countries including food and drink, social media and new technologies
• Discovering the cultural life of German speaking countries (celebrations and festivals, reading, music, sport, film and television)
• Talking about holiday preferences and experiences, including using language for real purposes in holiday situations
• Describing their local area

 

Year 11

Pupils continue to develop linguistic ability with increasing accuracy, complexity and fluency.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 11:

Pupils apply more complex vocabulary and grammar across the following topics:

• Expressing future work and personal plans
• Importance of languages beyond the classroom
• Discussing environmental issues
• Benefits of sports and music big events
• Comparing the British school system with the ones in German speaking countries
• Expressing opinions about school subjects and rules
• Experience and importance of school trips, events and exchange

 

Year 12

Building on their GCSE knowledge, pupils in Year 12 further develop their linguistic skills, fluency and confidence and their capacity for critical thinking on the basis of their knowledge and understanding of German speaking countries.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 12:

• Communication strategies
• Critical analysis of German film – Goodbye, Lenin!
• Understanding of how to translate effectively and accurately between English and German texts in the context of topic: environment, German school system, the world of work, music, media and festivals and traditions

 

Year 13

Pupils continue to develop linguistic and analytical competencies with increasing accuracy, complexity and fluency. They develop independent research skills through completion of an Independent Research Project on a subject of their choice relating to the social and cultural context of a German speaking country.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 13:

• Critical analysis of authentic literature in the original language – Der Besuch der Alten Dame
• Understanding of how to translate effectively and accurately between English and German texts in the context of topic: Immigration, integration, former GDR and German reunification
• Independent Research skills project to form the main part of the speaking exam.